what are the main sports in new zealand?
New Zealand national women's cricket team New Zealand national cricket team A1 Team New Zealand New Zealand Davis Cup team New Zealand Fed Cup team New Zealand national football team New Zealand men's national ice hockey team New Zealand national basketball team New Zealand national badminton team New Zealand women's national field hockey team
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 Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have British origins . Rugby union is considered the national sport and attracts the most spectators . Golf , netball , tennis and cricket have the highest rates of adult participation , while netball , rugby union and football ( soccer ) is popular among young people . Around 54 percent of New Zealand adolescents participate in sports for their school . Victorious rugby tours to Australia and the United Kingdom in the late 1880s and the early 1900s played an early role in instilling a national identity . Horseracing was also a popular spectator sport and became part of the " Rugby , Racing and Beer " culture during the 1960s . Māori participation in European sports was particularly evident in rugby and the country 's team performs a haka , a traditional Māori challenge , before international matches . 

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 New Zealand has competitive international teams in rugby union , netball , cricket , rugby league , and softball and has traditionally done well in triathlons , rowing , yachting and cycling . New Zealand participated at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1912 as a joint team with Australia , before first participating on its own in 1920 . The country has ranked highly on a medals @-@ to @-@ population ratio at recent Games . The All Blacks , the national men 's rugby union team , are the most successful in the history of international rugby and the reigning World Cup champions . New Zealand is known for its extreme sports , adventure tourism and strong mountaineering tradition , as seen in the success of notable New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary . Other outdoor pursuits such as cycling , fishing , swimming , running , tramping , canoeing , hunting , snowsports and surfing are also popular . The Polynesian sport of waka ama racing has increased in popularity and is now an international sport involving teams from all over the Pacific . 

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 New Zealand is identified as one of the world 's most stable and well @-@ governed nations . As of 2011 , the country was ranked fifth in the strength of its democratic institutions and first in government transparency and lack of corruption . New Zealand has a high level of civic participation , with 79 % voter turnout during the most recent elections , compared to an OECD average of 72 % . Furthermore , 67 % of New Zealanders say they trust their political institutions , far higher than the OECD average of 56 % . 

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 Officially , New Zealand is divided into 16 regions . 

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 New Zealand has a modern , prosperous and developed market economy with an estimated gross domestic product ( GDP ) at purchasing power parity ( PPP ) per capita of roughly NZ $ 47 @,@ 784 . The currency is the New Zealand dollar , informally known as the " Kiwi dollar " ; it also circulates in the Cook Islands ( see Cook Islands dollar ) , Niue , Tokelau , and the Pitcairn Islands . New Zealand was ranked sixth in the 2013 Human Development Index , fourth in The Heritage Foundation 's 2012 Index of Economic Freedom , and 13th in INSEAD 's 2012 Global Innovation Index . 
