Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 06 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Cook Islands: Development & Human Capital
Is a country turning its resources into better lives?
Cook Islands is placed 1st of 196 countries on development & human capital in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: Social Protection Coverage 100 (2025); Maternal Mortality Ratio 0.11 (2023).
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Development & Human Capital
1st
of 196 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 3 key statistics
Not placed in the Country Index 2026 overall: measured on too few topics.
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Cook Islands on development & human capital — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 2 of 3
Maternal Mortality Ratio
UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
0.11
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
Lower is better
Cook Islands: 0.11. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 0.11 (Cook Islands) to 992.83 (Nigeria); the world median is 46.65.
- World median
- 46.65
- Best in Polynesia
- 0.11 Cook Islands
Key 3 of 3
Human Development Index
UNDP Human Development Report Office
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
No reading
HDI score (0–1)
Higher is better
UNDP Human Development Report Office publishes no 2023 figure for Cook Islands, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 193 countries in this edition, values run from 0.388 (South Sudan) to 0.972 (Iceland); the world median is 0.762.
- World median
- 0.762
- Best in Polynesia
- 0.769 Tonga
02Over time
Which way Cook Islands is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Maternal Mortality Ratio
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births · lower is better
Cook IslandsWorld median
Cook Islands fell from 0.33 in 2000 to 0.11 in 2023; the world median went from 70.99 to 46.65.
Every year’s figures
Year Cook Islands World median 2023 0.11 46.7 2022 0.33 53.0 2021 0.12 76.6 2020 0.14 56.0 2019 0.17 48.4 2018 0.17 49.3 2017 0.16 47.2 2016 0.15 50.6 2015 0.15 51.9 2014 0.15 52.8 2013 0.15 53.3 2012 0.14 54.6 2011 0.14 55.0 2010 0.14 56.1 2009 0.18 56.3 2008 0.18 55.8 2007 0.18 56.8 2006 0.18 58.1 2005 0.14 60.1 2004 0.14 63.0 2003 0.18 66.8 2002 0.23 66.0 2001 0.28 68.1 2000 0.33 71.0
03In context
Cook Islands beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 196 countries on development & human capital, never a place within the region.
Cook Islands and Polynesia
Cook Islands has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. Standing among all 196; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.
| Country | Standing | Social Protection CoveragePopulation covered by at least one social protection benefit (%) | Maternal Mortality RatioMaternal deaths per 100,000 live births | Human Development IndexHDI score (0–1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Islands | 1st | 100 | 0.11 | — |
 Tonga | 115th | 28.2 | 66.78 | 0.769 |
 Samoa | =136th | 20.2 | 101.49 | 0.708 |
 Tuvalu | 155th | 4.5 | 169.71 | 0.689 |
 American Samoa | not placed | — | — | — |
 French Polynesia | not placed | — | — | — |
 Niue | not placed | 48.6 | — | — |
“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is
Across Polynesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 196.
Placed either side on development & human capital
The countries immediately above and below Cook Islands in the topic’s list.
- Cook Islands1st
Norway2nd
Denmark3rd
Germany4th
04Context, no vote
Where Cook Islands is ahead of the world, and behind
14 more statistics filed under development & human capital, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median10
Statistics on which Cook Islands does better than the middle country measured.
Child and Family Benefit CoverageILO · 2024 · world median 23.7510023.75No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 100 · world median 23.75 · Children or households with children receiving child or family cash benefits (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Completeness of Birth RegistrationUNICEF · 2025 · world median 98.410098.4No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 100 · world median 98.4 · Children under 5 whose birth is registered (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.7 to 100; higher is better.
Immunisation Coverage, Measles First Dose (MCV1)WUENIC · 2025 · world median 909690▼ Worsened since 2015
Cook Islands: 96 · world median 90 · Infants given a first dose of measles vaccine (%). WHO and UNICEF (WUENIC), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 13 to 99; higher is better.
