Demographics of the Cook Islands
Demographic features of the population of the Cook Islands include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. A census is carried out every five years.[1] The last one was in 2021 and the next will be in 2026.
Population
[edit]Historical population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Structure of the population
[edit]| Population pyramid 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: unstats.un.org[4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 8,520 | 8,914 | 17,434 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 710 | 644 | 1,354 | 7.77 |
| 5–9 | 768 | 733 | 1,501 | 8.61 |
| 10–14 | 745 | 696 | 1,441 | 8.27 |
| 15–19 | 664 | 711 | 1,375 | 7.89 |
| 20–24 | 569 | 656 | 1,225 | 7.03 |
| 25–29 | 541 | 612 | 1,153 | 6.61 |
| 30–34 | 482 | 595 | 1,077 | 6.18 |
| 35–39 | 483 | 533 | 1,016 | 5.83 |
| 40–44 | 520 | 601 | 1,121 | 6.43 |
| 45–49 | 599 | 625 | 1,224 | 7.02 |
| 50–54 | 642 | 623 | 1,265 | 7.26 |
| 55–59 | 521 | 522 | 1,043 | 5.98 |
| 60–64 | 405 | 429 | 834 | 4.78 |
| 65–69 | 363 | 333 | 696 | 3.99 |
| 70–74 | 234 | 248 | 482 | 2.76 |
| 75–79 | 159 | 194 | 353 | 2.02 |
| 80+ | 115 | 159 | 274 | 1.57 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 2,223 | 2,073 | 4,296 | 24.64 |
| 15–64 | 5,426 | 5,907 | 11,333 | 65.01 |
| 65+ | 871 | 934 | 1,805 | 10.35 |
Vital statistics
[edit]| Year | Population | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase | Crude birth rate | Crude death rate | Rate of natural increase | Total fertility rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 18,027 | 315 | 88 | 227 | 21.0 | 2.9 | ||
| 2002 | 279 | 97 | 182 | |||||
| 2003 | 294 | 92 | 202 | |||||
| 2004 | 15,169 | 297 | 99 | 198 | ||||
| 2005 | 275 | 91 | 184 | |||||
| 2006 | 19,342 | 279 | 85 | 194 | 19.1 | 6.5 | 12.6 | 2.5 |
| 2007 | 296 | 84 | 212 | |||||
| 2008 | 261 | 56 | 205 | |||||
| 2009 | 255 | 67 | 188 | 12.6 | 3.2 | 9.4 | ||
| 2010 | 286 | 92 | 194 | 12.1 | 3.9 | 8.2 | ||
| 2011 | 19,300 | 262 | 72 | 190 | 17.8 | 4.9 | 12.9 | 2.6 |
| 2012 | 19,500 | 259 | 104 | 155 | 18.1 | 7.3 | 10.8 | |
| 2013 | 18,600 | 256 | 115 | 141 | 18.2 | 8.2 | 10.0 | |
| 2014 | 18,600 | 204 | 113 | 91 | 15.0 | 8.3 | 6.7 | |
| 2015 | 18,400 | 205 | 102 | 103 | 15.5 | 7.7 | 7.8 | |
| 2016 | 19,300 | 242 | 87 | 155 | 20.5 | 7.4 | 13.1 | 2.5 |
| 2017 | 19,500 | 222 | 93 | 129 | 14.2 | 6.0 | 8.3 | |
| 2018 | 20,200 | 232 | 121 | 111 | 14.6 | 7.6 | 7.0 | |
| 2019 | 20,200 | 225 | 105 | 120 | 13.1 | 6.1 | 7.0 | |
| 2020 | 16,500 | 248 | 125 | 123 | 13.9 | 7.0 | 6.9 | |
| 2021 | 18,200 | 202 | 122 | 80 | 11.6 | 7.0 | 4.6 | |
| 2022 | 20,500 | 233 | 117 | 116 | 13.2 | 6.6 | 6.6 | |
| 2023 | 21,600 | 212 | 165 | 47 | 12.6 | 9.8 | 2.8 | |
| 2024 | 24,500 | 201 | 132 | 69 | 11.6 | 7.6 | 4.0 | |
Ethnic groups
[edit]The indigenous Polynesian people of the Cook Islands are known as Cook Islands Māori. These include speakers of the 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,[7] and also the people of Pukapuka, whose language is more closely related to Samoan.[8] Cook Islanders of non-indigenous descent include other Pacific Island peoples, Papa'a (Europeans), and those of Asian descent.
- Reformed Church (Cook Islands Christian Church) (49.1%)
- Adventism (Seventh-day Adventist Church) (7.9%)
- Pentecostalism (Assemblies of God, Apostolic Church) (5.8%)
- Catholicism (17.0%)
- Mormonism (4.4%)
- Other (8.0%)
- No religion (5.6%)
- No response (2.2%)
| Ethnic group[9] | Population | Percent of total | Change 2006–2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2016 | |||
| Cook Islands Māori | 14,938 | 11,575 | 78.2 | |
| Part Cook Islands Māori | 1,045 | 1,128 | 7.6 | |
| Other | 1,349 | 2,099 | 14.2 | |
| Total | 17,332 | 14,802 | 100.0 | |
Languages
[edit]- English (official) 86.4%
- Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan) (official) 76.2%
- Other 8.3%
Religion
[edit]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 of non-indigenous residents.[10]
References
[edit]- ↑ "National census". Cook Islands Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ↑ "Census 2016". www.mfem.gov.ck. Cook Islands Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ↑ "Census 2021 Updates". Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ↑ "Demographic Yearbook, Population by age, sex and urban/rural residence: latest available year, 2005–2014" (PDF). UN Data. United Nations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ↑ "UNSD – Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ↑ "Vital statistics and population estimates March quarter 2020" (PDF). Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ↑ "Te Reo Maori Act 2003". Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2020). "Pukapuka". Glottolog 4.2.1. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ "2016 Cook Islands census" (PDF). mfem.gov.ck. 2016. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ↑ Crocombe, R. G. (1990). Voluntary Service and Development in the Cook Islands. University of the South Pacific. p. 8. ISBN 9789820200234.