World Factbook
Cook Islands
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
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.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.06 male(s)/female
total population
1.05 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.96 male(s)/female
Birth rate
11.85 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
40.7 years
total
41.5 years (2025 est.)
female
41.4 years
Population
male
3,890
total
7,592 (2025 est.)
female
3,702
Nationality
noun
Cook Islander(s)
adjective
Cook Islander
Tobacco use
male
28.6% (2025 est.)
total
24% (2025 est.)
female
20.1% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
76.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
18.2% (male 738/female 671)
15-64 years
65.9% (male 2,634/female 2,479)
65 years and over
16% (2024 est.) (male 608/female 631)
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.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
53 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
27.4 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
3.9 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
25.5 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.67 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
3.2% of GDP (2020)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
11.9% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-23.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
8.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.99 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: NA
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: NA
unimproved: rural
rural: NA
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: NA
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.4% of GDP (2024 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
9.2% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
19 deaths/1,000 live births
total
14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
11.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-2.15% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.97 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
most of the population is found on the island of Rarotonga
Life expectancy at birth
male
74.8 years
female
80.6 years
total population
77.6 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
0 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: total
total: 96.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 3.2% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
3.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
2.28 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
12.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
7.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
55.9% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
53.2% (2021 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
15 years (2023 est.)
total
15 years (2023 est.)
female
15 years (2023 est.)