<P> New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life . Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, regulated economy to a diverse market economy . Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, who is currently Jacinda Ardern . Queen Elizabeth II is the country's head of state and is represented by a governor - general, currently Dame Patsy Reddy . In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes . The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self - governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica . New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, ASEAN Plus mechanism, and Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation . </P> <P> Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and named it Staten Land "in honour of the States General" (Dutch parliament). He wrote, "it is possible that this land joins to the Staten Land but it is uncertain", referring to a landmass of the same name at the southern tip of South America, discovered by Jacob Le Maire in 1616 . </P> <P> In 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland . British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand . </P> <P> Aotearoa (often translated as "land of the long white cloud") is the current Māori name for New Zealand . It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans, with Aotearoa originally referring to just the North Island . Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika - a-Māui (the fish of Māui) for the North Island and Te Waipounamu (the waters of greenstone) or Te Waka o Aoraki (the canoe of Aoraki) for the South Island . Early European maps labelled the islands North (North Island), Middle (South Island) and South (Stewart Island / Rakiura). In 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907 this was the accepted norm . The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised, and names and alternative names were formalised in 2013 . This set the names as North Island or Te Ika - a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu . For each island, either its English or Māori name can be used, or both can be used together . </P>

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