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*Work force: 75.2% of 15-64 year olds or 2.057 million. Services and government--59%; manufacturing and construction--32%; agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and mining--8.9%.
 
*Work force: 75.2% of 15-64 year olds or 2.057 million. Services and government--59%; manufacturing and construction--32%; agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and mining--8.9%.
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==Sport==
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==History==
[[Rugby union]] is the major sport in New Zealand, and the national team, the [[All Blacks]], are widely considered the greatest rugby union team.
+
Archaeological evidence indicates that New Zealand was populated by fishing and hunting people of East Polynesian ancestry perhaps 1,000 years before Europeans arrived. Known to some scholars as the Moa-hunters, they may have merged with later waves of Polynesians who, according to Maori tradition, arrived between 952 and 1150. Some of the Maoris called their new homeland "Aotearoa," usually translated as "land of the long white cloud."
The New Zealand [[cricket]] team (known as "The Black Caps") are currently seventh in world standings in tests and 4th in one day internationals.
+
 
New Zealand is also noted for its [[Hockey]] (The Black Sticks), [[Netball]] (The Silver Ferns) and mens Softball (Black Sox) teams. [[Scott Dixon]] became in 2008 the first New Zealand driver to win an Indy 500 race and has gone on to win 2 IRL Championships.
+
In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch navigator, made the first recorded European sighting of New Zealand and sketched sections of the two main islands' west coasts. British explorer [[James Cook]] thoroughly explored the coastline during three South Pacific voyages beginning in 1769. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, lumbering, seal hunting, and [[whaling]] attracted a few European settlers to New Zealand. In 1840, the British established their sovereignty and signed the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chiefs.
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 +
In the same year, British settlers began the colonization process. Expanding British settlement led to conflict with Maori, most notably in the Maori land wars of the 1860s. British and colonial forces eventually overcame determined Maori resistance. During this period, many Maori died from disease and warfare, much of it intertribal.  
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 +
Constitutional government began to develop in the 1850s. In 1867, the Maori won the right to a certain number of reserved seats in parliament. During this period, the livestock industry began to expand, and the foundations of New Zealand's modern economy took shape. By the end of the 19th century, improved transportation facilities made possible a great overseas trade in wool, meat, and dairy products.  
 +
 
 +
By the 1890s, parliamentary government along democratic lines was well-established, and New Zealand's social institutions assumed their present form. Women received the right to vote in national elections in 1893. The turn of the century brought sweeping social reforms that built the foundation for New Zealand's version of the welfare state.
 +
 
 +
The Maori gradually recovered from population decline and, through interaction and intermarriage with settlers and missionaries, adopted much of European culture. In recent decades, Maori have become increasingly urbanized and have become more politically active and culturally assertive.  
 +
 
 +
New Zealand was declared a dominion by a royal proclamation in 1907. It achieved full internal and external autonomy by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act in 1947, although this merely formalized a situation that had existed for many years.
    
== Government ==
 
== Government ==
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*Trade (September 2007): Exports to U.S.--$3.572 billion: frozen beef, casein, whey, timber, sheep meat, wine, unwrought aluminum, cheese, and butter. Imports from U.S.--$3.212 billion: consisting primarily of aircraft petroleum oils (crude), medical or veterinary instruments, motor vehicles, computers, aircraft parts, machinery, turbojets, insecticides, and telephone equipment. Major trading partners (rank ordered)--Australia, United States, Japan, People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea.
 
*Trade (September 2007): Exports to U.S.--$3.572 billion: frozen beef, casein, whey, timber, sheep meat, wine, unwrought aluminum, cheese, and butter. Imports from U.S.--$3.212 billion: consisting primarily of aircraft petroleum oils (crude), medical or veterinary instruments, motor vehicles, computers, aircraft parts, machinery, turbojets, insecticides, and telephone equipment. Major trading partners (rank ordered)--Australia, United States, Japan, People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea.
   −
==History==
+
==Sport==
Archaeological evidence indicates that New Zealand was populated by fishing and hunting people of East Polynesian ancestry perhaps 1,000 years before Europeans arrived. Known to some scholars as the Moa-hunters, they may have merged with later waves of Polynesians who, according to Maori tradition, arrived between 952 and 1150. Some of the Maoris called their new homeland "Aotearoa," usually translated as "land of the long white cloud."
+
[[Rugby union]] is the major sport in New Zealand, and the national team, the [[All Blacks]], are widely considered the greatest rugby union team.
 
+
The New Zealand [[cricket]] team (known as "The Black Caps") are currently seventh in world standings in tests and 4th in one day internationals.
In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch navigator, made the first recorded European sighting of New Zealand and sketched sections of the two main islands' west coasts. British explorer [[James Cook]] thoroughly explored the coastline during three South Pacific voyages beginning in 1769. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, lumbering, seal hunting, and [[whaling]] attracted a few European settlers to New Zealand. In 1840, the British established their sovereignty and  signed the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chiefs.
+
New Zealand is also noted for its [[Hockey]] (The Black Sticks), [[Netball]] (The Silver Ferns) and mens Softball (Black Sox) teams. [[Scott Dixon]] became in 2008 the first New Zealand driver to win an Indy 500 race and has gone on to win 2 IRL Championships.
 
  −
In the same year, British settlers began the colonization process. Expanding British settlement led to conflict with Maori, most notably in the Maori land wars of the 1860s. British and colonial forces eventually overcame determined Maori resistance. During this period, many Maori died from disease and warfare, much of it intertribal.
  −
 
  −
Constitutional government began to develop in the 1850s. In 1867, the Maori won the right to a certain number of reserved seats in parliament. During this period, the livestock industry began to expand, and the foundations of New Zealand's modern economy took shape. By the end of the 19th century, improved transportation facilities made possible a great overseas trade in wool, meat, and dairy products.  
  −
 
  −
By the 1890s, parliamentary government along democratic lines was well-established, and New Zealand's social institutions assumed their present form. Women received the right to vote in national elections in 1893. The turn of the century brought sweeping social reforms that built the foundation for New Zealand's version of the welfare state.
  −
 
  −
The Maori gradually recovered from population decline and, through interaction and intermarriage with settlers and missionaries, adopted much of European culture. In recent decades, Maori have become increasingly urbanized and have become more politically active and culturally assertive.
  −
 
  −
New Zealand was declared a dominion by a royal proclamation in 1907. It achieved full internal and external autonomy by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act in 1947, although this merely formalized a situation that had existed for many years.
      
==International Rankings (2007)==
 
==International Rankings (2007)==
26

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