Cook Islands

The Cook Islands

Flag of the Cook Islands Coat of Arms of the Cook Islands
Languages	English (official), Maori
Capital	Avarua
Queen of New Zealand	Elizabeth II (resident in the UK)
Governor-General of New Zealand	Dame Silvia Cartwright (resident in New Zealand)
Queen's Representative	Sir Fred Goodwin
Prime Minister	Jim Marurai
Area  – Total  – % water	Ranked 225th  240 km²  0%
Population  – Total (2003)  – Density	Ranked 219th  21,008  87/km²
Independence  – Date	None. Became self-governing in free association with New Zealand August 4 1965
National anthem	"Te Atua Mou'e" (God is Truth)
Currency	New Zealand dollar (NZD), albeit with different designs on the coins
Time zone	UTC -10
Calling Code	682
Internet TLD	.ck
Map of The Cook Islands
A Christian Church in Rarotonga

The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The 15 small islands in this South Pacific Ocean archipelago have a total land area of only 240 square kilometres. The capital is Avarua, on the north side of Rarotonga, the biggest island at 31 km by coastal road. A popular art form on the islands is tivaevae, often likened to quilting.

Contents

1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Southern Cook Islands (Lower Cook Group) 2.2 Northern Cook Islands 3 Demographics 4 Politics 5 Economy 6 Culture 7 Communications 8 Transport 9 Military 10 External links

History

• Main Article see History of the Cook Islands

Geography

• Main Article see Geography of the Cook Islands

Southern Cook Islands (Lower Cook Group)

• High Cook Islands
  • Aitutaki
  • Atiu
  • Mauke
  • Rarotonga (capital)
  • Mangaia
• Low islands of the Southern group
  • Manuae
  • Takutea
  • Mitiaro

Northern Cook Islands

• Penrhyn Island also known as Tongareva or Mangarongaro
• Rakahanga
• Manihiki
• Pukapuka
• Nassau
• Suwarrow also called Suvorov
• Palmerston Island

Demographics

• Main Article see Demographics of the Cook Islands

Politics

• Main Article see Politics of the Cook Islands

Economy

• Main Article see Economy of the Cook Islands

Culture

Holidays

Date	Name
January 1	New Year's Day
The Friday before Easter Sunday	Good Friday
The Day after Easter Sunday	Easter Monday
April 25	ANZAC Day
The First Monday in June	Queen's Birthday
August 4	Constitution Day
October 16	Gospel Day
December 25	Christmas
December 26	Boxing Day

See also: music of the Cook Islands

Communications

• Main Article see Communications in the Cook Islands

Transport

• Main Article see Transport in the Cook Islands

Military

• Military: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request.

External links

• Cook Islands Government
• Cook Islands, the best kept secret in the Pacific Ocean
• Cook Islands Government (summary)
• Finding Cook Islands
• Map of the Cook Islands
• KiaOrana.com — Cook Islands information with images and maps
• Jane's Cook Islands Home Page
• World Factbook entry on The Cook Islands