Country or area · Polynesia · Oceania · UN WPP 2024

Cook Islands population

Cook Islands population now

12,723

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 11,438–13,680.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 14,222

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 12,832; 95% range, 31 Dec: 11,438–13,680
Median age: 39.1
Aged 65+: 15.5%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 10 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

COK · 1950–2100 · in brief

Cook Islands in numbers

14,222 people lived in The Cook Islands in mid-2023: less than 0.01% of the world's people, and the 226th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports. That is about as many as in 1950 (14,692).

Its population peaked in 1971 at 20,869 and has been falling since. The UN's medium projection has 7,904 in 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 2,918 to 96,322.

In the medium projection, deaths outnumber births every year from 2084 on. Deaths also outnumber births in 2027–2073.

The median age was 16.7 in 1950 and 36.1 in 2023; the projection has 50.7 in 2100. 12.9% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 29.7% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) peaked in 2012 at 11,497; in 2023 it was 8,861.

Among countries it ranks 226th in 2023, 230th in 2050 and 229th in 2100. It is overtaken by Nauru in 2028, Saint Barthélemy in 2029 and Wallis and Futuna in 2034.

Population, mid-2023: 14,222
Rank by population, 2023: 226 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: less than 0.01%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: −3.41% · −502 people
Births, 2023: 178
Deaths, 2023: 132
Net migration, 2023: −558
Children per woman, 2023: 2.04
Median age, 2023: 36.1 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 75.3 years
In a city, 2025: 0 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 14,692
Projected, mid-2050: 9,337
Projected, mid-2100: 7,904

COK · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections020 k40 k60 k80 k100 k1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Cook Islands, 1950–2100

