Editing Economy of the Cook Islands

{{Short description|none}}
{{Update|date=September 2022}}
[[File:Pukapuka_PV_2015.jpg | thumb | right | alt=An array of solar panels from Pukapuka, Cook Islands. | An array of solar panels from Pukapuka, Cook Islands.]]
The '''economy of the Cook Islands''' is based mainly on tourism, with minor exports made up of [[tropical]] and citrus fruit. Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit-processing, clothing and handicrafts.

As in many other [[Polynesia|South Pacific]] nations, the [[Cook Islands]]'s economy is hindered by the country's isolation from foreign markets, lack of natural resources aside from fish, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate [[infrastructure]].

Trade deficits are made up for by remittances from emigrants and by foreign aid, overwhelmingly from [[New Zealand]]. Efforts to exploit tourism potential, encourage offshore banking, and expand the mining and fishing industries have been partially successful in stimulating investment and growth.

== Banking and finance ==
Banks in the Cook Islands are regulated under the ''Banking Act 2011''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paclii.org/ck/legis/num_act/ba201172/ |title=Banking Act 2011 |publisher=PACLII |date=13 December 2011 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> Banks must be licensed and are supervised by the [[Cook Islands Financial Supervisory Commission]].<ref>''Banking Act 2011'', section 17.</ref>

The Cook Islands developed an offshore financial services industry in the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/good-reads/8515361/Money-trail-leads-home-to-New-Zealand |title=Money trail leads home to New Zealand |author=Nicky Hager |publisher=Stuff |date=7 April 2013 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> Allegations that New Zealand-based companies were using it as a [[tax haven]] led to the [[Winebox Inquiry]] in New Zealand in the 1990s, and in 2000 it was listed as a tax haven by the [[OECD]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oecd.org/ctp/harmful/2090192.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906031301/http://www.oecd.org/ctp/harmful/2090192.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-06 |url-status=live |title=Towards Global Tax Co-operation |publisher=OECD |date=2000 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> In 2002 it was delisted after it agreed to fiscal transparency and to exchange tax information.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/en/news/2002/2002-03-28-cook-islands-co-operate-oecd-tax-haven-work |title=Cook Islands to co-operate with OECD tax haven work |publisher=IRD |date=28 March 2002 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mondaq.com/offshore-financial-centres/16509/cook-islands-to-be-removed-from-oecd-list-of-tax-havens |title=Cook Islands: Cook Islands To Be Removed from OECD List Of "Tax Havens"  |publisher=Mondaq |date=10 June 2002 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> Allegations of being a tax haven re-emerged in 2013 following the [[International Consortium of Investigative Journalists]] [[Offshore Leaks]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/211304/new-zealand-minister-says-cook-islands-links-in-alleged-tax-havens-to-be-investigated |title=New Zealand Minister says Cook Islands links in alleged tax havens to be investigated |publisher=[[RNZ]] |date=8 April 2013 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/211349/cooks-defends-trust-regulations-amid-tax-haven-debate |title=Cooks defends trust regulations amid tax haven debate |publisher=[[RNZ]] |date=9 April 2013 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> Trusts incorporated in the Cook Islands are used to provide anonymity and asset-protection.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/business/international/paradise-of-untouchable-assets.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/business/international/paradise-of-untouchable-assets.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |title=Cook Islands, a Paradise of Untouchable Assets |work=New York Times |author=Leslie Wayne |date=14 December 2013 |access-date=14 October 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The Cook Islands also featured in the [[Panama Papers]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pireport.org/articles/2016/05/18/cooks-investigate-those-named-panama-papers |title=Cooks To Investigate Those Named In Panama Papers |publisher=Pacific Islands Report |date=18 May 2016 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> [[Paradise Papers]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/343186/files-from-four-pacific-registries-in-paradise-papers |title=Files from four Pacific registries in Paradise Papers |publisher=[[RNZ]] |date=6 November 2017 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afr.com/world/paradise-papers-the-cook-islands-millionaire-who-never-has-to-pay-his-debts-20180322-h0xuln |title=Paradise papers: The Cook Islands millionaire who never has to pay his debts |publisher=Australian Financial Review |date=25 March 2018 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> and [[Pandora Papers]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cookislandsnews.com/internal/national/crime/major-leak-of-offshore-data-exposes-raro-based-trust-company/ |title=Major leak of offshore data exposes Raro based Trust company |publisher=Cook Islands News |date=5 October 2021 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cookislandsnews.com/national/local/cooks-defend-offshore-services-industry/ |title=Cooks defend offshore services industry |author=Caleb Fotheringham |publisher=Cook Islands News |date=9 October 2021 |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> financial leaks.

The Bank of the Cook Islands was created in 2001 by merging the [[Cook Islands Development Bank]] and the [[Cook Islands Savings Bank]].<ref>{{Cite report|last=Tschoegl |first=Adrian |date=2003-01-01 |title=Foreign Banks in the Pacific: Some History and Policy Issues |url=https://www.academia.edu/66639151/Foreign_Banks_in_the_Pacific_Some_History_and_Policy_Issues}}</ref> Economist [[Vaine Nooana-Arioka]] has been executive director of the Bank of the Cook Islands since 2008.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-10-02|title=Our Managers|url=https://bci.co.ck/about-us/our-managers/|access-date=2021-10-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002094358/https://bci.co.ck/about-us/our-managers/|archive-date=2021-10-02}}</ref>

