Cook Islands

From Wikinfo

The Cook Islands

File:Cook islands flag large.png Flag of the Cook Islands Coat of Arms of the Cook Islands
Official Language	English
Capital	Avarua
Head of State	Queen Elizabeth II
Queen's Representative	Sir Frederick Goodwin KBE
Prime Minister	Jim Marurai
Area	240 km²
Population (July 2005 Estimate)	21,388
Independence  – Date	None; 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.
Time zone	UTC -10
Calling Code	682
Internet TLD	.ck
Map of The Cook Islands
scale:40
The Matavera Christian Church in Rarotonga

The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The 15 small islands in this South Pacific Ocean have a total land area of 240 km². 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Southern Cook Islands (Lower Cook Group) 2.2 Northern Cook Islands 3 Demographics 4 Politics 5 Economy 6 Culture 7 Communications 8 Transport 9 Military 10 External links 10.1 References

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
• 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

Holidays

Date	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

• Cook Islands Government
• Cook Islands, the best kept secret in the Pacific Ocean
• Cook Islands Government (summary)
• Finding Cook Islands
• Map of the Cook Islands
• KiaOrana.com — Cook Islands information with images and maps
• Jane's Cook Islands Home Page
• World Factbook entry on The Cook Islands

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References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Cook_Islands" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Islands, used under the GNU Free Documentation License, updated June 20, 2005