Cook Islands: Flag and Facts
The Cook Islands flag has a blue field, the UK flag tucked into the upper-left corner and a ring of 15 white five-pointed stars, one per island, on the right half.
- Capital
- Avarua
- Region
- Polynesia
- Population
- 7,592 (2025)
- Languages
- English, Cook Islands Māori
- Currency
- Cook Islands dollar, New Zealand dollar
- Area
- 236 km² (91 sq mi)
- People
- Cook Islander
- Calling code
- +682
- Highest point
- Te Manga 652 m
- Independence
- 4 August 1965 (Cook Islands became self-governing state in…)
- National symbols
- a circle of 15 five-pointed white stars on a blue field, tiare maori flower (Gardenia taitensis)
- Borders
- No land borders
- Status
- Territory (not a sovereign country)
About Cook Islands
Polynesian voyagers from Tahiti probably reached Rarotonga, the biggest island, around A.D. 900. Samoans and Tongans arrived later, and Rarotongans sailed north to settle Manihiki and Rakahanga. People traded and traveled between atolls long before Europeans came, though the islands were never one political unit back then.
Spanish sailors sighted the northern islands in 1595 and landed in 1606. In 1773 the British explorer James Cook sighted Manuae, and Russian mapmakers later put his name on the group in the 1820s. Since 4 August 1965 the islands have governed themselves in free association with New Zealand. The north is made of low coral atolls, while the south has hilly volcanic islands. Only 7,592 people live here, and the median age is 41.5.
Did you know?
- The tiare maori, a kind of gardenia, is one of the national symbols.
- Te Manga, the highest point in the Cook Islands, rises 652 meters.
- All the islands together cover 236 square kilometers, roughly 1.3 Washington, D.C.s laid side by side
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Questions about Cook Islands
What currency do the Cook Islands use?
Both the Cook Islands dollar and the New Zealand dollar are used.
What is the capital of the Cook Islands?
Avarua is the capital. English and Cook Islands Māori are the main languages.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.