Outline of the Cook Islands
Encyclopedia
The Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi), but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone
Exclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...

 (EEZ) covers 1.8 million square kilometres (0.7 million sq mi) of ocean.

The main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...

 (c.10,000), where there is an international airport. There is also a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

; in the 2006 census, 58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Island Māori descent.

With over 90,000 visitors travelling to the islands in 2006, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 is the country's number one industry, and the leading element of the economy
Economy of the Cook Islands
The economy of the Cook Islands, as in many other South Pacific island nations, is hindered by the isolation of the country from foreign markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure....

, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, marine and fruit exports.

Defence is the responsibility of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Cook Islands:

General reference

  • Pronunciation
    International Phonetic Alphabet
    The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...

    :
  • Common English country name: The Cook Islands
    Cook Islands
    The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

  • Official English country name: The Cook Islands
    Cook Islands
    The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

  • Common endonym(s):
  • Official endonym(s):
  • Adjectival(s): Cook Island
    Cook Island
    Cook Island may refer to* Cook Island, South Sandwich Islands, central island in Southern Thule* Cook Island of Kiritimati, Kiribati* Cook Islands, self governing democracy in the Pacific, in free association with New Zealand, of which "Cook Island" is the adjectival demonym* Cook Island Aquatic...

  • Demonym(s):
  • Etymology
    Etymology
    Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

    : Name of the Cook Islands
  • ISO country codes: CK, COK, 184
  • ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:CK
    ISO 3166-2:CK
    ISO 3166-2:CK is the entry for the Cook Islands in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently no ISO 3166-2 codes are...

  • Internet
    Internet
    The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

     country code top-level domain
    Country code top-level domain
    A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....

    : .ck
    .ck
    .ck is the Internet country code top-level domain for the Cook Islands.Registrations are within these second-level categories:* .co.ck: business organisations* .org.ck: not-for-profit organisations...


Geography of the Cook Islands


  • The Cook Islands are: a territory of New Zealand
  • Location:
    • Southern Hemisphere
      Southern Hemisphere
      The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...

       and Eastern Hemisphere
      Eastern Hemisphere
      The Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...

    • Pacific Ocean
      Pacific Ocean
      The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

      • South Pacific Ocean
        • Oceania
          Oceania
          Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

          • Polynesia
            Polynesia
            Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...

    • Time zone
      Time zone
      A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...

      : UTC-10
      UTC-10
      UTC−10 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −10. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Cook Islands *Tokelau *French Polynesia...

    • Extreme points of the Cook Islands
      • High: Te Manga
        Te Manga
        Te Manga is the highest point of the Cook Islands, a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand, with an altitude of 652 metres .-External links: , Tramping New Zealand....

         652 m (2,139 ft)
      • Low: South Pacific Ocean 0 m
    • Land boundaries: none
    • Coastline: 120 km
  • Population of the Cook Islands:
  • Area of the Cook Islands:
  • Atlas of the Cook Islands

Environment of the Cook Islands


  • Climate of the Cook Islands
  • Environmental issues in the Cook Islands
  • Ecoregions in the Cook Islands
  • Renewable energy in the Cook Islands
  • Geology of the Cook Islands
  • Protected areas of the Cook Islands
    • Biosphere reserves in the Cook Islands
    • National parks of the Cook Islands
  • Wildlife of the Cook Islands

Natural geographic features of the Cook Islands


Ecoregions of the Cook Islands

Main article: Ecoregions in the Cook Islands

Municipalities of the Cook Islands
  • Capital of the Cook Islands: Avarua
  • Cities of the Cook Islands

Government and politics of the Cook Islands

Main article: Government of the Cook Islands and Politics of the Cook Islands
Politics of the Cook Islands
The politics of the Cook Islands, an associated state, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of New Zealand, represented in the Cook Islands by the Queen's Representative, is the Head of State; the Chief Minister is the...


  • Form of government
    Form of government
    A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...

    : parliamentary
    Parliamentary system
    A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....

     representative democracy
    Representative democracy
    Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

     within a constitutional monarchy
    Constitutional monarchy
    Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...

  • Capital of the Cook Islands: Avarua

  • Elections in the Cook Islands
    Elections in the Cook Islands
    Elections in the Cook Islands gives information on election and election results in the Cook Islands.The Cook Islands elects on national level a legislature. The Parliament of the Cook Islands has 24 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constuencies...

    • (specific elections)
  • Political parties in the Cook Islands
  • Political scandals of the Cook Islands
  • Taxation in the Cook Islands

Executive branch of the government of the Cook Islands

  • Head of state
    Head of State
    A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

    : President of the Cook Islands
  • Head of government
    Head of government
    Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

    : Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
    Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
    The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the official rsponsible for heading Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's government in the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when self-government was first granted to the islands...

