2 Background to New Zealand and the New Zealand
Health System
New Zealand is a small, island nation, located in the south
western Pacific Ocean. Its original indigenous inhabitants are
Ma¯ori. In 2014, New Zealand has an estimated population of
4,547,000 [3]. The population is predominantly of European
ethnicity (74 %), and there are significant Ma¯ori (15 %),
Pacific Island (7 %) and Asian (12 %) populations [4].