Cook Islands (the)
Cook Islands (the)
The Cook Islands has a well-functioning CRVS system, with essentially all births and deaths in the country being registered. There is direct sharing of information, both notifications of births and death certificates, between the Ministry of Health and the national registry office at the Ministry of Justice.
Registration data is entered into an event-based, centralized electronic database and a legal birth or death certificate is issued. Financial incentives are available to support new parents encouraging the completion of formal registration processes, and the birth certificate is an important identity document used as evidence for passport issuance, opening bank accounts and school enrollment.
Registering births and deaths within the country is compulsory, regardless of citizenship; with births to be reported within ten days of the event, and deaths (including a cause of death as certified by a doctor) within ten days of the event. Late registration for both births and deaths attract a penalty fee and requires approval by the court. All deaths in the Cook Islands are either medically certified or required to undergo a coronial review. Death certificates are essential for inheritance purposes including bank accounts and land transfer.
The National Statistics Office maintains a duplicate SQL database of the registry data which is updated regularly, although not directly linked. Vital statistics reports based on registration events are published by the Cook Islands Statistics Office within the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management.
CRVS Focal Point:
Mr. Tamatoa Jonassen, Secretary for Justice (Registrar-General), Ministry of Justice Cook Islands
Cook Islands (the)
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 Targets:
1.A
Target 1.A. By 2024, at least 100 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered
1.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
1.C
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
1.D
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.E
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
2.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 Targets:
3.A
By...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision –are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.B
By ...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.C
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate)
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to 1 per cent.
3.E
By 2024, at least ...per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner havetheir underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
3.F
By ...(year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.
3.G
By ...(year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
3.H
By ...(year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 is an expression of the internationally accepted principle of the universal coverage of civil registration. The CRVS system should register all vital events occurring in the territory and jurisdiction of the country or area, including among hard-to-reach and marginalized populations.
National Targets:
1.A
Target 1.A. By 2024, at least 100 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered
BASELINE
201497%
MIDTERM
2019100%
TARGET
2024100%
1.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
Note: These figures are from an administrative source, and not from surveys like for most countries.
MIDTERM
2014100%
TARGET
2024100%
1.C
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
TARGET
2024100%
1.D
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
baseline
201496%
MIDTERM
201997%
TARGET
2024100%
1.E
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
baseline
2014100%
MIDTERM
2019100%
TARGET
2024100%
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 reflects that CRVS systems provide legal documentation of civil registration to individuals and families for legal and administrative purposes. Legal documentation is strongly linked with a broad range of rights and activities, in particular legal identity. This goal addresses the distinction between the civil registration of a vital event and the possession of formal proof that it took place, in the form of legal documentation.
National Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
baseline
2013100%
MIDTERM
2019100%
TARGET
2024100%
2.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
baseline
2013100%
MIDTERM
2017100.0%
TARGET
2024100%
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 highlights the critical importance of civil registration being linked to the production and quality assurance of vital statistics on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events.
National Targets:
3.A
By...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision –are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.B
By ...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.C
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate)
Note: This target was not monitored as part of the Midterm Questionnaire on the Implementation of the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
baseline
201478%
TARGET
2024100%
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to 1 per cent.
TARGET
20241%
3.E
By 2024, at least ...per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner havetheir underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
Note: In light of recent countries’ experiences, Verbal autopsy is not encouraged to be applied to a large population scale, but rather on a representative sample. To reflect this, Target 3E is not anymore monitored by the coverage percentage of Verbal autopsy, but by the use or not of Verbal autopsy and its different applications.
