June Quarter 2025:
Key Facts:
Population Estimates
In June Quarter 2025, the total population estimate for the Cook Islands increased to 25,900 compared with 23,600 in March 2025. However, the resident population remained unchanged at 17,300 for both periods. This indicates that the increase in total population was due to non-resident visitors or temporary populations rather than changes in the resident population.
Births
There were 53 births recorded in the June Quarter 2025 (23 males and 30 females), an increase compared with March 2025 when there were 44 births (21 males and 23 females). This shows growth in both male and female births between the two quarters.
Most births were to mothers aged 25–29 (12 births), followed by those aged 30–34 (11 births). Other age groups included 20–24 (10 births), 35–39 (8 births), and 40–44 (7 births). Births to mothers under 20 were low (4), and no births were recorded for mothers 45 and older.
Deaths
Total number of deaths recorded for this quarter stood at 32 deaths, 18 deaths were males and 14 were females. Decreasing by 22.0% when compared to March quarter 2025, averaging to almost 3 deaths per week. These numbers do not reflect deaths of Cook Islanders occurring abroad.
Crude Rates
In June Quarter 2025, the crude birth and death rates were 3.1 and 1.8 per 1,000 population, respectively, resulting in a slight natural increase.
Marriages
The Cook Islands recorded 114 marriages in the second quarter of 2025, a 32.6% increase from the previous quarter. Non-residents comprised 91.2% of these marriages, while residents accounted for 8.8%.
Quarterly reports on the total and resident population estimate based on vital events of births and deaths plus net migration data derived from tourism and migration data. The Population and Vital Statistics reports on the total and resident population estimate base on
vital events of birth and deaths plus net migration data derived from tourism migration data. It also reports on the various vital events such as births, deaths and marriages that occurred within the Cook Islands. Some basic demographic crude rates such as for birth, death and infants deaths including natural increase are also reported in this release.
More information on Vital Statistics
Computation of Crude Rates: Crude rates of birth, death and infant deaths are also compiled from these events. The formula used in computing these rates are as follows:
Crude Birth Rate = Total Births/Total Resident Population * 1,000
Crude Death Rate = Total Deaths/Total Resident Population * 1,000
Infant Mortality Rates = Total Infant Deaths/Total Births * 1,000
Natural Increase = Total Crude Birth Rate less Crude Death Rate
Data Source: The records of births, deaths and marriages are compiled from the records of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registrar of the Ministry of Justice. For the islands outside of Rarotonga, the Deputy Registrars of each island furnish these records directly to the Cook Islands Statistics Office.
Coverage: All records are compiled for each inhabited island of the Cook Islands and are tabulated by the date of occurrence of the event. Often these records are reconciled with the Ministry of Health (MOH) records to ascertain the compilation of one indicator for the Cook Islands.