| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long
form: none
conventional short form: Cook Islands
former: Harvey Islands |
| Capital: |
Avarua |
| Location: |
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
21 14 S, 159 46 W |
| Area: |
total: 240 sq km
land: 240 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
1.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
120 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate: |
tropical; moderated by trade winds |
| Terrain: |
low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Te Manga 652 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
NEGL |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
self-governing parliamentary democracy |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none |
| Independence |
none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action) ( Dependency status:self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands ) |
| National
Holiday: |
Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965) |
| Constitution: |
4 August 1965 |
| Legal
System; |
based on New Zealand law and English common law |
| Suffrage |
NA years of age; universal adult |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Frederick GOODWIN (since 9 February 2001); New Zealand High Commissioner Kurt MEYER (since July 2001), representative of New Zealand
head of government: Prime Minister Jim MARURAI (since 14 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister SIR Geoffrey HENRY (since 14 December 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister; collectively responsible to Parliament
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the UK representative is appointed by the monarch; the New Zealand high commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Parliament (25 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 September 2004 (next to be held by 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CIP 10, DAP 9, Demo Tumu 4, independent 1; note - one seat undecided pending by-election
note: the House of Ariki (chiefs) advises on traditional matters and maintains considerable influence, but has no legislative powers |
| Judicial
Branch: |
High Court |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Cook Islands People's Party or CIP [Geoffrey HENRY]; Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Terepai MAOATE]; New Alliance Party or NAP [Norman GEORGE]; Cook Islands National Party or CIN [Teariki HEATHER]; Demo Party Tumu [Robert WOONTON] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
21,388 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA |
| Median age: |
|
| Nationality: |
noun: Cook Islander(s)
adjective: Cook Islander |
| Ethnic groups: |
Polynesian (full blood) 81.3%, Polynesian and European 7.7%, Polynesian and non-European 7.7%, European 2.4%, other 0.9% |
| Religions: |
Christian (majority of populace are members of the Cook Islands Christian Church) |
| Languages: |
English (official), Maori |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
6,200 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
1,500 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: Telecom Cook Islands offers international direct dialing, Internet, email, fax, and Telex
domestic: the individual islands are connected by a combination of satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF radiotelephone; within the islands, service is provided by small exchanges connected to subscribers by open-wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable
international: country code - 682; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
1 (outer islands receive satellite broadcasts) (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.ck |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
3,600 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 320 km
paved: 33 km
unpaved: 287 km (2000) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Avarua, Avatiu |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,074 GRT/7,520 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2005) |
| Airports: |
9 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
