Cook Islands

CK

Oceania

Aggregate phenotype reference. Synthesized view, weighted by demographic composition.

Phenotype Profile

Cook Islands has a strongly Cook-Islands-Māori demographic profile (~87%). The country is in free association with New Zealand and Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens, producing a substantial Cook Islands Māori diaspora in New Zealand exceeding the resident population.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Cook Islands population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
Cook Islands Māori87.0%Cook Islands 2021 Census; Cook Islands Māori (~87%, ~14,000+ of ~16,500+ resident total). Polynesian source population, Cook Islands Māori language (closely related to New Zealand Māori). The substantial Cook Islands Māori diaspora in New Zealand (~80,000+) exceeds the resident population given the Cook Islands' free-association status with New Zealand
Cook Islands Other13.0%Cook Islands 2021 Census residual; includes part-Cook-Islands-Māori (substantially Cook-Islands-Māori-European admixed), New-Zealand-Cook-Islander, plus Fijian-Cook-Islander, Filipino-Cook-Islander, plus other smaller groups

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from Cook Islands 2021 Census.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Cook Islands Statistics Office. Census of Population and Dwellings 2021. Rarotonga: CISO; 2022.
  2. 2.Crocombe R. The South Pacific. University of the South Pacific; 2008.
  3. 3.Wurm SA, Hattori S, eds. Language Atlas of the Pacific Area. Australian Academy of the Humanities; 1981.
  4. 4.Skoglund P, Posth C, Sirak K, et al. Genomic insights into the peopling of the Southwest Pacific. Nature. 2016;538(7626):510-513.
  5. 5.Kirch PV. On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands. University of California Press; 2002.