Pacific Islands News Association

Sports News : . [20/06/2019 - Wallis and Futuna]
Sports News : World Rugby discontinues Nations Championship plans [19/06/2019 - Ireland]
Sports News : Pacific nations to host future Tests in new 10-year rolling calendar [19/06/2019 - Australia]
Sports News : Draw for the Pacific Games Badminton announced [19/06/2019 - Samoa]
Sports News : Boycott fears quelled as Lebanon stars agree to play Fiji [19/06/2019 - Australia]
News Feature : Kiribati: what will it lose when it graduates? [19/06/2019 - Kiribati]
News Feature : At IOTC meeting, calls made to save yellowfin tuna stocks from potential collapse [19/06/2019 - United Kingdom]
Business News : Cook Islands ‘Forced’ sale of land for big projects, Battle over ‘intrusive’ access to property [19/06/2019 - Cook Islands]
Business News : Hawaiki opens new subsea route to the US with direct access to LA [19/06/2019 - New Zealand]
News : Kiribati names Toatu as new vice president [19/06/2019 - Kiribati]
News : Time extended for enrollment on Bougainville referendum roll [19/06/2019 - Papua New Guinea]
News : Tokelau plots site for airstrip after helicopter controversy [19/06/2019 - Tokelau]
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Country profile - Cook Islands

Cook Islands flag

The 15 volcanic islands and coral atolls of the Cook Islands are scattered over 770,000 square miles of the South Pacific, between American Samoa to the west and French Polynesia to the east.

A former British protectorate, the territory is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand.

Its economy centres on tourism; the territory's natural assets include fine beaches and volcanic mountains.

More than twice as many native Cook Islanders live in New Zealand than live in the islands themselves. Most of them have left in search of a brighter economic future. As New Zealand citizens they can also live in Australia.

The government has encouraged islanders to return. Businesses have been involved in the drive. But the population level has continued to fall.

Black pearls are the chief export. Agriculture, the sale of fishing licences to foreign fleets and offshore finance are also key revenue earners.

The Cook Islands are prone to tropical storms; Hurricane Martin devastated the northern islands in 1997 causing substantial losses for the black pearl industry.

Named after Captain Cook, who explored them in 1773, the islands were once autonomous, home to tribes of mixed Polynesian ancestry. Governments still seek advice on matters of culture, custom and land ownership from a council of hereditary leaders known as the House of Ariki.

Additional information