Cook Islands vs Marshall Islands
Cook Islands is 33% larger than Marshall Islands.
Cook IslandsMarshall IslandsCook Islands moved onto Marshall Islands · Equal-area projection
1.33×
Cook Islands is 1.33× the area of Marshall Islands.
 Cook Islands |  Marshall Islands | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCook Islands: 1.33× the area | 240 km² | 181 km²#189 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMarshall Islands: 2.55× the population | 14,2222023 | 36,282#190 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMarshall Islands: 3.38× the density | 59 / km² | 200 / km²#50 of 194 |
| Urban population | — | 79%#48 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rate | — | 2.86 per woman#57 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growth | — | −3.43%#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rate | — | 20.1 per 1,000#71 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rate | — | 7.1 per 1,000#97 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15 | — | 33.9%#54 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65 | — | 4.9%#126 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migration | — | −46.8 per 1,000#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | — | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancy | — | 67.1 years#152 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortality | — | 22.7 per 1,000 births#63 of 191 · 2024 |
| University enrolment | — | 37.7%#94 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.733#107 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $9,710#81 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $308M2025 |
| Income group | — | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $8,964#132 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +2.3%#124 of 187 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 2.1%#73 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 35.5#68 of 149 · 2019 |
| Foreign investment | — | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 36.0% of GDP#82 of 168 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 66%#127 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | — | 40 per 100#186 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | — | 54% of land#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | — | 0.00 t a year#183 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy | — | 12.2%#130 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricity | — | 97.2%#122 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | — | 4.1 µg/m³#189 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected land | — | 16.1% of land#106 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable land | — | 2.8% of land#152 of 190 · 2024 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | — | +1.52#3 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption | — | +0.35#65 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Territory of New Zealand | Independent state |
| Government | Dependent territoryparliamentary democracy | Parliamentary republicmixed presidential-parliamentary system in free association with the US |
| Capital | Avarua | Majuro |
| Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Cook Islands Maori | English, Marshallese |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−10 | UTC+12 |
| Calling code | +682 | +692 |
| Region | Polynesia, Oceania | Micronesia, Oceania |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Cook Islands sits at about 21° S and is stretched to 1.15× its true area; Marshall Islands at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Cook Islands bigger than Marshall Islands?
- Yes. Cook Islands is 33% larger than Marshall Islands. Cook Islands covers 240 km² and Marshall Islands covers 181 km².
- How many times does Marshall Islands fit into Cook Islands?
- About 1.3 times: Cook Islands has 1.33× the area of Marshall Islands.
- Why do Cook Islands and Marshall Islands look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cook Islands is drawn about 1.15× its true area there and Marshall Islands about 1.02×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Cook Islands or Marshall Islands?
- Marshall Islands: 36,282 people against 14,222. Density: Cook Islands 59 per km², Marshall Islands 200 per km².
- What kind of government do Cook Islands and Marshall Islands have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Cook Islands: dependent territory; Marshall Islands: parliamentary republic.