Cook Islands: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	14,490		659	357	6.79	38.0
1951	estimate	14,895		691	345	6.79	39.6
1952	estimate	15,213		706	331	6.82	41.2
1953	estimate	15,466		715	318	6.87	42.8
1954	estimate	15,750		722	305	6.91	44.3
1955	estimate	16,025		730	293	6.96	45.8
1956	estimate	16,310		744	280	7.04	47.3
1957	estimate	16,557		761	269	7.12	48.6
1958	estimate	16,817		782	260	7.17	50.0
1959	estimate	17,119		801	250	7.22	51.4
1960	estimate	17,466		819	240	7.26	52.7
1961	estimate	17,857		830	230	7.27	54.1
1962	estimate	18,220		835	218	7.24	55.5
1963	estimate	18,348		830	206	7.19	56.6
1964	estimate	18,497		821	195	7.12	57.8
1965	estimate	18,674		810	185	7.04	58.8
1966	estimate	18,885		796	177	6.95	59.8
1967	estimate	19,145		786	169	6.83	60.6
1968	estimate	19,508		788	162	6.69	61.5
1969	estimate	19,878		783	155	6.51	62.5
1970	estimate	20,285		771	147	6.30	63.6
1971	estimate	20,692		755	140	6.07	64.6
1972	estimate	21,046		724	133	5.72	65.6
1973	estimate	20,493		676	127	5.47	65.9
1974	estimate	19,883		623	125	5.20	65.9
1975	estimate	19,233		571	123	4.96	65.8
1976	estimate	18,560		522	122	4.77	65.5
1977	estimate	17,936		482	121	4.66	65.3
1978	estimate	17,885		488	122	4.55	65.4
1979	estimate	17,814		493	122	4.47	65.7
1980	estimate	17,742		494	122	4.35	65.9
1981	estimate	17,651		487	122	4.18	66.0
1982	estimate	17,558		481	122	4.05	66.2
1983	estimate	17,384		481	122	3.95	66.3
1984	estimate	17,175		481	121	3.87	66.5
1985	estimate	16,950		479	120	3.84	66.8
1986	estimate	16,714		476	118	3.83	67.0
1987	estimate	16,489		472	122	3.84	66.5
1988	estimate	16,666		490	119	3.85	67.4
1989	estimate	16,839		509	120	3.90	67.5
1990	estimate	17,024		531	130	3.97	66.5
1991	estimate	17,216		544	124	3.99	67.7
1992	estimate	17,403		546	125	3.95	67.8
1993	estimate	17,538		541	126	3.86	68.0
1994	estimate	17,645		530	126	3.76	68.2
1995	estimate	17,733		519	125	3.69	68.5
1996	estimate	17,829		502	125	3.60	68.7
1997	estimate	17,882		475	144	3.46	66.4
1998	estimate	17,362		436	121	3.31	69.3
1999	estimate	16,796		401	117	3.19	69.6
2000	estimate	16,171		371	113	3.11	69.8
2001	estimate	15,538		344	110	3.06	70.1
2002	estimate	14,932		315	106	2.97	70.3
2003	estimate	15,003		309	107	2.89	70.6
2004	estimate	15,051		305	108	2.83	70.9
2005	estimate	15,104		304	109	2.81	71.2
2006	estimate	15,159		303	110	2.80	71.5
2007	estimate	15,253		292	111	2.71	71.8
2008	estimate	15,737		294	114	2.60	72.1
2009	estimate	16,225		298	118	2.52	72.4
2010	estimate	16,725		302	122	2.45	72.8
2011	estimate	17,227		305	127	2.40	73.0
2012	estimate	17,683		307	132	2.34	73.3
2013	estimate	17,639		297	132	2.29	73.6
2014	estimate	17,571		287	133	2.24	73.8
2015	estimate	17,494		280	135	2.21	74.0
2016	estimate	17,398		274	136	2.18	74.2
2017	estimate	17,267		270	138	2.17	74.3
2018	estimate	16,827		258	137	2.16	74.4
2019	estimate	16,366		244	136	2.13	74.6
2020	estimate	15,892		229	136	2.11	74.5
2021	estimate	15,395		214	134	2.09	74.6
2022	estimate	14,970		197	131	2.07	75.1
2023	estimate	14,477		178	132	2.04	75.3
2024	estimate	13,967		159	133	2.02	75.5
2025	projection	13,491	13,111–13,818	145	133	2.00	75.7
2026	projection	13,035	12,281–13,691	133	133	1.98	75.8
2027	projection	12,617	11,438–13,680	124	134	1.96	76.0
2028	projection	12,251	10,628–13,766	117	134	1.94	76.2
2029	projection	11,923	9,961–13,933	112	135	1.92	76.4
2030	projection	11,623	9,434–14,165	108	136	1.91	76.6
2031	projection	11,368	9,003–14,338	108	137	1.90	76.8
2032	projection	11,153	8,643–14,720	108	137	1.89	77.0
