[7] New Zealand is considered by some to be unique among Western countries for its high levels of ethnic intermarriage,[8] which has historically been viewed with tolerance.

New Zealand has an adult literacy rate of 99 percent and over half of the population aged 15–29 hold a tertiary qualification.

[16] The name derives from the kiwi, a native flightless bird, which is the national symbol of New Zealand.

[35] Approximately 14 percent of the population live in four different categories of rural areas as defined by Statistics New Zealand.

Following the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 when the country became a British colony, immigrants were predominantly from Britain, Ireland and Australia.

[46] During the gold rush period (1858–1880s) large number of young men came from California and Victoria to New Zealand goldfields.

[51] In the late 2000s, Asia overtook the British Isles as the largest source of overseas migrants; in 2013 around 32 percent of overseas-born New Zealand residents were born in Asia (mainly China, India, the Philippines and South Korea) compared to 26 percent born in the UK and Ireland.

[52] The number of fee-paying international students increased sharply in the late 1990s, with more than 20,000 studying in public tertiary institutions in 2002.

[58] Nearly one quarter of New Zealand's highly skilled workers live overseas, mostly in Australia and Britain, more than any other developed nation.

[59] However many educated professionals from Europe and lesser developed countries have recently migrated to New Zealand.

[60][61] A common pathway for New Zealanders to move to the UK is through a job offer via the Tier 2 (General) visa, which grants a 3-year initial stay in the country and can later be extended with three more years.

Originally composed solely of the Māori who arrived in the thirteenth century, the ethnic makeup of the population later became dominated by New Zealanders of European descent.

[7] According to Massey University sociologist Paul Spoonley, ethnic intermarriage has consistently been very common in New Zealand since colonisation.

Unlike the United States, New Zealand has never prohibited interracial marriages; they have in fact been historically encouraged by many.

At current rates of population growth, Asians, Pasifika and Māori will outnumber Europeans in Auckland within the next decade.

[75] There was significant public discussion about usage of the term "New Zealander" during the months leading up to the 2006 census.

Ngāi Tahu was the largest in the South Island and the third-largest overall, with a count of 54,819 people (an increase of 11.4 percent from 2006).

[36] A group of Māori migrated to Rēkohu, now known as the Chatham Islands, where they developed their distinct Moriori culture.

[5] The New Zealand English dialect is mostly non-rhotic with an exception being the Southern Burr found principally in Southland and parts of Otago.

[85] In New Zealand English the short i (as in kit) has become centralised, leading to the phrase fish and chips sounding like "fush and chups" to the Australian ear.

[86] The words rarely and really, reel and real, doll and dole, pull and pool, witch and which, and full and fill can sometimes be pronounced as homophones.

[89] New Zealanders often reply to a question or emphasise a point by adding a rising intonation at the end of the sentence.

[4] Immigration and associated demographic change in recent decades has contributed to the growth of minority religions,[103] especially Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.

Early leaving exemptions may be granted to 15-year-old students that have been experiencing some ongoing difficulties at school or are unlikely to benefit from continued attendance.

New Zealand has an adult literacy rate of 99 percent,[113] and over half of the population aged 15 to 29 hold a tertiary qualification.

[114] New Zealand's early economy was based on sealing, whaling, flax, gold, kauri gum, and native timber.

[115] During the 1880s agricultural products became the highest export earner and farming was a major occupation within New Zealand.

[118] In 1982 New Zealand had the lowest per-capita income of all the developed nations surveyed by the World Bank.

[119] In 2010 the estimated gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita was roughly US$28,250, between the thirty-first and fifty-first highest for all countries.

[130] That census held in 2006 stated that 15% of New Zealanders did some form of voluntary work through any organisation, group or marae (men 14%, women 17%).