---
title: "New Zealand — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "New Zealand: capital Wellington, area 268,838 km², population 5,324,700 (2025), currency New Zealand dollar. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/new-zealand/
site: "At One Place"
---

# New Zealand

**New Zealand: Capital Wellington**

268,838 km² · 5,324,700 people (2025) · New Zealand dollar

Two main islands and around 600 smaller ones, roughly 1,600 km long. New Zealand broke away from Gondwana about 80 million years ago and had no land mammals except bats until people arrived, which is why so many of its birds are flightless. The Southern Alps run most of the South Island and reach 3,724 m at Aoraki / Mount Cook.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Wellington
- **Largest city:** Auckland
- **Area:** 268,838 km² — 103,799 sq mi
- **Population:** 5,324,700 (2025)
- **Density:** 19.8 people per km²
- **Currency:** New Zealand dollar (NZD, $)
- **Official languages:** English, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language
- **Time zones:** UTC+12:00, UTC+12:45
- **Calling code:** +64
- **Drives on the:** left
- **ISO codes:** NZ · NZL
- **Continent:** Oceania

## How it compares

- **By area:** 76 of 200
- **By population:** 125 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ecuador | 283,561 | 18,289,896 |
| Burkina Faso | 274,200 | 24,074,580 |
| New Zealand ← | 268,838 | 5,324,700 |
| Gabon | 267,667 | 2,593,130 |
| Guinea | 245,857 | 15,099,727 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of New Zealand?

Wellington

### What currency does New Zealand use?

The New Zealand dollar (NZD).

### How big is New Zealand?

268,838 km², or 103,799 square miles — 76 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does New Zealand drive on?

The left.

## Related pages

- [Ecuador](https://atoneplace.net/country/ecuador/)
- [Burkina Faso](https://atoneplace.net/country/burkina-faso/)
- [Gabon](https://atoneplace.net/country/gabon/)
- [Guinea](https://atoneplace.net/country/guinea/)
- [Australia](https://atoneplace.net/country/australia/)
- [Papua New Guinea](https://atoneplace.net/country/papua-new-guinea/)
- [Fiji](https://atoneplace.net/country/fiji/)
- [Solomon Islands](https://atoneplace.net/country/solomon-islands/)
- [Vanuatu](https://atoneplace.net/country/vanuatu/)
- [Samoa](https://atoneplace.net/country/samoa/)
- [Kiribati](https://atoneplace.net/country/kiribati/)
- [Micronesia](https://atoneplace.net/country/micronesia/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]