The Cook Islands achieved independence on 4 August 1965 and is a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand. It is comprised of 15 islands in the South Pacific Ocean with a resident population of 17,500 people. Rarotonga is the capital of the Cook Islands.

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English is the business language, and Cook Islands Maori is the indigenous language. Tourism, fishing, and the financial services industries are the largest revenue earning sectors. There is also a growing untapped trove of seabed minerals which contains an estimated twenty-five percent of the world’s supply of cobalt. The currency in the
Cook Islands is the New Zealand dollar.

Cook Islands boasts the largest multi-use marine park in the world. Marae Moana spans a total ocean area of nearly 2 million square kilometres.