2033	projection	10,958	8,276–14,987	110	138	1.88	77.1
2034	projection	10,781	7,950–15,282	113	139	1.87	77.3
2035	projection	10,621	7,603–15,620	117	139	1.86	77.5
2036	projection	10,454	7,296–16,095	121	140	1.85	77.7
2037	projection	10,317	7,119–16,555	125	141	1.84	77.9
2038	projection	10,204	6,854–16,982	130	141	1.84	78.0
2039	projection	10,081	6,562–17,368	134	142	1.83	78.2
2040	projection	10,000	6,337–17,898	136	142	1.82	78.4
2041	projection	9,893	6,068–18,359	138	143	1.82	78.6
2042	projection	9,825	5,878–19,339	138	143	1.81	78.8
2043	projection	9,772	5,693–20,015	138	144	1.81	78.9
2044	projection	9,715	5,524–20,750	136	144	1.80	79.1
2045	projection	9,656	5,301–21,605	133	144	1.80	79.3
2046	projection	9,595	5,121–22,340	130	144	1.80	79.4
2047	projection	9,544	4,969–22,803	125	145	1.79	79.6
2048	projection	9,478	4,745–23,747	120	145	1.79	79.8
2049	projection	9,430	4,560–24,867	115	144	1.78	79.9
2050	projection	9,367	4,421–25,989	110	144	1.78	80.1
2051	projection	9,307	4,260–26,593	104	143	1.77	80.3
2052	projection	9,245	4,146–27,456	98	143	1.77	80.4
2053	projection	9,176	4,107–28,241	92	142	1.76	80.6
2054	projection	9,102	4,063–29,109	86	141	1.76	80.8
2055	projection	9,032	3,919–29,812	82	139	1.75	80.9
2056	projection	8,956	3,799–30,703	78	138	1.75	81.1
2057	projection	8,885	3,697–31,289	75	136	1.75	81.3
2058	projection	8,815	3,595–31,823	72	134	1.75	81.4
2059	projection	8,744	3,546–33,002	71	132	1.75	81.6
2060	projection	8,679	3,495–34,254	71	130	1.74	81.7
2061	projection	8,610	3,449–34,680	71	128	1.74	81.9
2062	projection	8,538	3,392–35,353	72	126	1.74	82.0
2063	projection	8,479	3,388–37,408	74	123	1.74	82.1
2064	projection	8,427	3,300–38,200	76	121	1.74	82.3
2065	projection	8,379	3,237–39,826	78	118	1.73	82.4
2066	projection	8,328	3,161–39,632	81	116	1.73	82.6
2067	projection	8,291	3,076–42,213	83	113	1.73	82.7
2068	projection	8,253	2,992–42,594	86	110	1.73	82.8
2069	projection	8,235	2,914–44,880	88	108	1.72	83.0
2070	projection	8,204	2,909–45,924	91	105	1.72	83.1
2071	projection	8,178	2,805–47,240	92	103	1.72	83.2
2072	projection	8,170	2,765–48,206	94	100	1.72	83.3
2073	projection	8,162	2,693–49,289	95	98	1.72	83.5
2074	projection	8,159	2,585–51,463	95	95	1.72	83.6
2075	projection	8,156	2,599–54,305	94	93	1.71	83.7
2076	projection	8,152	2,559–56,159	93	90	1.71	83.9
2077	projection	8,150	2,590–57,644	92	88	1.71	84.0
2078	projection	8,151	2,562–59,541	90	86	1.71	84.1
2079	projection	8,154	2,521–60,967	88	84	1.71	84.2
2080	projection	8,160	2,627–62,769	85	82	1.71	84.3
2081	projection	8,161	2,704–64,427	82	80	1.70	84.5
2082	projection	8,163	2,677–66,875	80	78	1.70	84.6
2083	projection	8,165	2,749–68,435	77	77	1.70	84.7
2084	projection	8,168	2,829–72,329	74	75	1.70	84.8
2085	projection	8,171	2,824–73,958	71	74	1.70	84.9
2086	projection	8,169	2,786–75,351	69	74	1.70	85.1
2087	projection	8,170	2,804–75,915	67	74	1.70	85.2
2088	projection	8,164	2,797–77,876	65	74	1.70	85.3
2089	projection	8,156	2,814–80,873	64	75	1.70	85.4
2090	projection	8,143	2,834–83,214	63	76	1.69	85.5
2091	projection	8,135	2,880–85,771	63	78	1.69	85.7
2092	projection	8,116	2,856–88,402	62	80	1.69	85.8
2093	projection	8,096	2,865–91,341	63	83	1.69	85.9
2094	projection	8,082	2,837–92,251	63	86	1.69	86.0
2095	projection	8,061	2,821–91,974	64	90	1.69	86.1
2096	projection	8,032	2,828–94,383	65	93	1.69	86.2
2097	projection	8,008	2,877–96,181	66	97	1.69	86.3
2098	projection	7,986	2,905–95,717	67	101	1.69	86.5
2099	projection	7,956	2,882–96,548	68	104	1.69	86.6
2100	projection	7,918	2,918–96,322	69	108	1.68	86.7

