The New Zealand Dollar is the official currency of New Zealand. The currency also circulates in the Tokelau, Pitcairn Islands, Niue, and Cook Islands. The New Zealand Dollar is informally called the kiwi, as kiwi are usually connected with New Zealand, and the $1 coin has a kiwi on it.
Economy
New Zealand has a market economy that is greatly dependent on international trade, mainly with Australia, the European Union, the United States, China, and Japan.
It has only small manufacturing and high-tech sectors, as it is mainly focused on tourism and primary industries like agriculture.
Free-market reforms of the last decades have removed many barriers to foreign investment, and in 2005 the World Bank praised New Zealand for being the most business-friendly country in the world, ahead of Singapore.
Traditionally, the economy was based on a narrow range of primary products, such as wool, meat, and dairy products. Due to the high demand for these products, such as in the New Zealand wool boom of 1951, the country has enjoyed a high standard of living.
However, commodity prices for these exports declined, and New Zealand lost its preferential trading position with the United Kingdom in 1973, due to the latter joining the European Economic Community.
History
The Pound was New Zealand’s currency before the New Zealand Dollar was introduced.
In 1957, the New Zealand government set up a group to investigate decimal currency, and in 1963 the government decided to decimalize the New Zealand currency.
In 1964, the Decimal Currency Act was approved, and the transition took place on July 10, 1967. On the same date, the New Zealand Dollar was introduced, replacing the Pound at a rate of 2 Dollars = 1 Pound.
