Photo: Benedict Adam · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 04 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Cook Islands: Education & Knowledge
How far does a country's schooling carry its children?
Cook Islands is placed 91st of 198 countries on education & knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Out-of-School Rate, Primary 2.532 (2024); Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary 83.35 (2024).
Share
Education & Knowledge
91st
of 198 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics
Not placed in the Country Index 2026 overall: measured on too few topics.
- 2.532Out-of-School Rate, Primary, 2024Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
- 83.35Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary, 2024Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)
- —Upper Secondary Completion Rate, 2025No reading for this country
- 4.417Government Spending on Education, 2023Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Cook Islands on education & knowledge — 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 1 of 4
Out-of-School Rate, Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Cook Islands’s is from 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2.532
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
Lower is better
Cook Islands: 2.532. Across the 192 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0.004 (United Arab Emirates) to 65.6 (Equatorial Guinea); the world median is 3.691.
- World median
- 3.691
- Best in Polynesia
- 0.537 Tuvalu
Key 2 of 4
Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Cook Islands’s is from 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0
83.35
Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)
Higher is better
Cook Islands: 83.35. Across the 187 countries at their latest reading, values run from 3.411 (Yemen) to 100 (United Arab Emirates); the world median is 85.9.
- World median
- 85.9
- Best in Polynesia
- 94.94 Tuvalu
Key 3 of 4
Upper Secondary Completion Rate
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
No reading
Upper secondary completion rate (%)
Higher is better
UIS publishes no 2025 figure for Cook Islands, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 164 countries in this edition, values run from 2.13 (South Sudan) to 99.27 (South Korea); the world median is 64.87.
- World median
- 64.87
- Best in Polynesia
- 86.21 Tonga
Key 4 of 4
Government Spending on Education
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
4.417
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
Higher is better
Cook Islands: 4.417. Across the 123 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Somalia) to 16.39 (Kiribati); the world median is 3.709.
- World median
- 3.709
- Best in Polynesia
- 12.85 Tuvalu
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.
Out-of-School Rate, Primary
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%) · lower is better
Cook IslandsWorld median
Cook Islands fell from 9.928 in 2000 to 2.532 in 2024; the world median went from 8.642 to 3.691.
Every year’s figures
Year Cook Islands World median 2024 2.5 3.691 2023 2.6 3.393 2022 — 3.002 2021 — 3.330 2020 — 2.678 2019 — 2.758 2018 — 2.439 2017 1.2 2.907 2016 0.1 2.954 2015 1.6 3.052 2014 2.0 3.904 2013 3.0 3.413 2012 0.9 3.408 2011 0.6 3.626 2010 0.8 3.491 2009 — 3.577 2008 — 3.878 2007 2.4 4.029 2006 — 4.338 2005 — 4.571 2004 — 3.791 2003 — 4.412 2002 — 4.144 2001 — 4.051 2000 9.9 8.642 Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary
Children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%) · higher is better
Cook IslandsWorld median
Cook Islands fell from 98.76 in 2013 to 83.35 in 2024; the world median went from 88 to 85.9.
Every year’s figures
Year Cook Islands World median 2024 83.3 85.9 2023 100.0 87.6 2022 95.0 87.7 2021 93.8 87.0 2020 91.1 88.3 2019 — 88.8 2018 — 89.6 2017 98.5 87.4 2016 96.0 87.9 2015 94.1 88.2 2014 94.2 89.2 2013 98.8 88.0 2012 — 85.4 2011 — 86.2 2010 — 86.1 2009 — 84.8 2008 — 85.8 2007 — 86.7 2006 — 84.0 2005 — 82.2 2004 — 81.8 2003 — 78.3 2002 — 80.0 2001 — 80.8 2000 — 66.3 Government Spending on Education
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) · higher is better
Cook IslandsWorld median
Cook Islands rose from 4.227 in 2014 to 4.417 in 2023; the world median went from 4.2 to 3.709.
Every year’s figures
Year Cook Islands World median 2023 4.42 3.7092 2022 — 4.0570 2021 4.59 4.2611 2020 3.66 4.4056 2019 3.50 4.1407 2018 4.02 4.2159 2017 2.92 4.1401 2016 3.97 4.2342 2015 3.95 4.2386 2014 4.23 4.2005 2013 — 4.3493 2012 — 4.0348 2011 — 3.9987 2010 — 4.1396 2009 — 4.6638 2008 — 4.4226 2007 — 4.1717 2006 — 4.0593 2005 — 4.0557 2004 — 3.9745 2003 — 4.1595 2002 — 4.0173 2001 — 4.1002 2000 — 3.8861
03In context
Cook Islands beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 198 countries on education & knowledge, 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 198; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.
| Country | Standing | Out-of-School Rate, PrimaryOut-of-school rate, primary age (%) | Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before PrimaryChildren one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%) | Upper Secondary Completion RateUpper secondary completion rate (%) | Government Spending on EducationGovernment expenditure on education (% of GDP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tuvalu | 30th | 0.537 | 94.94 | 57.42 | 12.85 |
 Tonga | 90th | 2.28 | 77.71 | 86.21 | — |
| Cook Islands | 91st | 2.532 | 83.35 | — | 4.417 |
 Samoa | 99th | 1.809 | 29.81 | 61.21 | 6.11 |
 Niue | 133rd | 5.691 | 83.2 | — | — |
 American Samoa | not placed | — | — | — | — |
 French Polynesia | not placed | — | — | — | — |
“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is
Across Polynesia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 198.
Placed either side on education & knowledge
The countries immediately above and below Cook Islands in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Cook Islands is ahead of the world, and behind
15 more statistics filed under education & knowledge, 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 median8
Statistics on which Cook Islands does better than the middle country measured.
Qualified Teachers in Primary EducationUIS · 2024 · world median 93.6610093.66▲ Improved since 2014
Cook Islands: 100 · world median 93.66 · Primary teachers with the minimum qualifications their country requires (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Out-of-School Rate, Lower Secondary AgeUIS · 2024 · world median 6.3431.236.343▲ Improved since 2014
Cook Islands: 1.23 · world median 6.343 · Out-of-school rate, lower secondary age (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.011 to 79.71; lower is better.
Position 98th of 116 · derived, 1st = worst.
Primary Schools with Internet for TeachingUIS · 2024 · world median 98.6610098.66No real change since 2016
Cook Islands: 100 · world median 98.66 · Primary schools with internet access for teaching (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Pre-Primary Net Enrolment RateUIS · 2024 · world median 65.9386.165.93▲ Improved since 2014
Cook Islands: 86.1 · world median 65.93 · Net enrolment rate, pre-primary (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.779 to 99.85; higher is better.
Position 33rd of 120 · derived.
Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of PrimaryUIS · 2023 · world median 43.862.9243.8No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 62.92 · world median 43.8 · Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in mathematics (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.8 to 93.42; higher is better.
School Life ExpectancyUIS · 2024 · world median 14.5915.6214.59▲ Improved since 2023
Cook Islands: 15.62 · world median 14.59 · School life expectancy, primary to tertiary (years). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 7.478 to 21.01; higher is better.
Position 28th of 77 · derived.
Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of PrimaryUIS · 2023 · world median 60.0874.6760.08No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 74.67 · world median 60.08 · Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in reading (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 2 to 98.78; higher is better.
Gender Parity Index, Tertiary EnrolmentUIS · 2024 · world median 1.2441.7681.244No real change since 2014
Cook Islands: 1.768 · world median 1.244 · Adjusted gender parity index, tertiary gross enrolment (1 = parity). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.74 to 1.83; higher is better.
Position 94th of 95 · derived.
Behind the world median3
Statistics on which Cook Islands does worse than the middle country measured.
Pupils per Qualified Teacher, PrimaryUIS · 2024 · world median 20.6734.9320.67▼ Worsened since 2014
Cook Islands: 34.93 · world median 20.67 · Primary pupils per qualified teacher (headcount basis). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 8.244 to 284.7; lower is better.
Position 25th of 92 · derived, 1st = worst.
Inbound Mobility Rate, TertiaryUIS · 2024 · world median 5.4941.775.494▲ Improved since 2023
Cook Islands: 1.77 · world median 5.494 · Inbound mobility rate, tertiary (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 87.12; higher is better.
Position 61st of 75 · derived.
Tertiary Enrolment RatioUIS · 2024 · world median 52.7712.4952.77▼ Worsened since 2014
Cook Islands: 12.49 · world median 52.77 · Gross enrolment ratio, tertiary (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 2.566 to 141.86; higher is better.
Position 85th of 95 · derived.
Level with the median, or no median to compare1
Primary Schools with ElectricityUIS · 2024 · world median 100100100No real change since 2016
Cook Islands: 100 · world median 100 · Primary schools with access to electricity (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.246 to 100; higher is better.
