Cook Islands

Cook Islands
Status	Self-governing in Free Association with New Zealand
Capital	Avarua
Land Area
Location	Australasia, Polynesia
Groupings	Small Islands
Population
GNI
ISO3166-1 Codes	CK, COK, 1841
Internet Domain	.ck2
Currency	Dollar (NZD)3
Telephone	+6824

1. Overview
2. Cook Islands's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
3. Cook Islands's Health
4. Cook Islands's Responsibility Towards The Environment
5. Religion and Beliefs
6. Links

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1. Overview

#new_zealand #UK

“Named after Captain COOK, who sighted them in 1770, 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 and government deficits are continuing problems.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₅

“Fifteen droplets of land cast across 2 million sq km of wild Pacific blue, the Cook Islands are simultaneously remote and accessible, modern and traditional. With a hip cafe culture, fine restaurants and funky nightlife, Rarotonga lives confidently in the 21st century. But beyond the island´s tourist buzz and contemporary appearance is a robust culture, firmly anchored by traditional Polynesian values and steeped in oral history.North of `Raro´, the sublime lagoon of Aitutaki is ringed with tiny deserted islands and is one of the Pacific´s most improbably scenic jewels. Venture further and robust Polynesian traditions emerge nearer the surface. Drink home brew at a traditional `Atiuan tumunu (bush-beer drinking club), explore the ancient makatea (raised coral cliffs) and taro fields of Mangaia, or swim in the underground cave pools of Mitiaro and Ma´uke. The even more remote Northern Group is a sublime South Seas idyll experienced only by a lucky few.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₆

As a territory of New Zealand I do not have many specific statistics for this territory in its own right.

2. Cook Islands's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#homosexuality #human_rights

Human Rights & Tolerance Datasets:

Nominal Commitment to HR Higher is better7
Pos.		2009 Treaties7
1	Argentina	24
2=	Chile	23
2=	Costa Rica	23
	...
168	Iran	9
169=	St Kitts & Nevis	9
169=	Comoros	9
169=	Cook Islands	9
172	Guinea-Bissau	8
173=	USA	8
173=	Somalia	8
173=	Eritrea	8
	Australasia Avg	8.7
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

Prejudice Datasets:

LGBT Equality Higher is better8
Pos.		2017 Score8
1	Netherlands	103
2	Belgium	90
3	Sweden	86
	...
127=	Namibia	-5
127=	Kiribati	-5
127=	Jamaica	-5
127=	Cook Islands	-5
127=	Guyana	-5
132	St Lucia	-9
133=	India	-10
133=	Samoa	-10
	Australasia Avg	07.1
	World Avg	12.6
q=196.

3. Cook Islands's Health

#alcohol #health #obesity #smoking #vaccines

Compared to Australasia (2025)9
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank9
1	New Caledonia	57.9
2	Australia	62.9
3	New Zealand	67.5
	...
11	Tuvalu	129.6
12	Papua New Guinea	130.7
13	Micronesia	134.5
14	Kiribati	138.7
15	Samoa	138.9
16	Nauru	147.4
17	Niue	153.4
18	Cook Islands	153.8
19	Marshall Islands	157.0
	Australasia Avg	112.00
q=19.

Health (2025)9
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank9
1	Monaco	14.3
2	Liechtenstein	30.1
3	Isle of Man	32.1
	...
206	Equatorial Guinea	144.8
207	Nauru	147.4
208	Somalia	149.4
209	Angola	152.2
210	Niue	153.4
211	S. Sudan	153.6
212	Cook Islands	153.8
213	Marshall Islands	157.0
	World Avg	96.49
q=213.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and The Isle of Man₁₀. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Marshall Islands, The Cook Islands and S. Sudan₁₀.

27 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, obesity rate, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Mediterranean₁₀, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Melanesia and Australasia₁₀.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Health Datasets:

The Cook Islands is a pretty unhealthy country. The Cook Islands does better than average in its immunizations take-up₁₁ (amongst the best in Australasia). But unfortunately The Cook Islands gets most other things wrong. It does worse than average in its smoking rate₁₂ and in its alcohol consumption rate₁₃ (one of the worst in Australasia). And finally, it falls into the worst-performing 20 in terms of the prevalence of overweight adults₁₄ (one of the worst in Australasia). The number of overweight adults has increased by 14% over the last 40 years.

Alcohol Consumption Lower is better13
Pos.		2016 Per Capita13
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
153=	Laos	10.4
153=	Greece	10.4
153=	Denmark	10.4
156	Cook Islands	10.6
157=	Australia	10.6
158	New Zealand	10.7
159=	Finland	10.7
160	Uruguay	10.8
	Australasia Avg	4.3
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

Smoking in the 2020s Lower is better12
Pos.		Total %12
1	Nigeria	3.3%
2	Ghana	3.4%
3	Panama	5.2%
	...
121	Maldives	26.4%
122	Belgium	26.8%
123	Madagascar	26.9%
124	Cook Islands	27.0%
125	Laos	27.2%
126	Kyrgyzstan	27.3%
127	Fiji	27.6%
128	Estonia	28.3%
	Australasia Avg	29.2%
	World Avg	20.0%
q=165.