Immunisation Coverage, DTP3WUENIC · 2025 · world median 919591▼ Worsened since 2015
Cook Islands: 95 · world median 91 · Infants given a third dose of DTP vaccine (%). WHO and UNICEF (WUENIC), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 39 to 99; higher is better.
Stillbirth RateUN IGME · 2023 · world median 8.1636.5948.163▼ Worsened since 2013
Cook Islands: 6.594 · world median 8.163 · Stillbirths (per 1,000 total births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.18 to 34.9; lower is better.
Position 118th of 200 · derived, 1st = worst.
Neonatal Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 8.1347.0338.134▼ Worsened since 2014
Cook Islands: 7.033 · world median 8.134 · Deaths in the first 28 days (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.544 to 39.47; lower is better.
Position 112th of 200 · derived, 1st = worst.
Infant Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 12.2611.3112.26▼ Worsened since 2014
Cook Islands: 11.31 · world median 12.26 · Deaths before age one (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.214 to 71.87; lower is better.
Position 107th of 200 · derived, 1st = worst.
Disability Benefit CoverageILO · 2025 · world median 43.948.643.9No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 48.6 · world median 43.9 · People with severe disabilities receiving disability benefits (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Under-Five Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 14.5413.3414.54▼ Worsened since 2014
Cook Islands: 13.34 · world median 14.54 · Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.26 to 115.65; lower is better.
Position 106th of 200 · derived, 1st = worst.
Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 74.6375.2874.63No real change since 2013
Cook Islands: 75.28 · world median 74.63 · Years a newborn would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 54.46 to 86.37; higher is better.
Position 106th of 222 · derived.
Behind the world median3
Statistics on which Cook Islands does worse than the middle country measured.
Low Birthweight PrevalenceUNICEF and WHO (Joint Low Birthweight Estimates) · 2020 · world median 10.2110.2610.21▼ Worsened since 2010
Cook Islands: 10.26 · world median 10.21 · Live births weighing under 2,500 g (%). UNICEF and WHO (Joint Low Birthweight Estimates), 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 3.993 to 27.44; lower is better.
Position 78th of 158 · derived, 1st = worst.
Mortality Rate, Ages 5–14UN IGME · 2024 · world median 2.8583.0932.858▼ Worsened since 2014
Cook Islands: 3.093 · world median 2.858 · Deaths between ages 5 and 14 (per 1,000 children aged 5). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.392 to 59.04; lower is better.
Position 94th of 200 · derived, 1st = worst.
Old-Age Pension CoverageILO · 2025 · world median 80.867.280.8No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 67.2 · world median 80.8 · People above statutory pensionable age receiving an old-age pension (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Level with the median, or no median to compare1
Unemployment Benefit CoverageILO · 2024 · world median 000No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 0 · world median 0 · Unemployed people receiving unemployment benefits (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
No current reading for Cook Islands
Access to Electricity, Access to Electricity, Rural, Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Adequacy of Social Protection and Labour Benefits, Cereal Yield, Child Marriage, Children with Functional Difficulties, Coefficient of Human Inequality, Comprehensive Wealth per Capita, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, Employment Injury Protection Coverage, Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six Months, Expected Years of Schooling, Foundational ID Ownership, GDP per Capita (PPP), Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, GNI per Capita (PPP), Historical GDP per Capita (Maddison), Human Capital Index, Human Capital Wealth per Capita, Human Development Index, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Malaria Incidence (P. falciparum), Malaria Incidence (P. vivax), Malaria Mortality (P. falciparum), Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Mean Years of Schooling, Multidimensional Poverty Measure, Net Official Development Assistance Received, Official Development Assistance Given (% of GNI), Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount at $3.00 a Day, Line-up Estimates, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $4.20 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Poverty Severity (Squared Poverty Gap) at $3.00 a Day, Productive Capacities Index, Prosperity Gap, Statistical Performance Indicators, Stunting Prevalence in Children Under Five, Violent Discipline of Children and Wasting Prevalence in Children Under Five. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing
05Country Index 2026
Development & Human Capital among Cook Islands’s 4 topics
Development & Human Capital is Cook Islands’s best-placed topic of 4. Strongest first, each marker at its share of that topic’s field.