Show the numbers: Cook Islands, mid-2026, by single year of age

Cook Islands: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	66	62
1	67	62
2	70	66
3	76	71
4	84	78
5	90	85
6	96	90
7	102	95
8	108	100
9	112	101
10	118	105
11	122	110
12	128	114
13	132	118
14	136	122
15	140	126
16	136	128
17	132	126
18	126	119
19	114	110
20	106	99
21	94	86
22	82	78
23	70	68
24	56	56
25	46	48
26	40	42
27	37	41
28	31	44
29	31	47
30	35	54
31	38	58
32	44	60
33	46	64
34	52	68
35	57	70
36	60	70
37	64	72
38	71	76
39	73	78
40	71	76
41	69	80
42	68	85
43	73	82
44	74	80
45	68	80
46	70	82
47	72	84
48	72	86
49	74	90
50	74	92
51	76	94
52	82	95
53	86	96
54	88	96
55	90	95
56	92	95
57	94	95
58	94	94
59	96	94
60	96	96
61	96	95
62	94	92
63	90	94
64	83	93
65	82	82
66	78	76
67	72	73
68	62	70
69	54	68
70	52	60
71	50	59
72	48	56
73	45	48
74	44	46
75	43	42
76	40	38
77	40	41
78	34	38
79	30	35
80	26	32
81	23	29
82	20	26
83	18	24
84	14	24
85	12	21
86	10	17
87	7	15
88	6	12
89	5	8
90	4	8
91	3	6
92	2	4
93	2	2
94	1	2
95	1	1
96	0	1
97	0	1
98	0	1
99	0	0
100+	0	0

COK · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Cook Islands, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

COK · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Cook Islands

The Cook Islands had the most working-age people it is ever expected to have in 2012: 11,500 people aged 15–64, against 8,861 in 2023.

100 aged 15–64

40 children

21 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: the orange squares are 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023, and the rows below are how many children (teal) and how many people aged 65 or older (violet) lived alongside them.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 8 years: 2066–2073.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

COK · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Cook Islands, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 the Cook Islands loses 533 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 95 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 10 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: left to right is age, from babies to 100. Blue squares above the line are ages at which more people arrive than leave; orange squares below it, ages at which more leave than arrive. These are the UN's projection for 2020–2025. There is no record of migration by age before 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 320 (2010); its biggest loss, 1,162 (1973).

How migration works everywhere

COK · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Cook Islands

Of every 100 babies born in the Cook Islands in 2023, 7 had a mother under 20, 73 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 20 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 13 under 20 and 14 aged 35 or older.

1950
13 · 73 · 14

2023
7 · 73 · 20

2050 · projected
1 · 75 · 24

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: each block is 100 babies born in that year, one square each, coloured by how old the mother was. The numbers under a block are the three groups, youngest mothers first.

Babies born, 2023: 178
Average age when women have a baby: 29.1 years; 28.8 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 20; 112 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in the Cook Islands by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	1	1	0	0	0	0
15–19	84	89	40	12	1	1
20–24	219	179	103	39	10	8
25–29	155	136	95	44	26	22
30–34	110	84	74	48	46	26
35–39	62	57	46	26	20	9
40–44	24	22	12	9	7	3
45–49	4	3	1	0	0	0
50–54	0	0	0	0	0	0
All babies	659	571	371	178	110	69

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

COK · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Cook Islands

UNHCR publishes no refugees, asylum-seekers or displaced people in or from the Cook Islands at the end of 2025.

That is an absence from the record rather than a measurement. This count covers the people one agency works with, and a country it does not work in is simply not in it.

How the world's displacement is counted

COK · of every 100 people

How people live in Cook Islands

Of every 100 people in the Cook Islands in 2025, 100 lived in the countryside.

rural areas

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every 100th person, coloured by where they live, as the key says. The same rule is used in every country.

How the world's people live

COK · cities · 2025

Cities in Cook Islands

No place in the Cook Islands is big and dense enough to count as a city under the UN's rule — at least 50,000 people, living 1,500 or more to the square kilometre.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for the Cook Islands are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.