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| Government type | Constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition, member of the Commonwealth |
| Head of State |
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the Governor-General, Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae (since August 2011) Head of Government: Prime Minister, the Hon Mr John Key |
| Independence |
Somewhat debatable: British Parliament passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 - granted settlers the right to self-governance. Treaty of Waitangi 1840 – claimed British sovereignty with modern reservations expressed about this/ Dominion of the United Kingdom status declared: 26 September 1907 not formally recognised by the Statute of Westminster until 1931. Also not given freedom in matters of foreign affairs or the military. In 1939, Governor-General ceased to be Britain's High Commissioner to New Zealand, rather became the position of an independent officer. In 1947 the last restrictions on the right of NZ parliament to amend its constitution were removed. New Zealand doesn’t formally celebrate an Independence day, rather it observes Treaty of Waitangi Day every 6 February. |
| Constitution | No formal, written constitution. Consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand parliaments, as well as The Constitution Act 1986, which is the principal formal charter; adopted 1 January 1987. |
| Legal system | Based on English law |
| Suffrage | Universal at 18 years |
| Administrative divisions | 16 regions and 1 territory*; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Chatham Islands*, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast |