Cook Islands, island group (2006 pop. 19,569), 90 sq mi (234 sq km), S Pacific, SE of Samoa; a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. It consists of 15 small islands and is comprised of two main groups, the Southern (or Lower) Cook islands (Rarotonga Rarotonga (rärōtông`gä, rărətŏng`gə), formerly Goodenough's Island,
..... Click the link for more information. , Mangaia, Atiu, Aitutaki, Mauke, Mitiaro, and Manuae and Te-Au-o-tu) and the Northern Cook islands (Nassau, Palmerston, Penrhyn, Manihiki Manihiki (mänĭhē`kē), atoll, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), South Pacific, in the Cook Islands .
..... Click the link for more information. , Rakahanga, Pukapuka, and Suwarrow). The islands were formerly called the Hervey Islands. Avarua on Rarotonga is the administrative center of the group. The Cook Islanders are Maoris, a Polynesian people, and are largely Christians.

Economy

Copra, fresh and canned fruits and fruit juices, clothing, pearl shell, handicrafts, and jewelry are the principal exports. Tourism and food processing are the major industries. Beginning in 1980s the islands also became a popular tax haven and offshore banking center, but in 2003 the government moved to increase regulation of offshore banks as a result of international pressure. Government spending is important to the economy, and some 60% of the labor force work in the public sector. Most imports, largely foodstuffs, textiles, and fuels, come from New Zealand. The Maoris generally work their own land.

Government

The government consists of a prime minister, a cabinet, a 24-member elected legislature, and a 15-member House of Arikis (hereditary chiefs). The latter is a purely consultative body that advises on traditional matters. New Zealand is responsible for foreign affairs and defense in consultation with the Cook Islands government.

History

The southern islands were probably occupied by the Polynesians c.1,500 years ago. Spaniards visited the islands in the late 16th and early 17th cent. Capt. James Cook Cook, James, 1728–79, English explorer and navigator. The son of a Yorkshire agricultural laborer, he had little formal education. After an apprenticeship to a firm of shipowners at Whitby, he joined (1755) the royal navy and surveyed the St.
..... Click the link for more information. sighted some of the islands in 1773; others were not discovered until the 1820s. The London Missionary Society was a powerful influence in the southern islands during the 19th cent. The islands were proclaimed a British protectorate in 1888 and were annexed by New Zealand in 1901. The Cook Islands achieved internal self-government in 1965 and are free to unilaterally declare their complete independence. An economic crisis in the mid-1990s led to outmigration and a significant drop in the islands population.

Cook Islands

Island group (pop., 2005 est.: 13,900), southern Pacific Ocean. Located roughly 2,000 mi (3,000 km) northeast of New Zealand, the 15 islands, scattered from north to south over some 900 mi (1,450 km) of ocean, are divided into a southern group of nine islands, including Raratonga (the seat of government), and a northern group of six. All in the northern group are true atolls; most in the southern group have volcanic interiors. They were probably settled by Polynesians from Tonga and Samoa; there is evidence of a highly organized society c. AD 1100. Capt. James Cook explored many of them during the 1770s. Established as a British protectorate in 1888, they were annexed by New Zealand in 1901. Self-government in free association with New Zealand was achieved in 1965.