• UN recognition of independence in foreign relations
1992[3]
Area
• Total
236.7 km2 (91.4 sq mi) (unranked)
Population
• 2021 census
15,040[4] (223rd)
• Density
63.3/km2 (163.9/sq mi) (138th)
GDP (nominal)
2020 estimate
• Total
US$384 million[5] (not ranked)
• Per capita
US$21,994 (not ranked)
Currency
New Zealand dollar (NZD) Cook Islands dollar (formerly)
Time zone
UTC–10 (CKT)
Driving side
left
Calling code
+682
ISO 3166 code
CK
Internet TLD
.ck
^ As per the Te Reo Maori Act.
The Cook Islands (Rarotongan: Kūki ‘Airani;[6] Penrhyn: Kūki Airani[7]) is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately 236.7 square kilometres (91 sq mi). The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean.[8] Avarua is its capital.
The Cook Islands is self-governing while in free association with New Zealand. Since the start of the 21st century, the Cook Islands has directed its own independent foreign and defence policy, and also has its own customs regulations, although it has no armed forces and therefore generally relies on New Zealand for its external defence.[9] In recent decades, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly assertive and distinct foreign policy, and a Cook Islander, Henry Puna, currently serves as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.[10] Most Cook Islanders are also citizens of New Zealand, but they also have the status of Cook Islands nationals, which is not given to other New Zealand citizens. The Cook Islands have been an active member of the Pacific Community since 1980.
The Cook Islands' main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga (10,863 in 2021).[4] The Rarotonga International Airport, the main international gateway to the country, is located on this island. The census of 2021 put the total population at 14,987. There is also a larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand and Australia: in the 2018 New Zealand census, 80,532 people said they were Cook Islanders, or of Cook Islands descent.[11] The last Australian census recorded 28,000 Cook Islanders living in Australia, many with Australian citizenship.[12] With over 168,000 visitors to the islands in 2018,[13] tourism is the country's main industry and leading element of its economy, ahead of offshore banking, pearls, and marine and fruit exports.
^"Cook Islands". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. 26 October 2021. (Archived 2021 edition.)
^"Census of Population & Dwellings 2016 Results". Ministry of Finance & Economic Management. 2016. Table 2: Social Characteristics - Sheet 2.3. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
^UN the World Today (PDF) and Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs Supplement No. 8; page 10 Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
^ ab"2021 Census of Population and Dwellings". Cook Islands Statistics Office. Section 3 of download. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^UNCTAD. "UNCTADstat - General Profile: Cook Islands". UNCTADstat. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
^Cook Islands Maori dictionary by Jasper Buse & Raututi Taringa, Cook Islands Ministry of Education (1995) page 200
^Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity. Sea Around Us
^"Constitution of the Cook Islands" (PDF). Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^"Cook Islands". France in New Zealand. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2015. Since 2001, the Cook Islands has complete sovereignty in managing their Foreign affairs according to the common declaration of 6 April 2001.
^"2018 Census ethnic group summaries – Cook Islands Maori". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
^"Ancestry 1st response (ANC1P)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^"Cook Islands welcome more visitors". Radio New Zealand. February 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019.
The CookIslands (Rarotongan: Kūki ‘Airani; Penrhyn: Kūki Airani) is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists...
/ -21.233; -159.767 The CookIslands can be divided into two groups: the Southern CookIslands and the Northern CookIslands. The country is located in...
The CookIslands dollar was the former currency of the CookIslands, which now uses the New Zealand dollar, although some physical cash issued for the...
Cook Islanders are residents of the CookIslands, which is composed of 15 islands and atolls in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. CookIslands Māori are...
The flag of the CookIslands, officially known as the CookIslands Ensign, is based on the traditional design for former British colonies in the Pacific...
which can act on the CookIslands' "delegated authority [...] to assist the CooksIslands" in foreign affairs, the CookIslands nevertheless enters into...
New Zealand. The CookIslands contain 15 islands in the group spread over a vast area in the South Pacific. The majority of islands are low coral atolls...
Demographic features of the population of the CookIslands include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status...
Parliament of the CookIslands (CookIslands Māori: Te Marae Akarau Vānanga o te Kuki Airani) is the legislature of the CookIslands. Originally established...
The prime minister of the CookIslands is the head of government of the CookIslands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand....
The CookIslands are a constitutional monarchy within the Realm of New Zealand. Under the CookIslands Constitution, the Sovereign in Right of New Zealand...
The economy of the CookIslands is based mainly on tourism, with minor exports made up of tropical and citrus fruit. Manufacturing activities are limited...
CookIslands mythology comprises historical myths, legends, and folklore passed down by the ancient Cook Islanders over many generations. Many of the Cook...
The politics of the CookIslands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Monarch of...
Harbours" in CookIslands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the CookIslands. The town...
approximately 7,800 mobile phones in 2009. Telecom CookIslands, owned by Spark New Zealand, is the islands' main telephone system and offers international...
International Call Prefix: 00 National Significant Numbers (NSN): five (5) digits Format: +682 XX XXX Telecommunications in the CookIslands "CookIslands". v t e...
The Northern CookIslands is one of the two chains of atolls which make up the CookIslands. Lying in a horizontal band between 9° and 13°30' south of...
CookIslands literature (as distinct from oral literature) has in some ways been a precursor to the development of Pacific Islands literature. Cook Islander...
lists transport in the CookIslands. The CookIslands uses left-handed traffic. The maximum speed limit is 50 km/h. On the main island of Rarotonga, there...
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the CookIslands. The island is volcanic, with an area of 67.39 km2 (26.02 sq mi), and is home to almost...
in the Marshall Islands revealed that the percentage of the total population considered overweight or obese was 62.5%. The CookIslands comprises fifteen...
The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and...
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