Cook Islands{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 class="toccolours" style="float: right; width: 300px; clear: both; margin: 0.5em 0 1em 1em; border-style: solid; border: 1px solid #7f7f7f; border-right-width: 2px; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big><big>'''The Cook Islands'''</big></big> |- | style="background: #ffffff;" align=center colspan=2 | {| border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 | width=140 align=center | Image:Cook islands flag large.png|125px| | width=140 align=center | Image:Cookislands coa.jpg|100px |- | width=140 align=center valign=top | Flag of the Cook Islands|Flag of the Cook Islands | width=140 align=center valign=top | Coat of Arms of the Cook Islands|Coat of Arms of the Cook Islands |} |- style="border-top: 2px solid gray;" | '''Languages''' | Cook Islands Maori, English |- | '''Capital''' | Rarotonga |- | '''Head of State''' | '''Queen Elizabeth II''' |- | '''Queen's Representative''' | '''Sir Frederick Goodwin KBE''' |- | '''Traditional Chiefs''' | '''The Cook Islands have many Chiefs. In ancient times, they governed parts of the country. They are still in power today and control land matters.''' |- | '''Prime Minister of the Cook Islands|Prime Minister''' | Jim Marurai |- | '''Area'''  – Total  – % water | List of countries by area|Ranked 225th  2.2million kilometre|km²  0% |- | '''Population'''  – Total (2005 Estimate)  – Density | List of countries by population|Ranked 219th  12,500 resident population  87/km² |- | '''Independence'''  – Date | Became self-governing in free association with New Zealand August 4 1965 |- | '''National anthem''' | ''Te Atua Mou E'' (God is Truth) |- | '''Currency''' | New Zealand dollar (NZD). Also, have local $5, $2, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c coins which can't be used anywhere else in the world but make great souvenirs. |- | '''Time zone''' | UTC -10 |- | '''List of country calling codes|Calling Code''' | 682 |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' | .ck |- | colspan=2 align=center | Image:Cw-map.gif|292px |- | colspan=2 align=center | Map of The Cook Islands |- | colspan=2 align=center | Image:Cookislands_church.jpg|292px |- | colspan=2 align=center | The Matavera Christian Church in Rarotonga |} '''The Cook Islands''' are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in Associated State|free association with New Zealand. The 15 small islands in this South Pacific Ocean archipelago have a total land area of 2.2 million square kilometres. The capital is Rarotonga, which has the largest land mass of all the islands and a circumference of 32 km. Tourism drives the economy as the country's number one industry, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, marine and fruit exports. A popular art form on the islands is tivaivai, often likened to quilting. == History == * ''Main Article see History of the Cook Islands'' == Geography == * ''Main Article see Geography of the Cook Islands'' === Southern Cook Islands (Lower Cook Group) === *High Cook Islands **Aitutaki **Atiu **Mauke **Rarotonga (capital) **Mangaia *Low islands of the Southern group **Manuae **Takutea **Mitiaro === Northern Cook Islands === *Penrhyn Island also known as Tongareva or Mangarongaro *Rakahanga *Manihiki *Pukapuka *Nassau (Cook Islands)|Nassau *Suwarrow also called Suvorov *Palmerston Island == Demographics == * ''Main Article see Demographics of the Cook Islands'' == Politics == * ''Main Article see Politics of the Cook Islands'' == Economy == * ''Main Article see Economy of the Cook Islands'' == Culture == {| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 class="toccolours" style="align: left; margin: 0.5em 0 0 0; border-style: solid; border: 1px solid #7f7f7f; border-right-width: 2px; border-bottom-width:2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big>'''Holidays'''</big> |- ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Date ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Name |- | January 1 | New Year's Day |- | January 2 | Day after New Year's Day |- | The Friday before Easter Sunday | Good Friday |- | The Day after Easter Sunday | Easter Monday |- | April 25 | ANZAC Day |- | The First Monday in June | Queen's Birthday |- | July | Rarotonga Gospel Day |- | August 4 | Constitution Day |- | October 26 | Gospel Day |- | December 25 | Christmas |- | December 26 | Boxing Day |} ''See also:'' music of the Cook Islands == Communications == * ''Main Article see Communications in the Cook Islands'' == Transport == * ''Main Article see Transport in the Cook Islands'' == Military == * Military: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request. == External links == *[http://www.cook-islands.gov.ck/ Cook Islands Government] *[http://www.ck Cook Islands, the best kept secret in the Pacific Ocean] *[http://www.ck/govt.htm Cook Islands Government (summary)] *[http://www.southpacific.org/text/finding_cooks.html Finding Cook Islands] *[http://www.mapsouthpacific.com/cook_islands/index.html Map of the Cook Islands] *[http://www.kiaorana.com KiaOrana.com — Cook Islands information with images and maps] *[http://www.janeresture.com/cookislands/index.htm Jane's Cook Islands Home Page] *[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cw.html World Factbook entry on The Cook Islands] {{Pacific_Islands}} {{New_Zealand}} Category:Cook Islands Category:Polynesia Category:Freely associated states Category:British colonies Category:New Zealand-Pacific relations bg:Острови Кук de:Cookinseln es:Islas Cook eo:Kukinsuloj fr:Îles Cook zh-min-nan:Cook Kûn-tó nl:Cookeilanden id:Kepulauan Cook ja:クック諸島 lt:Kuko salos no:Cookøyene pl:Wyspy Cooka pt:Ilhas Cook ru:Острова Кука sl:Cookovi otoki fi:Cookinsaaret sv:Cooköarna zh:库克群岛 First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Cook Islands is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cook Islands".

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