Cook Islands

• 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% (2018 est.)

arable land:

4.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops:

4.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture:

0% (2018 est.)

forest:

64.6% (2018 est.)

other:

27% (2018 est.)

• 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

total:

41.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

40.7 years

female:

41.4 years

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.96 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

19 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

11.1 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

77.6 years (2024 est.)

male:

74.8 years

female:

80.6 years

total:

12.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

3.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

2.28 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

7.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

24% (2020 est.)

male:

27.7% (2020 est.)

female:

20.3% (2020 est.)

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

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

party to:

Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• 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% (2018 est.)

arable land:

4.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops:

4.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture:

0% (2018 est.)

forest:

64.6% (2018 est.)

other:

27% (2018 est.)

urban population:

76.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 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)

etymology:

translates as "two harbors" in Maori

history:

4 August 1965 (Cook Islands Constitution Act 1964)

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Parliament membership in each of several readings and assent of 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

chief of state:

• King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022);
• represented by Sir Tom J. MARSTERS (since 9 August 2013);
• New Zealand High Commissioner Catherine GRAHAM (since 8 September 2024)

head of government:

Prime Minister Mark BROWN (since 1 October 2020)

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)

elections:

last held on 1 August 2022 (next to be held by 2026)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - CIP 44%, Demo 26.9%, Cook Islands United Party 26.9%, OCI 2.7%, other 0.2% independent 7.3%;
• seats by party - CIP 12, Demo 5, Cook Islands United Party 3, OCI 1, independent 3;
• composition - men 18, women 6, percentage women 25%

note: the House of Ariki, a 24-member parliamentary body of traditional leaders appointed by the King's representative, serves as a consultative body to the Parliament

highest court(s):

• 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

• Cook Islands Party or CIP
• Cook Islands United Party
• Democratic Party or Demo
• One Cook Islands Movement or OCI

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

• high-income self-governing New Zealand territorial economy;
• tourism-based activity but diversifying;
• severely curtailed by COVID-19 pandemic;
• copra and tropical fruit exporter;
• Asian Development Bank aid recipient

general assessment:

• demand for mobile broadband is increasing due to mobile services being the primary and most wide-spread source for Internet access across the region;
• 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 (2020)

domestic:

• service is provided by small exchanges connected to subscribers by open-wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable;
• nearly 41 per 100 fixed-line and about 100 per 100 mobile-cellular (2021)

international:

• country code - 682;
• the Manatua submarine cable to surrounding islands of Niue, Samoa, French Polynesia and other Cook Islands, the topography of the South Pacific region has made Internet connectivity a serious issue for many of the remote islands;
• submarine fiber-optic networks are expensive to build and maintain;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)

total:

295 km

paved:

207 km

unpaved:

88 km (2018)

total ports:

1 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

0

small:

0

very small:

1

ports with oil terminals:

1

key ports:

Avatiu