  • Cabinet of the Cook Islands

Legislative branch of the government of the Cook Islands

  • Parliament of the Cook Islands
    Parliament of the Cook Islands
    The Parliament of the Cook Islands is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand colonial rule, it became the national legislature on independence in 1965....

     (bicameral)
    • Upper house
      Upper house
      An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

      : Senate of the Cook Islands
    • Lower house
      Lower house
      A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

      : House of Commons of the Cook Islands

Judicial branch of the government of the Cook Islands

  • Supreme Court of the Cook Islands

Foreign relations of the Cook Islands


International organization membership

The government of the Cook Islands is a member of:

  • African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
  • Asian Development Bank
    Asian Development Bank
    The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...

     (ADB)
  • Food and Agriculture Organization
    Food and Agriculture Organization
    The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...

     (FAO)
  • International Civil Aviation Organization
    International Civil Aviation Organization
    The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...

     (ICAO)
  • International Criminal Court
    International Criminal Court
    The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

     (ICCt)
  • International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
    International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
    The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...

     (IFRCS)
  • International Fund for Agricultural Development
    International Fund for Agricultural Development
    The International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...

     (IFAD)
  • International Mobile Satellite Organization
    International Mobile Satellite Organization
    The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...

     (IMSO)
  • International Olympic Committee
    International Olympic Committee
    The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

     (IOC)
  • International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
    International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
    The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...

     (ICRM)

  • International Trade Union Confederation
    International Trade Union Confederation
    The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...

     (ITUC)
  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
  • Pacific Islands Forum
    Pacific Islands Forum
    The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum...

     (PIF)
  • Secretariat of the Pacific Community
    Secretariat of the Pacific Community
    The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC , is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose membership includes both nations and territories...

     (SPC)
  • South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement
    South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement
    The South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement is a nonreciprocal trade agreement in which Australia and New Zealand offer duty-free and unrestricted access for specified products originating from the developing island member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum...

     (Sparteca)
  • United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  • Universal Postal Union
    Universal Postal Union
    The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...

     (UPU)
  • World Health Organization
    World Health Organization
    The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

     (WHO)
  • World Meteorological Organization
    World Meteorological Organization
    The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...

     (WMO)


Law and order in the Cook Islands

Main article: Law of the Cook Islands

  • Capital punishment in the Cook Islands
    Capital punishment in the Cook Islands
    Capital punishment in the Cook Islands, a state in free association with New Zealand, was officially part of the legal system until 2007, although had never actually been put into practice....

  • Constitution of the Cook Islands
  • Crime in the Cook Islands
  • Human rights in the Cook Islands
    Human rights in the Cook Islands
    The Cook Islands are 15 small islands scattered over 2 million km squared of the South Pacific.According to the latest census, the nation has a total population of approximately 18,000 people. Spread in population between the mainland capital, Rarotonga, and the Outer Islands mean inequality in...

    • LGBT rights in the Cook Islands
      LGBT rights in the Cook Islands
      Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in the Cook Islands may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality is illegal for males in the Cook Islands, though female homosexual acts are legal. Same-sex marriage is outlawed...

    • Freedom of religion in the Cook Islands
  • Law enforcement in the Cook Islands

Military of the Cook Islands

Main article: Military of the Cook Islands

  • Command
    • Commander-in-chief
      Commander-in-Chief
      A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

      • Ministry of Defence of the Cook Islands
  • Forces
    • Army of the Cook Islands
    • Navy of the Cook Islands
    • Air Force of the Cook Islands
    • Special forces of the Cook Islands
  • Military history of the Cook Islands
  • Military ranks of the Cook Islands

History of the Cook Islands

Main article: History of the Cook Islands
History of the Cook Islands
The Cook Islands are named after Captain James Cook, who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888....

, Timeline of the history of the Cook Islands, and Current events of the Cook Islands

  • Economic history of the Cook Islands
  • Military history of the Cook Islands

Culture of the Cook Islands

Main article: Culture of the Cook Islands

  • Architecture of the Cook Islands
  • Cuisine of the Cook Islands
  • Ethnic minorities in the Cook Islands
  • Festivals in the Cook Islands
  • Humor in the Cook Islands
  • Languages of the Cook Islands
  • Media in the Cook Islands
  • National symbols of the Cook Islands
    • Coat of arms of the Cook Islands
      Coat of arms of the Cook Islands
      The Coat of Arms of the Cook Islands has a shield as its focal point The shield contains the fifteen stars found on the national flag. A flying fish and a White Tern are on each side of the shield, one supporting a cross as a symbol for Christianity, the other holding a Rarotongan club as a...

    • Flag of the Cook Islands
      Flag of the Cook Islands
      The flag of the Cook Islands is based on the traditional design for former British colonies in the Pacific region. It is a blue ensign containing the Union Flag in the upper left, and on the right, fifteen stars in a ring. The Union Flag is symbolic of the nation's historic ties to the United...