No better end3
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Outbound Mobility Ratio, TertiaryUIS · 2023 · world median 5.2791,7245.279Moved since 2012
Cook Islands: 1,724 · world median 5.279 · Outbound mobility ratio, tertiary (% of tertiary enrolment at home). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.333 to 1,724.
Scholarly ArticlesOurResearch · 2025 · world median 2,240122,240No real change since 2022
Cook Islands: 12 · world median 2,240 · Articles with at least one author at an institution in the country (full counting). OpenAlex (OurResearch), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1 to 1,094,890.
Share of Graduates from ICT ProgrammesUIS · 2023 · world median 5.60105.601No earlier reading
Cook Islands: 0 · world median 5.601 · Tertiary graduates from ICT programmes (% of all graduates). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 17.19.
No current reading for Cook Islands
Academic Freedom Index, Adult Literacy Rate, Bachelor's or Higher Attainment (last 2020), Expected Years of Schooling, Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of STEM Graduates, Government Funding per Primary Student, Harmonized Test Scores, Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Learning Poverty, Learning-Adjusted Years of School, Lower Secondary Completion Rate, Mean Years of Schooling, Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Lower Secondary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Lower Secondary, Nobel Prize Laureates by Country of Birth, PISA Mathematics Performance, PISA Reading Performance, PISA Science Performance, Primary Completion Rate, Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, Secondary School Enrolment, Trust in Scientists, Upper Secondary Attainment (last 2020), Upper Secondary Completion Rate, Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Youth Literacy Rate. 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
Education & Knowledge among Cook Islands’s 4 topics
Education & Knowledge is Cook Islands’s 3rd 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 education & knowledge
The three countries placed highest of 198, and the leaders Cook Islands can most readily be measured against.
1
United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia
1st of 198 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
GreeceSouthern Europe
2nd of 198 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: User:Ggia derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
PolandEastern Europe
3rd of 198 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich) · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest placed on all 4 keys
Moldova7th4/4 keysHighest in Oceania
Australia18th3/4 keysHighest in Polynesia
Tuvalu30th4/4 keysThis page
Cook Islands91st3/4 keys
Positions out of 198 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.
07Questions
Cook Islands on education & knowledge: 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 education & knowledge?
Cook Islands is placed 91st of 198 countries on Education & Knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics (Out-of-School Rate, Primary, Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary and Government Spending on Education). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Out-of-School Rate, Primary figure for Cook Islands?
2.532 in 2024 (out-of-school rate, primary age (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 3.691.
What is the latest Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary figure for Cook Islands?
83.35 in 2024 (children one year before primary entry age in organised learning (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 85.9.
How have Cook Islands’s education & knowledge figures changed?
Out-of-School Rate, Primary fell from 9.928 in 2000 to 2.532 in 2024; Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary fell from 98.76 in 2013 to 83.35 in 2024; Government Spending on Education rose from 4.227 in 2014 to 4.417 in 2023.
Which education & knowledge statistics are missing for Cook Islands?
No current reading is published for Cook Islands on Academic Freedom Index, Adult Literacy Rate, Bachelor's or Higher Attainment, Expected Years of Schooling, Female Share of Researchers, Female Share of STEM Graduates, Government Funding per Primary Student, Harmonized Test Scores, Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Learning Poverty, Learning-Adjusted Years of School, Lower Secondary Completion Rate, Mean Years of Schooling, Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Lower Secondary, Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of Lower Secondary, Nobel Prize Laureates by Country of Birth, PISA Mathematics Performance, PISA Reading Performance, PISA Science Performance, Primary Completion Rate, Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, Secondary School Enrolment, Trust in Scientists, Upper Secondary Attainment, Upper Secondary Completion Rate, Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Youth Literacy Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
How much children actually learn is only partly covered. International test scores exist for a limited group of countries, and they are published here as context rather than used as a key, because a key must describe most of the world. Universities, research, and youth and adult literacy also appear as context.
How the Education & Knowledge standing is decided
A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 4 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 4 keys to be placed.
The education & knowledge method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built
The key statistics and their licences
- Out-of-School Rate, Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Participation in Organised Learning One Year Before Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Upper Secondary Completion Rate — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Government Spending on Education — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 15 statistics on this page come from 2 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
- United Arab Emirates — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Greece — User:Ggia derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Poland — Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich), CC BY 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Cook Islands: Education & Knowledge — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/cook-islands/education