Cook Islands (GPS: 21 14 S, 159 46 W) located in Oceania, a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. The country’s area measurements are total: 236 sq km; land: 236 sq km, water: 0 sq km. This sovereign state is 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC. The total irrigated land is N/A.
One of the essential features of Cook Islands: The northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated coral atolls. The Southern Cook Islands, where most of the population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km.
It’s significant, and at the same time, the principal city, Avarua’s GPS coordinates are 21 12 S 159 46 W. Avarua’s local time is 5 hours behind Washington DC during Standard Time. The capital’s time difference: UTC-10.
The Cook Islands, named after Captain James Cook, who landed in 1773, became a British protectorate in 1888 and was later annexed by proclamation in 1900. The Cook Islands was first included within the boundaries of New Zealand in 1901, and in 1965, residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The Cook Islands’ economy relies on tourism, fisheries, and foreign aid. More recently, a growing offshore financial sector exposed the country to vulnerabilities, which the government has addressed with legislation and regulations to oversee all banks and financial institutions and with enforcement measures. The Cook Islands continues to face challenges with the emigration of skilled workers, government deficits, inadequate infrastructure, and natural resource depletion. The Cook Islands is expected to graduate to the World Bank’s high-income threshold, which will limit the country’s access to Official Development Assistance under OECD guidelines.
Cook Islands’s names conventional long form: none, traditional short form: Cook Islands, etymology: named after Captain James Cook, the British explorer who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777. It was named after Captain James Cook, the British explorer who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777.
Cook Islands’s terrain is typically low coral atolls in the north; volcanic, hilly islands in the south. The country’s mean elevation: N/A, elevation extremes; lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m, highest point: Te Manga 652 m.
The country’s general climate is tropical oceanic: moderated by trade winds: a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March.
The total number of border countries is 0; none are the neighboring nations with the indicated border lengths. Cook Islands’s coastline is 120 km. Its marital claims are territorial sea: 12 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles, continental shelf: 200 nautical miles, or the continental margin’s edge. Waterways: N/A. Land use: agricultural land: 8.4%; arable land 4.2%; permanent crops 4.2%; permanent pasture 0%; forest: 64.6%; other: 27% (2011 estimate).
The population in Cook Islands 9,038 (July 2018 estimate), urban population: 74.5% of total population (2015), major urban area’s population: N/A, while Cook Islands has N/A. Their spoken languages are English (official language), 86.4%, Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan) (official language), 76.2%, other 8.3%. Note shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2011 estimate). Main religions in Cook Islands are 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%, Mormon 4.4%, other 8%, none 5.6%, no response 2.2% (2011 estimate). The nation uses common law similar to New Zealand common law. It is a(n) self-governing parliamentary democracy (Parliament of the Cook Islands) in free association with New Zealand, National holiday(s) Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965).
Economic overview for the country: Like many other South Pacific island nations, the Cook Islands’ economic development is hindered by the country’s isolation from foreign markets, the limited size of domestic markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. Agriculture, employing more than one-quarter of the working population, provides the economic base with significant exports of copra and citrus fruit. Black pearls are the Cook Islands’ leading export. Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit processing, clothing, and handicrafts.
Trade deficits are offset by remittances from emigrants and by foreign aid overwhelmingly from New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country became overextended, maintaining a bloated public service and accumulating large foreign debt. Subsequent reforms, including the sale of state assets, the strengthening of economic management, the encouragement of tourism, and a debt restructuring agreement, have rekindled investment and growth. The government is targeting fisheries and seabed mining as sectors for future economic growth.
Natural resources of Cook Islands: coconuts (copra).
Main export partners for the Cook Islands, Oceania are N/A for copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee; fish; pearls and pearl shells; clothing, while the main import partners for the country are: N/A for foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber, capital goods.
When you visit this country in Oceania, consider the natural hazards in the Cook Islands: Typhoons (November to March), while infectious diseases are N/A. Also, note that the Cook Islands faces the following environmental issues: Limited land presents solid and liquid waste disposal problems, Soil destruction and deforestation, Environmental degradation due to indiscriminate use of pesticides, Improper disposal of pollutants, Overfishing and destructive fishing practices, Over dredging of lagoons and coral rubble beds, unregulated building.
You may also be interested in the countries next to the Cook Islands around its 0 km border – No border countries.
