Natural hazards:
typhoons (November to March)
Environment - current issues:
NA
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated,
coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands, where most of the
population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic
isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km
People Cook Islands
Population:
21,388 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.1% (male 2,718/female 2,388)
15-64 years: 59.5% (male 4,531/female 4,395)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 489/female 469) (2001 census)
Median age:
total: 25.3 years
male: 24.7 years
female: 25.9 years (2001 census)
Population growth rate:
-1.2% between 1996-2001 (2001 census)
Birth rate:
21 births/1,000 population (2001 census)