Cook Islands People - 2023

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

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Nationality

noun: Cook Islander(s)

adjective: Cook Islander

Ethnic groups

Cook Island Maori (Polynesian) 81.3%, part Cook Island Maori 6.7%, other 11.9% (2011 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 62.8% (Cook Islands Christian Church 49.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 7.9%, Assemblies of God 3.7%, Apostolic Church 2.1%), Roman Catholic 17%, Church of Jesus Christ 4.4%, other 8%, none 5.6%, no response 2.2% (2011 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 18.43% (male 766/female 697)

15-64 years: 66.23% (male 2,713/female 2,545)

65 years and over: 15.34% (2023 est.) (male 596/female 622)

total dependency ratio: 53.8

youth dependency ratio: 36.4

elderly dependency ratio: 17.4

potential support ratio: 5.8 (2021)

Median age

total: 38.3 years

male: 37.8 years

female: 38.7 years (2020 est.)

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Population growth rate

-2.31% (2023 est.)

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Birth rate

12.34 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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Death rate

9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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Net migration rate

-26.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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Population distribution

most of the population is found on the island of Rarotonga

Urbanization

urban population: 76.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.1 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female

total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 15.53 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 19.52 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 11.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.39 years

male: 74.58 years

female: 80.34 years (2023 est.)

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Total fertility rate

2.04 children born/woman (2023 est.)

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Gross reproduction rate

1 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

NA

Drinking water source

improved: urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

3.2% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

1.41 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 99.1% of population

unimproved: urban: NA

rural: NA

total: 0.9% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: malaria

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

55.9% (2016)

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Alcohol consumption per capita

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.)

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Tobacco use

total: 24% (2020 est.)

male: 27.7% (2020 est.)

female: 20.3% (2020 est.)

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Children under the age of 5 years underweight

NA

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

42.6% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

4.6% of GDP (2021 est.)

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Literacy

total population: NA

male: NA

female: NA

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 15 years

male: 15 years

female: 14 years (2012)

NOTE: The information regarding Cook Islands on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cook Islands 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cook Islands 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.