# Demographics of the Cook Islands

"none" is a legitimate description when the title is already adequate; see [[WP:SDNONE]] 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.

## Population

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1902 | 8,213 | — |
| 1906 | 8,518 | +0.92% |
| 1911 | 8,655 | +0.32% |
| 1916 | 8,805 | +0.34% |
| 1921 | 9,459 | +1.44% |
| 1926 | 10,082 | +1.28% |
| 1936 | 12,246 | +1.96% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1945 | 14,088 | +1.57% |
| 1951 | 15,079 | +1.14% |
| 1961 | 18,378 | +2.00% |
| 1966 | 19,247 | +0.93% |
| 1971 | 21,322 | +2.07% |
| 1976 | 18,126 | −3.20% |
| 1981 | 17,743 | −0.43% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1986 | 17,614 | −0.15% |
| 1996 | 19,103 | +0.81% |
| 2001 | 18,027 | −1.15% |
| 2006 | 19,342 | +1.42% |
| 2011 | 17,794 | −1.65% |
| 2016 | 17,434 | −0.41% |
| 2021 | 15,040 | −2.91% |
Source: :
A census is carried out every five years in the Cook Islands. The last census was carried out in 2021 and the next census will be carried out in 2026.

### Structure of the population

| 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

Births and deaths :
| Year | Population | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase | Crude birth rate | Crude death rate | Rate of natural increase | TFR |
| 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 | |

## Ethnic groups

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; and also the people of Pukapuka, who speak a language more closely related to Samoan. Cook Islanders of non-indigenous descent include other Pacific Island peoples, Papa'a (Europeans), and those of Asian descent.
| Ethnic group | Population | Population | Percent of total | Change |
| Ethnic group | 2006 | 2016 | Percent of total | Change |
| Cook Islands Māori | 14,938 | 11,575 | 78.20 | |
| 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 | |

## Religion

Religion in the Cook Islands (CIA World Factbook)
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.

## Languages

** English (official) 86.4%
** Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan) (official) 76.2%
** Other 8.3%