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Country guide· 8 min read

Cook Islands rankings 2026: where Cook Islands places in 23 global Top 10s

Cook Islands is #2 in Countries with the highest share of people living in rural areas and inside the top 10 of 4 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

This is the complete picture of Cook Islands across Top10Earth: 23 current rankings out of 491 that compare countries, from the economy and health to energy, education and food. Every figure below is the latest published value from its source. Its best position is #2 in Countries with the highest share of people living in rural areas, where it is measured at 100 % (Rural population share) as of 2026-11-02. Cook Islands finishes inside the top 10 in 4 rankings.

Top 10 finishes

Cook Islands is inside the top 10 of 4 further rankings. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

Cook Islands by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

World and society

In world and society, Cook Islands holds 11 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people living in rural areas (100 %), #3 of 50 in Countries with the highest pneumococcal vaccination coverage in children (99 %), #14 of 50 in Countries with the highest death rates from hypertensive heart disease (53.79 per 100,000 people) and #17 of 50 in Countries with the highest second-dose measles vaccination coverage (98 %). 7 more rankings are listed below.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, Cook Islands holds 4 positions: #4 of 50 in Countries with the largest share of forest in protected areas (95.64 %), #5 of 50 in Countries with the highest CO2 emissions from transport per person (4,212.3 tonnes per person), #24 of 50 in Countries with the highest CO2 emissions from oil per person (5.82 tonnes per person) and #46 of 50 in Countries with the highest energy use per person (36.66 MWh).

Education and science

In education and science, Cook Islands holds 4 positions: #41 of 50 in Countries with the longest compulsory education (12 years), #42 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (primary) (62.92 %), #43 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum reading level (primary) (74.67 %) and #45 of 50 in Countries with the highest pre-primary school enrolment (86.1 %).

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, Cook Islands holds 3 positions: #21 of 50 in Countries with the highest cassava yields (17.74 tonnes per hectare), #39 of 50 in Countries using the most pesticides per hectare of cropland (7.86 kg per hectare) and #45 of 50 in Countries with the highest coffee yields (0.55 tonnes per hectare).

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, Cook Islands holds 1 position: #28 of 50 in Countries drinking the largest share of their alcohol as spirits (56.14 %).

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, Cook Islands moved in 21 rankings:

Where Cook Islands ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. Cook Islands's lowest current positions are 49th of 50 in Countries with the highest share of adults with some secondary education (90.91 %), 46th of 50 in Countries with the highest energy use per person (36.66 MWh) and 45th of 50 in Countries with the highest coffee yields (0.55 tonnes per hectare). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes Cook Islands

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit Cook Islands's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about Cook Islands

What is Cook Islands's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#2 in Countries with the highest share of people living in rural areas, with 100 % (Rural population share) as of 2026-11-02.

How many rankings include Cook Islands?

23 current country rankings out of 491 on the site.

Is Cook Islands in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 4 rankings, including #2 in Countries with the highest share of people living in rural areas, #3 in Countries with the highest pneumococcal vaccination coverage in children and #4 in Countries with the largest share of forest in protected areas.

Where do the numbers come from?

From Our World in Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

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