Cook Islands: cities by population
Cook Islands has a population of 12,826 (UN estimate, 2026), with Avarua as its capital. The 2 largest of its 2 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
-19%
since 2000 (15,854)
-27%
projected by 2050 (9,337)
53
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in Cook Islands
Twenty years earlier: Cook Islands in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 18,622.
Common questions
What is the population of Cook Islands?
Cook Islands has a population of 12,826, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 9,337 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Cook Islands?
Avarua.