Overweight Adults Lower is better14
Pos.		1976 %14
1	Bangladesh	4.7
2	Vietnam	5.1
3	Nepal	5.4
	...
184	Niue	51.7
185	Kuwait	52.2
186	Tonga	53.2
187	Samoa	54.0
188	Cook Islands	63.0
189	Marshall Islands	63.3
190	Palau	64.0
191	Nauru	78.1
	Australasia Avg	48.8
	World Avg	27.1
q=191.

Adult Obesity Lower is better15
Pos.		2022 %15
1	Vietnam	2.1%
2	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	2.2%
3	Ethiopia	2.4%
	...
192	Samoa	61.2%
193	Tuvalu	63.9%
194	Niue	66.5%
195	Cook Islands	68.4%
196	Tokelau	69.2%
197	Nauru	70.2%
198	Tonga	70.5%
199	American Samoa	75.6%
	Australasia Avg	49.3%
	World Avg	24.7%
q=199.

Children's Health Datasets:

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 Higher is better11
Pos.		2015 Avg %11
1=	Hungary	99.0
1=	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
23	Kuwait	97.5
24	Morocco	97.5
25=	Monaco	97.3
25=	Cook Islands	97.3
27	Greece	97.3
28=	Turkmenistan	97.2
28=	St Vincent & Grenadines	97.2
30	Dominica	97.1
	Australasia Avg	86.4
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

4. Cook Islands's Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #environmentalism #internationalism #over-exploitation #the_environment

Compared to Australasia (2025)16
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank16
1	New Zealand	75.8
2	Australia	76.6
3	Fiji	89.1
	...
7	Samoa	107.0
8	Kiribati	111.4
9	Micronesia	114.6
10	Cook Islands	119.6
11	Solomon Islands	121.6
12	Marshall Islands	123.1
13	Palau	124.5
14	Tuvalu	127.4
15	Niue	129.5
	Australasia Avg	93.28
q=16.

Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025)16
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank16
1	Sri Lanka	34.9
2	Uruguay	43.2
3	Switzerland	45.0
	...
177	Bhutan	115.3
178	Belarus	116.0
179	Uzbekistan	116.1
180	Cook Islands	119.6
181	Libya	121.4
182	Zimbabwe	121.5
183	Solomon Islands	121.6
184	Marshall Islands	123.1
	World Avg	84.93
q=199.

We have known for a long term that we must protect the environment from habitation destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, and the emissions that cause climate change. In 1998, Greenpeace wrote that "Environment can no longer be meaningfully separated from health, quality of life, democracy, education, economy or trade"₁₇. What countries have been doing the right thing, via legislation and national culture? All countries' current and historical approach towards the environment is gauged via 21 datasets, including multiple decades of data on its forested percent change 2000-2020, its environmental performance, energy to GDP efficiency, its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population, reducing annual meat consumption per person and its score on the Green Future Index.

The countries that do the best (Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Switzerland) tend to have avoided the excesses of early industrial countries, and have not yet repeated the same mistakes of environmental destruction - at least, not on the same scale. The regions with the best average results per country are Central America, South America and Scandinavia. The worst are Eritrea, The Vatican City and Timor-Leste (E. Timor), and the worst regions Micronesia, Australasia and Melanesia.

For more, see:

• " Countries With the Best Environmental Records" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

With respect to its responsibility towards the environment, the Cook Islands comes 20th-worst in the world. This rank is computed using 21 data sets. The Cook Islands does better than average in its forested percent change 2000-2020₁₈. And finally, it does worse than average in terms of its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment.

Forest Area Change 2000-2020 Higher is better18
Pos.		Total18
1	Guernsey	82.6%
2	Bahrain	75.2%
3	Iceland	64.7%
	...
84	Wallis & Futuna	0.3%
85	Japan	0.2%
86	Niue	0.2%
87	Cook Islands	0.1%
88	New Caledonia	0.0%
89=	Qatar	0.0%
89=	Marshall Islands	0.0%
89=	Norfolk Island	0.0%
	Australasia Avg	0.1%
	World Avg	-0.1%
q=234.

International Accords on the Environment Higher is better
Pos.		Total Avg Rate
1	Sweden	83%
2	Canada	82%
3	Norway	81%
	...
173	Somalia	43%
174	Tonga	43%
175	Kiribati	42%
176	Cook Islands	42%
177	Niue	42%
178	Solomon Islands	42%
179	Marshall Islands	42%
180	Serbia	41%
	Australasia Avg	48.2%
	World Avg	57.5%
q=197.

The Cook Islands was one of the 30 who signed the Convention on Biological Diversity on its first day.

5. Religion and Beliefs

#buddhism #christianity #hinduism #islam #judaism

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₁₉:

Christian	96%
Muslim	0.1%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.1%
Jewish	0.1%
Unaffiliated	3.2%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Protestant 69.6% (Cook Islands Christian Church 55.9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7.9%, other Protestant 5.8%), Roman Catholic 16.8%, Mormon 3.8%, other 4.2%, unspecified 2.6%, none 3% (2001 census)₂₀.

The Lonely Planet travel guide points out with joyful glee the historical situation of the Cook Islands Christian Church. It...

“... was built by two villages, Areora and Ngatiarua, in 1882. When the outside was completed, there was disagreement between the villages about how the inside should be decorated so they built a wall down the middle. The wall has since been removed, though the interior is decorated in markedly different styles. Each village has its own entrance, sits at its own side and takes turns singing the hymns. The minister stands astride the dividing line down the middle of the pulpit.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₆

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems