About 70% of the population of the Cook Islands belong to the Cook Islands Christian Church. The second largest group are Roman Catholics, estimated at the end of 1994 to have 3,086 adherents. The following traditions are also represented in the islands: Anglicans, the Assembly of God, the Baptist Church, the Church of Latter-Day Saints, the Apostolic Church, the Baha'i faith and Jehovah's witnesses.
By 2006 some 21,388 people were living in the Cook Islands, more than half of them on Rarotonga. But only 13,500 were permanent residents. About 51,000 live in New Zealand, 70 percent were born there, and 42 percent were under the age of 15. About 15,000 Cook Islanders live in Australia. With most of the population living away from the islands, efforts to preserve language and culture are underway in expatriate communities, as well as in the homeland.
New Zealand Dollar (NZD; symbol NZ$) = 100 cents, supplemented by notes and coins minted for local use which are not negotiable outside the Cook Islands. Notes are in denominations of NZ$100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of NZ$2 and 1, and 50, 20, 10 and 5 cents.