Cook Islands

Named after Captain COOK, who sighted them in the 1770s, the islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965, residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand, government deficits, and limited natural resources are of continuing concern.

• tropical oceanic;
• moderated by trade winds;
• a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March

agricultural land:

8.4% (2011 est.)

arable land:

4.2% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 4.2% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 0% (2011 est.)

forest:

64.6% (2011 est.)

other:

27% (2011 est.)

• limited land presents solid and liquid waste disposal problems;
• soil destruction and deforestation;
• environmental degradation due to indiscriminant use of pesticides;
• improper disposal of pollutants;
• overfishing and destructive fishing practices;
• over dredging of lagoons and coral rubble beds;
• unregulated building

• the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls;
• the southern Cook Islands, where most of the population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km

noun:

Cook Islander(s)

adjective:

Cook Islander

0-14 years:

20.68% (male 987 /female 882)

15-24 years:

15.99% (male 774 /female 671)

25-54 years:

38.06% (male 1,710 /female 1,730)

55-64 years:

12.72% (male 627 /female 523)

65 years and over:

12.55% (male 558 /female 576) (2018 est.)

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.12 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.14 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1.17 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.07 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Cook Islands

former:

Hervey Islands

etymology:

named after Captain James COOK, the British explorer who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777

• self-governing in free association with New Zealand;
• Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs;
• New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense in consultation with the Cook Islands

name:

Avarua

geographic coordinates:

21 12 S, 159 46 W

time difference:

UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

4 August 1965 (Cook Islands Constitution Act 1964) (2017)

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Parliament membership in each of several readings and assent to by the chief of state’s representative;
• passage of amendments relating to the chief of state also requires two-thirds majority approval in a referendum;
• amended many times, last in 2004 (2017)

highest courts:

• Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and 3 judges of the High Court);
• High Court (consists of the chief justice and at least 4 judges and organized into civil, criminal, and land divisions);
• note - appeals beyond the Cook Islands Court of Appeal are heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)

judge selection and term of office:

• High Court chief justice appointed by the Queen's Representative on the advice of the Executive Council tendered by the prime minister;
• other judges appointed by the Queen's Representative, on the advice of the Executive Council tendered by the chief justice, High Court chief justice, and the minister of justice;
• chief justice and judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms

subordinate courts:

justices of the peace

chief of state:

• Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
• represented by Tom J. MARSTERS (since 9 August 2013);
• New Zealand High Commissioner Peter MARSHALL (since 10 January 2017)

head of government:

Prime Minister Henry PUNA (since 30 November 2010)

cabinet:

Cabinet chosen by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• UK representative appointed by the monarch;
• New Zealand high commissioner appointed by the New Zealand Government;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes prime minister

description:

• unicameral Parliament, formerly the Legislative Assembly (24 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms);
• note - the House of Ariki, a 24-member parliamentary body of traditional leaders appointed by the Queen's representative serves as a consultative body to the Parliament

elections:

last held on 14 June 2018 (next to be held by 2022)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - Demo 11, CIP 10, One Cook Islands Movement 1, independent 2;
• composition - men 15, women 9, percent of women 37.5%

• Cook Islands Party or CIP [Henry PUNA]
• Democratic Party or Demo [Tina BROWNE]
• One Cook Islands Movement [Teina BISHOP]

name:

"Te Atua Mou E" (To God Almighty)

lyrics/music:

Tepaeru Te RITO/Thomas DAVIS

note: adopted 1982; as prime minister, Sir Thomas DAVIS composed the anthem; his wife, a tribal chief, wrote the lyrics

agriculture:

29%

industry:

15%

services:

56% (1995)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

• fish;
• copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee;
• pearls and pearl shells;
• clothing

general assessment:

• Telecom Cook Islands offers international direct dialing, Internet, email, and fax;
• individual islands are connected by a combination of satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF radiotelephone (2017)

domestic:

• service is provided by small exchanges connected to subscribers by open-wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable;
• 75 per 100 fixed-line, 105 per 100 mobile-cellular (2017)

international:

• country code - 682;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean);
• the topography of the South Pacific region has made internet connectivity a serious issue for many of the remote islands;
• submarine fibre-optic networks are expensive to build and maintain, with capital costs prohibitive for the smaller island communities;
• some countries have to rely solely on geostationary satellites;
• as a result, bandwidth is limited and broadband prices are expensive (2017)

total:

320 km (2003)

paved:

33 km (2003)

unpaved:

287 km (2003)