More people die in New Zealand each year playing lawn bowls than scuba diving.
NZ is home to more species of penguins than any other country.
New Zealand is similar in size to the UK, but only has a population of about 4 million (compared to 63 million in the UK).
About one third of NZ is protected national park.
NZ is the least corrupt nation in the world (tied with Denmark), according to the Corruptions Perception Index.
In 1990, the NZ prime minister appointed a National Wizard.
NZ high schools and universities are permitted to keep a pound of uranium or thorium for educational purposes.
From 1867 to 1927, the government planned ahead for shipwrecks by building supply-filled huts on remote islands.
New Zealand is the only country in the world where all the highest positions have been simultaneously held by women: In 2006, the Queen, the Governor-General, the PM, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chief Justice were all women.
The man who pioneered plastic surgery, Harold Gillies, was a Kiwi.
