How many people live in the Cook Islands right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
12,701
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 226 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.0002%
- Median age
- 38.1 years
- Children per woman
- 1.97
- Life expectancy
- 75.8 years
- People per km²
- 53
According to UN estimates, about 12,701 people live in the Cook Islands right now. It ranks 226th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Anguilla and Nauru, and it is home to one in every 655,000 people on the planet.
Every year, about 130 people are born there and about 130 die. More people leave than arrive: net migration reduces the population by about 420 people a year. Overall, it loses about 420 people a year.
In 1950, about 14,693 people lived there. Today there are 14% fewer. It peaked in 1971, at about 20,869, and has been falling since. By 2050 it is projected to have about 9,337 people (26% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 7,904.
Half of its people are younger than 38 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.97 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 76 years (worldwide, 74). There are 53 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of the Cook Islands in 2026?
- The Cook Islands has about 12,701 people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 12,826.
- How many people are born each day in the Cook Islands?
- Very few: about 130 a year. About 130 people die each year.
- Is the population of the Cook Islands growing?
- No: it shrinks by 3.26% a year, or about 420 people.
- What will the population of the Cook Islands be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 9,337.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Saint Martin 23,607
- Palau 17,598
- Anguilla 14,835
- Nauru 12,130
- Saint Barthélemy 11,587
- Wallis and Futuna 11,090
More countries in Oceania
- Australia 27,305,144
- Papua New Guinea 11,005,616
- New Zealand 5,298,033
- Fiji 938,561
- Solomon Islands 864,515
- Vanuatu 344,892
- New Caledonia 298,674
- French Polynesia 283,264
- Samoa 220,922
- Guam 170,550
- Kiribati 139,061
- Micronesia 114,346
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.