New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia, across the Tasman Sea. It sits in Oceania and is made up mainly of the North Island and South Island, plus many smaller islands.

Simple location

  • East of Australia.
  • South of Fiji, Tonga, and New Caledonia.
  • In the Southern and Eastern hemispheres.

Map clue

If you look at a world map, find Australia first, then look far to the southeast over open ocean—New Zealand is there.

Main parts

  • North Island: the larger northern island.
  • South Island: the larger southern island with the Southern Alps.
  • Wellington is the capital, and Auckland is the largest city.

Could I also give you a tiny labeled map-style description of where it sits?