    • National anthem of the Cook Islands
  • People of the Cook Islands
  • Prostitution in the Cook Islands
  • Public holidays in the Cook Islands
    Public holidays in the Cook Islands
    The following are public holidays in the Cook Islands as prescribed by the Public Holidays Act in 1999. Each Sunday is also a public holiday, as most Cook Islanders are religious Christians, with over half of the population registered as members of the Cook Islands Christian Church.Also, the...

  • Records of the Cook Islands
  • Religion in the Cook Islands
    • Buddhism in the Cook Islands
    • Christianity in the Cook Islands
    • Hinduism in the Cook Islands
    • Islam in the Cook Islands
    • Judaism in the Cook Islands
    • Sikhism in the Cook Islands
  • World Heritage Sites in the Cook Islands: None

Art in the Cook Islands

  • Art in the Cook Islands
  • Cinema of the Cook Islands
  • Literature of the Cook Islands
    Literature of the Cook Islands
    Written Cook Islands literature has in some ways been a precursor to the development of Pacific Islands literature. Cook Islander Florence Frisbie was one of the Pacific Islands' first writers, publishing her autobiographical story Miss Ulysses of Puka Puka in 1948...

  • Music of the Cook Islands
    Music of the Cook Islands
    The music of the Cook Islands is diverse. Christian music is extremely popular. Imene tuki is a form of unaccompanied vocal music known for a uniquely Polynesian drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, as well as staccato rhythmic outbursts of nonsensical syllables...

  • Television in the Cook Islands
  • Theatre in the Cook Islands

Sports in the Cook Islands

Main article: Sports in the Cook Islands

  • Football in the Cook Islands
    Football in the Cook Islands
    The sport of football in the country of Cook Islands is run by the Cook Islands Football Association. The association administers the national football team....

  • Cook Islands at the Olympics
    Cook Islands at the Olympics
    The Cook Islands have competed in six Summer Olympic Games. They have never competed in the Winter Games. The Cook Islands are yet to win a medal as of 2008....


Economy and infrastructure of the Cook Islands

Main article: Economy of the Cook Islands
Economy of the Cook Islands
The economy of the Cook Islands, as in many other South Pacific island nations, is hindered by the isolation of the country from foreign markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure....



  • Agriculture in the Cook Islands
  • Banking in the Cook Islands
    • National Bank of the Cook Islands
  • Communications in the Cook Islands
    Communications in the Cook Islands
    This article lists communications in the Cook Islands.Telephones - main lines in use:Telephones - mobile cellular:* International: Satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat Radio Broadcast Stations:AM FM...

    • Internet in the Cook Islands
  • Companies of the Cook Islands

  • Currency of the Cook Islands
    Currency
    In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

    : Cook Islands dollar
    Cook Islands dollar
    The dollar is the currency of the Cook Islands. The dollar is subdivided into 100 cents, although some 50 cent coins carry the denomination as "50 tene".-History:...

    /New Zealand dollar
    New Zealand dollar
    The New Zealand dollar is the currency of New Zealand. It also circulates in the Cook Islands , Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It is divided into 100 cents....

    • ISO 4217
      ISO 4217
      ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...

      : NZD

  • Economic history of the Cook Islands
  • Energy in the Cook Islands
    • Energy policy of the Cook Islands
    • Oil industry in the Cook Islands
  • Mining in the Cook Islands
  • Tourism in the Cook Islands
  • Transport in the Cook Islands
    Transport in the Cook Islands
    This article lists transport in the Cook Islands.Railways:Highways:* Total: 320 km* Paved: 33 km* Unpaved: 287 km Ports and harbours:Merchant marine:* Total: 1 ship totalling 2,310 GRT/* Ships by type: Cargo 1...


  • the Cook Islands Stock Exchange

Education in the Cook Islands

Main article: Education in the Cook Islands
Education in the Cook Islands
Education in the Cook Islands has close ties with the educational system of New Zealand. Primary and secondary education are free and attendance is compulsory for children between the ages of five and fifteen. Some degree courses are provided by the University of the South Pacific.-History:Western...

  • Nukutere College
    Nukutere College
    Nukutere College is a Catholic secondary school located in Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. It is the country’s only Catholic secondary school and has an important educational role across the archipelago of islands...


Infrastructure of the Cook Islands

  • Health care in the Cook Islands
  • Transportation in the Cook Islands
  • Water supply and sanitation in the Cook Islands

See also

  • Cook Islands Maori language
  • Index of Cook Islands-related articles
  • List of Cook Islands-related topics
  • List of international rankings
  • Outline of geography
    Outline of geography
    The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...

  • Outline of New Zealand
    Outline of New Zealand
    New Zealand is a sovereign island nation located in the western South Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands, the North Island and the South Island, and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, which...

  • Outline of Oceania
    Outline of Oceania
    Oceania is a geographical, and often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term is also sometimes used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate Pacific islands,....



External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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