# New Zealander

new zealanders, colloquially known as Kiwis (), are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common history, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citizens of New Zealand, governed by its nationality law. Originally composed solely of the indigenous Māori, the ethnic makeup of the population has been dominated since the 19th century by new zealanders of European descent, mainly of Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish ancestry, with smaller percentages of other European and Middle Eastern ancestries such as Greek, Turkish, Italian, Lebanese and other Arab, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, South Slavic and Jewish, with Western European groups predominating.