New Zealand Languages

The most prevalent and de facto language of New Zealand is English with most, if not all, citizens speaking it as a first or second language. The official languages of New Zealand are Maori and New Zealand Sign Language. English has not yet been given official status in New Zealand although it is the most commonly spoken. English is from the Indo-European family of languages, and the history of speaking English dates back to the 19th century in the country. New Zealand English is considered one of the newest native English dialects and has developed into a uniquely accented language for the past 150 years. The Maori language has had a heavy influence on place names and names of flora and fauna in New Zealand and is often interwoven with New Zealand English.

Approximately 96 percent of the population of New Zealand speaks English as their first language, and 3.7 percent speak Maori as a first language. Approximately 19 percent of the population of New Zealand is considered bi-lingual, and this number continues to climb. The language has had significant influence from Australian, American, and British English as well as an accent that has evolved from the original British colonial settlers. Many in the Northern Hemisphere cannot tell the difference between the New Zealand and Australian accents.

Although New Zealanders speak English, there are a lot of unique phrases to the country that every tourist should know. Tomato Sauce is ketchup is New Zealand and 'sweet as”, means cool, or awesome. If someone from New Zealand calls another individual a mate, it means friend or pal. This is just a few of the particular phrases to this nation.

Minority languages in the country include Samoan (86,400 speakers), Hindi (66,300), Mandarin Chinese (52,300), French (49,100) and Yue Chinese (44,600). Although Maori is an official language of the country, just over three percent of the country speaks it as their first language. Around 90,000 people who live in New Zealand do not speak or understand English.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Wellington
Languages	English (de facto official) 89.8%, Maori (de jure official) 3.5%, Samoan 2%, Hindi 1.6%, French 1.2%, Northern Chinese 1.2%, Yue 1%, other or not stated 20.5%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official)
Ethnic Groups	European 71.2%, Maori 14.1%, Asian 11.3%, Pacific peoples 7.6%, Middle Eastern, Latin American, African 1.1%, other 1.6%, not stated or unidentified 5.4%
Religion	Christian 44.3% (Catholic 11.6%, Anglican 10.8%, Presbyterian and Congregational 7.8%, Methodist, 2.4%, Pentecostal 1.8%, other 9.9%), Hindu 2.1%, Buddhist 1.4%, Maori Christian 1.3%, Islam 1.1%, other religion 1.4% (includes Judaism, Spiritualism and New Age religions, Baha'i, Asian religions other than Buddhism), no religion 38.5%, not stated or unidentified 8.2%, objected to answering 4.1%
Government	Parliamentary democracy (New Zealand Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Independance	26 September 1907 (from the UK)
Area	268,838.00 km²
Water Area	4,301.00 km²
Land Area	264,537.00 km²
Population	4,474,549.00
Location	Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
GDP(PPP)	$175,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$37,100.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are China, Australia, and the United States.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are dairy products, meat and edible offal, logs and wood articles.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are China, Australia, and the United States.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include petroleum and products, mechanical machinery, and vehicles.
Climate	Temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain	Predominately mountainous with large coastal plains
Learn More	New Zealand

New Zealand Languages

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