Demographics of the Cook Islands

Births and deaths[3]

The Cook Islands are majority-Protestant, with almost half the population being members of the Reformed Cook Islands Christian Church. Other Protestant denominations include Seventh-day Adventists, Assemblies of God and the Apostolic Church (the latter two being Pentecostal denominations). The largest non-Protestant denomination are Roman Catholics, followed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Non-Christian faiths including Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam have small followings primarily by non-indigenous inhabitants.[4][5]

The indigenous Polynesian people of the Cook islands are known as Cook Islands Māori. These include speakers of Cook Islands Māori language, closely related to Tahitian and New Zealand Māori, who form the majority of the population and inhabit the southern islands including Rarotonga;[6] and also the people of Pukapuka, who speak a language more closely relate to Samoan.[7] Cook Islanders of non-indigenous descent include other Pacific Island peoples, Papa'a (Europeans), and those of Asian descent.

Ethnic group[8]	Population (2006)	Population (2016)	Percent	Change
Cook Islands Māori	14,938	11,575	78.2
Part Cook Islands Māori	1,045	1,128	7.62
Other	1,349	2,099	14.18
Cook Islands, Total	17,332	14,802	100

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[4]

• Population
  • 8,128
• Age structure (2022 est.)
  • 0–14 years: 18.69% (male 797/female 722)
  • 15–24 years: 13.9% (male 606/female 524)
  • 25–54 years: 37.66% (male 1,595/female 1,634)
  • 55–64 years: 15.69% (male 711/female 564)
  • 65 years and over: 14.74% (male 584/female 614)
• Population growth rate
  • -2.39%
• Birth rate
  • 12.55 births/1,000 population
• Death rate
  • 9.1 deaths/1,000 population
• Infant mortality rate
  • Total: 15.93 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 20.02 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 11.62 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life expectancy at birth
  • Total population: 77.14 years
  • Male: 74.32 years
  • Female: 80.11 years (2022 est.)
• Total fertility rate
  • 2.07 children born/woman
• Nationality
  • Cook Islander(s) (Noun)
  • Cook Islander (Adjective)
• Ethnic groups
  • Cook Island Maori (Polynesian) 81.3%
  • part Cook Island Maori 6.7%
  • Other 11.9%
• 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%
  • Mormon 4.4%,
  • Other 8%
    • This "Other" group includes smaller Christian denominations, and mostly non-indigenous adherents of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, as well as the irreligious.[10]
  • None 5.6%
  • No response 2.2%
• Languages
  • English (official) 86.4%
  • Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan) (official) 76.2%
  • Other 8.3%