- Development & Human Capital1st of 1962/3 keys
- Energy61st of 1652/3 keys
- Education & Knowledge91st of 1983/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing98th of 2002/4 keys
No standing on Governance & Institutions, Economy & Innovation, Work & Labour, Environment & Sustainability, Gender & Equality, Democracy & Civil Liberties, Peace & Security, Risk & Resilience, Mobility & Trade, Food & Agriculture, Poverty & Inequality, Digital & Technology: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on development & human capital
The three countries placed highest of 196, and the leaders Cook Islands can most readily be measured against.
- 1Cook Islands
Polynesia
1st of 196 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
2NorwayNorthern Europe
2nd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3DenmarkNorthern Europe
3rd of 196 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: User:Aconcagua · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Oceania
Cook Islands1st2/3 keys
Positions out of 196 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Cook Islands and development & human capital
On development & human capital
Global Hunger Index 2025: Countries with the Most Alarming Hunger Crisis
Thirteen countries scored across four editions — 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2025 — and five the report could not score at all. DR Congo and South Sudan share 121st place on 37.5.
On development & human capital
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita, each from its own publisher and year.
08Questions
Cook Islands on development & human capital: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Cook Islands rank on development & human capital?
Cook Islands is placed 1st of 196 countries on Development & Human Capital in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 3 key statistics (Social Protection Coverage and Maternal Mortality Ratio). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Social Protection Coverage figure for Cook Islands?
100 in 2025 (population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 52.1.
What is the latest Maternal Mortality Ratio figure for Cook Islands?
0.11 in 2023 (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), according to UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). The world median in the same edition was 46.65.
How have Cook Islands’s development & human capital figures changed?
Maternal Mortality Ratio fell from 0.33 in 2000 to 0.11 in 2023.
Which development & human capital statistics are missing for Cook Islands?
No current reading is published for Cook Islands on Access to Electricity, Access to Electricity, Rural, Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Adequacy of Social Protection and Labour Benefits, Cereal Yield, Child Marriage, Children with Functional Difficulties, Coefficient of Human Inequality, Comprehensive Wealth per Capita, Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, Employment Injury Protection Coverage, Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six Months, Expected Years of Schooling, Foundational ID Ownership, GDP per Capita (PPP), Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, GNI per Capita (PPP), Historical GDP per Capita (Maddison), Human Capital Index, Human Capital Wealth per Capita, Human Development Index, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Malaria Incidence (P. falciparum), Malaria Incidence (P. vivax), Malaria Mortality (P. falciparum), Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Mean Years of Schooling, Multidimensional Poverty Measure, Net Official Development Assistance Received, Official Development Assistance Given (% of GNI), Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount at $3.00 a Day, Line-up Estimates, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $4.20 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Poverty Severity (Squared Poverty Gap) at $3.00 a Day, Productive Capacities Index, Prosperity Gap, Statistical Performance Indicators, Stunting Prevalence in Children Under Five, Violent Discipline of Children and Wasting Prevalence in Children Under Five. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Poverty lines, inequality and aid received are published here as context rather than as keys, often because they cover fewer countries or are measured too rarely. Development is also not the same as economic size or growth, which belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Development & Human Capital standing is decided
A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 3 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 3 keys to be placed.
The development & human capital method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built
The key statistics and their licences
- Social Protection Coverage — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Maternal Mortality Ratio — UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Human Development Index — UNDP Human Development Report Office, CC BY 3.0 IGO
The other 14 statistics on this page come from 6 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Cook Islands’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Cook Islands (banner) — Benedict Adam, CC BY 2.0
- Norway — Ximonic , Simo Räsänen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Denmark — User:Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Cook Islands: Development & Human Capital — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/cook-islands/development