Territory Summary: Cook Islands
Territory Name: Cook Islands
Capital: Avarua
Government Type: parliamentary democracy
Background: Polynesians from Tahiti were probably the first people to settle Rarotonga around A.D. 900. Over time, Samoans and Tongans also settled in Rarotonga, and Rarotongans voyaged to the northern Cook Islands, settling Manihiki and Rakahanga. Pukapuka and Penrhyn in the northern Cook Islands were settled directly from Samoa. Prior to European contact, there was considerable travel and trade between inhabitants of the different islands and atolls but they were not united in a single political entity. Spanish navigators were the first Europeans to spot the northern Cook Islands in 1595 followed by the first landing in 1606. The Cook Islands remained free of further European contact until the 1760s, and in 1773, British explorer James COOK saw Manuae in the southern Cook Islands. The islands were named after COOK in the 1820s by Russian mapmakers. English missionary activity during the 1820s and 1830s banned singing and dancing and converted most of the population.
Fearing France would militarily occupy the islands like it did in Tahiti, Rarotongans asked the UK for protectorate status in the 1840s and 1860s, which the UK ignored. In 1888, Queen MAKEA TAKAU of Rarotonga formally petitioned for protectorate status, which the UK reluctantly agreed to. In 1901, the UK placed Rarotonga and the rest of the islands in the New Zealand Colony and in 1915, the Cook Islands Act organized the Cook Islands into one political entity. It remained a protectorate until 1965, when New Zealand granted the Cook Islands self-government status. The Cook Islands has a great deal of local autonomy and is an independent member of international organizations, but it is in free association with New Zealand, which is responsible for defense and foreign affairs. In September 2023, the US recognized the Cook Islands as a sovereign and independent state.
Continent: Oceania
Population: 7,939 (2023 est.) note: the Cook Islands' Ministry of Finance & Economic Management estimated the resident population to have been 11,700 in September 2016
Ethnic Groups: Cook Island Maori 77.4%, part Cook Island Maori 8.3%, Fijian 3.6%, New Zealand Maori/European 3.4%, Filipino 2.9%, other Pacific Islands 1.8%, other 2.6% (2021 est.)
Languages: English (official) 86.4%, Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan) (official) 76.2%, other 8.3% (2011 est.) note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census
Religions: Protestant 55% (Cook Islands Christian Church 43.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.3%, Assemblies of God 3.6%), Roman Catholic 16.7%, Church of Jesus Christ 3.9%, Jehovah's Witness 2.2%, Apostolic Church 2.1%, other 4.5%, none/unspecified 15.6% (2021 est.)
Economic Overview: 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
Currency: Cook Islands Dollar
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $266 million (2022 est.) note: data are in 2015 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 10.5% (2022 est.)
Real GDP per Capita: $15,600 (2022 est.) note: data are in 2015 dollars
Exports:
$31.4 million (2021 est.) note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Comparison Ranking: 214
Export Commodities: fish products, recreational boats, paintings, lobsters, tuna (2021)
Export Partners: Japan 41%, France 18%, Thailand 16%, Greece 7%, China 6% (2021)
Imports:
$215 million (2021 est.)
Comparison Ranking: 212
Import Commodities: motorboats, refined petroleum, integrated circuits, lumber, cars, edible preparations, flavored water, beer (2021)
Import Partners: New Zealand 57%, Turkey 12%, Italy 11%, Israel 5%, Fiji 4% (2021)
Natural Resources: coconuts (copra)
Agricultural Products: vegetables, coconuts, roots/tubers, cassava, papayas, tomatoes, pork, fruit, sweet potatoes, mangoes/guavas
Industries: fishing, fruit processing, tourism, clothing, handicrafts
Natural Hazards: tropical cyclones (November to March)
Geography:
Total: 236 sq km
Land: 236 sq km
Water: 0 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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