==Mining==
In 2019, the Cook Islands passed the Sea Bed Minerals (SBM) Act.<ref name="sbma">{{Cite web|date=June 17, 2019|access-date=April 29, 2025|title=Sea Bed Minerals Act 2019 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cca30fab2cf793ec6d94096/t/5d3f683993ea3f0001b7379c/1564436729995/Seabed+Minerals+Act+2019|work=Clerk of the Parliament}}</ref> 

In 2022, the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) granted three exploration licenses for polymetallic nodules within their [[Exclusive Economic Zone]] to private companies Cobalt (CIC) Limited, Moana Minerals Limited and Cook Islands Investment Company (CIIC) Seabed Resources Limited, which is co-owned by the Cook Islands Government. The licenses expire in 2027.<ref name="Carstens">{{Cite web|last=Carstens|first=Halfdan|date=September 22, 2022|access-date=April 29, 2025|title=The very first licences for nodule exploration |url=https://geoexpro.com/the-very-first-licences-for-nodule-exploration/  |work=Geo Expro}}</ref>

In 2025, the Cook Islands announced that it had signed a five-year agreement with China focused on exploration and research into seabed minerals.<ref name="Inayatullah">{{cite news |last=Inayatullah |first=Saim Dušan |date=February 22, 2025 |access-date=April 29, 2025|title=Cook Islands announces deep sea minerals deal with China |url=https://www.dw.com/en/cook-islands-announces-deep-sea-minerals-deal-with-china/a-71711275 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

== Economic statistics ==
; GDP:
: Purchasing power parity - $183.2 million (2005 est.)
; GDP - real growth rate: -.05% (2005); -1.2% (2014); -1.7% (2013). Growth in the Cook Islands has slowed due to a lack of infrastructure projects and accommodation capacity constraints in the tourism sector. Cook Islands economic activity is expected to be flat in FY2016; to grow by 0.2% in FY2017. Inflation 1.8% (FY2016); 2.0% (FY2017). Statistics Asian Development Bank
; GDP - per capita: $17,033 (2022)<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNdata {{!}} record view {{!}} Per capita GDP at current prices - US dollars |url=https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=SNAAMA&f=grID:101;currID:USD;pcFlag:1;crID:184 |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=data.un.org}}</ref>
; GDP - composition by sector:
:* Agriculture: 78.9%
:* Industry: 9.6%
:* Services: 75.3% (2000)
; Population below poverty line:
: 28.4% of the population lives below the national poverty line. Statistics 2016 Asian Development Bank
; Household income or consumption by percentage share:
:* Lowest 10%: NA%
:* Highest 10%: NA%
; Inflation rate (consumer prices):
: 4.2% (2024 est.)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Consumer Price Index {{!}} Cook Islands Statistics Office |url=https://stats.gov.ck/consumer-price-index/ |access-date=2024-05-27 |language=en-US}}</ref>
; Labor force:
: 6,820 (2001)
; Labor force - by occupation:
: Agriculture 29%, industry 15%, services 56% (1995)
; Unemployment rate: 1.3% (2019)<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 May 2024 |title=Poverty Data: Cook Islands |url=https://www.adb.org/where-we-work/cook-islands/poverty |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=www.adb.org |language=en}}</ref>
; Budget:
:* Revenues:  $70.95 million
:* Expenditures:  $69.05 million; including capital expenditures of $5.744 million (FY00/01 est.)
; Industries:
: Fruit processing, tourism, fishing, clothing, handicrafts
; Industrial production growth rate:
: 1% (2002)
; Electricity - production:
: 28 GW·h (2003)
; Electricity - production by source:
:* Fossil fuel: 100%
:* Hydro: 0%
:* Nuclear: 0%
:* Other: 0% (2001)
; Electricity - consumption:
: 34.46 GW·h (2005 est)
; Electricity - exports:
: 0 kW·h (2003)
; Electricity - imports:
: 0 kW·h (2003)
; Oil consumption:
: {{convert|400|oilbbl/d|abbr=on}} (2003)
; Agriculture - products:
: [[Copra]], [[citrus]], [[pineapple]]s, [[tomato]]es, [[bean]]s, [[papaya|pawpaw]]s, [[banana]]s, [[yam (vegetable)|yams]], [[taro]], [[coffee]], [[pig]]s, [[poultry]]
; Exports:
: $5.222 million (2005)
; Exports - commodities:
: Copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee; fish; pearls and pearl shells; clothing
; Exports - partners:
: Australia 34%, Japan 27%, New Zealand 25%, US 8% (2004)
; Imports:
: $81.04 million (2005)
; Imports - commodities:
: Foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber, capital goods
; Imports - partners:
: New Zealand 61%, Fiji 19%, US 9%, Australia 6%, Japan 2% (2004)
; Debt - external:
: $141 million (1996 est.)
; Economic aid - recipient:
: $13.1 million (1995); note - New Zealand furnishes the greater part
; Currency:
: 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents
; Exchange rates:
: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.4203 (2005), 1.9451 (January 2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997), 1.4543 (1996), 1.5235 (1995)
; Fiscal year:
: 1 April&ndash;31 March

== Telecommunications ==

[[Telecom Cook Islands]] Ltd (TCI) is the sole provider of telecommunications in the Cook Islands. TCI is a private company owned by [[Spark New Zealand]] Ltd (60%) and the Cook Islands Government (40%). In operation since July 1991, TCI provides local, national and international telecommunications as well as internet access on all islands except Suwarrow. Communications to Suwarrow is via [[HF radio]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cook-islands/ CIA World Factbook, 2006]

{{Cook Islands topics}}
{{Oceania in topic|Economy of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Economy Of The Cook Islands}}
[[Category:Economy of the Cook Islands| ]]