2004
Introduction
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Cook Islands is located in the South Pacific between Tonga and Samoa to the west and French Polynesia to the east. It has a total area of 240 square kilometres (km2), but is widely spread over 1 830 000 km2 of ocean.
Cook Islands consists of 13 inhabited and two uninhabited islands. Of the 15 islands, seven make up the northern group and are mainly coral atolls, while the other eight islands make up the southern group and are mainly volcanic in origin.
The country’s population has been dropping steadily since 1996. In 2002, the total population was estimated to be 18 400, and the resident population was estimated to be 14 800. About 9000 people live on the main island Rarotonga and the rest are spread over the other islands.
