Wellington (Māori: Te Whanganui-a-Tara) is the capital city of New Zealand.
It’s located at the south-western tip of the North Island and is the major population centre of the southern North Island. Wellington is the administrative centre of the region, which also includes the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. It features a temperate maritime climate, and is one of the world's windiest cities by average wind speed.
As well as governmental institutions, Wellington is home to several of the largest and oldest cultural institutions in the nation, such as the National Archives, the National Library, New Zealand's national museum Te Papa and numerous theatres. It plays host to many artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet.
Architectural sights include the Old Government Buildings – one of the largest wooden buildings in the world – as well as the iconic Beehive, the executive wing of Parliament Buildings. The city has a strong art scene, with hundreds of art galleries. Most of these are small and independent, but the four major ones are Te Papa, City Gallery Wellington, Pātaka and the Dowse.
Wellington's economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealand's film and special effects industries, and increasingly a hub for information technology and innovation, with two public research universities.
Wellington is twinned with the following cities:
Sydney, Australia (1983)
Xiamen, China (1987)
Sakai, Japan (1994)
Beijing, China (2006)
Canberra, Australia (2016)
