Country Economic Review: Cook Islands

Abstract

The Cook Islands’ real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.5 percent per annum during 1982-1994, while the real GDP per capita growth rate was 3.6 percent. During 1995- 1998, as the population declined from 19,500 to 17,400 with the migration of Cook Islanders to New Zealand, real GDP declined at an average annual rate of 2.8 percent, and real GDP per capita stagnated. The recession largely reflected public service downsizing under the Economic Reform Program. In 1999, real GDP is estimated to grow by 2.7 percent as a result of a resurgence in tourism, growth in black pearl production, construction projects, and a recovery in commercial agricultural production.