TARGET
2024No
3.F
By ...(year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.G
By ...(year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.H
By ...(year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
TARGET
Target achieved
Cook Islands (the)
National Coordination Mechanism
Status in Cook Islands (the): Complete
Comprehensive Assessment
Status in Cook Islands (the): Complete
National Targets for 2024
Status in Cook Islands (the): Complete
Monitoring & Reporting Plan
Status in Cook Islands (the): Not started
Inequality Assessment
Status in Cook Islands (the): Not started
National Strategy
Status in Cook Islands (the): Not started
National Focal Point
Status in Cook Islands (the): Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Baseline
Status in Cook Islands (the): Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Midterm
Status in Cook Islands (the): Complete
Cook Islands (the) Events
21 May 2018 - 31 May 2018
The Brisbane Accord Group (BAG) under the leadership of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (…
18 October 2023 - 20 October 2023
The workshop, largely funded by the USA Embassy in New Zealand with support from the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, seeks to build…
09 December 2015 - 10 December 2015
The workshop for National CRVS Focal Points is aimed at strengthening capacities for setting national targets and collecting, compiling and…
13 November 2018 - 15 November 2018
The Regional Steering Group is responsible for providing regional oversight and guidance for the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on…
Cook Islands (the) News
15 November 2023
In October, eight national Registrars or Registrars-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages from various Polynesian regions, along with experts from…
20 October 2021
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight October 2022)
The preparations for the Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific are nearly complete…
05 January 2018
The Brisbane Accord Group (BAG), led by SPC, WHO, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Fiji…
04 December 2017
The Brisbane Accord Group (BAG), led by SPC, WHO, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the…
30 October 2017
The Pacific Civil Registrars – Disaster Preparation and Response Workshop was conducted in Suva, Fiji from 2-5 October. The workshop aimed to…
08 September 2017
The Pacific Ministers of Health Meeting was held in the Cook Islands from 28-30 August. Ministers emphasized the importance of CRVS to the health…
06 September 2017
The Cook Islands hosted the Pacific Ministers of Health Meeting 28-30 August 2017. Ministers again emphasized the importance of civil registration…
11 May 2017
Road traffic accidents and injuries are an important cause of premature deaths in the Pacific Islands, but are often poorly recorded in our cause of…
17 April 2017
The Pacific Civil Registrars Network (PCRN) has been working to facilitate cross-border sharing of civil registration records where birth has…
03 April 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
29 April 2016
Here you can find recent news, events and blogs relevant for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
Subscribe for more ! To receive regular updates on the…
Cook Islands (the) Resources
Meeting Documents, 2023
The Pacific Civil Registrars Network met on 20-23 March 2023 in Suva, Fiji. The meeting was organized with support of the Economic and Social…
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2020
Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2019
Within the last five years, almost all Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) have undertaken an assessment of the civil registration and…
Meeting Documents, 2024
This resource provides a full list of members for the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific. The list includes members for the…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
Data sharing in the Pacific - New Zealand and Niue share registration data
Kyrgyzstan progressing on a national strategy for CRVS…
Meeting Documents, 2017
An Information Paper on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics prepared for the 5th Regional Conference of Heads of Planning and Statistics (HOPS),…
Presentations, 2017
The Cook Islands' presentation at the 2017 PCRN Meeting on CRVS for Disasters held from 2-4 October in Suva, Fiji. The workshop was supported by the…
Advocacy Materials, 2017
Provides a brief overview of the current status of CRVS in the Cook Islands, including:
Regional Action Framework targets
Regional Action Framework…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
Pacific civil registrars from 16 countries discuss common challenges and solutions to disaster response
Global Leaders Join ID4D High-…
Advocacy Materials, 2017
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics play a key role in facilitating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. A well-functioning CRVS…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
Enroll in the facilitated CRVS eLearning course today
Cambodia completes survey to establish national baselines on CRVS
The Regional…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
Getting Every One in the Picture- What is 'universal registration' ?
Who is your national CRVS focal point?
Trial of data sharing in the…
Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
Country Assessments and Strategies, Presentations, 2015
Cook Islands' country presentation made at the 1st Regional Steering Group for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Meeting, Bangkok, 28-30…
Meeting Documents, UN Official Documents, 2016
The seventy-first session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific adopted resolution 71/14 on the Asian and Pacific Civil…
Newsletters, 2016
Articles
Strong commitment for improving CRVS in the Pacific
Toolkit for assessing civil registration of asylum seekers, refugees, stateless…
Meeting Documents, 2014
Civil registration and vital statistics update briefing for the meeting of ministers of health of the Pacific island countries in Honiara July 2014
Presentations, 2014
The Cook Island current CRVS system and key challenges. This material was presented at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital…
International Standards and Recommendations, UN Official Documents, 2014
Through Commission resolution 69/15, countries in Asia and the Pacific requested that further regional action be taken to support the improvement of…
Meeting Documents, 2016
WHAT WE DO: We provide an opportunity to share information, lessons learned and good practice. This fosters coordination and integration of Civil…
Country Statements, 2014
The Cook Islands issued this statement in the Ministerial Conference agenda item 6 regarding the State of civil registration and vital statistics in…
Country Statements, 2014
Country statement delivered during the Ministerial Conference under agenda item 4 - Implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia…
Meeting Documents, 2014
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, 2014
The Ministerial Declaration to "Get every one in the picture' in Asia and the Pacific was made at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration…
Meeting Documents, Report, UN Official Documents, 2014
The Report of the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific gives an overview of the main outcomes of…
Advocacy Materials, 2014
In preparation for the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific a fact sheet on civil registration…
Events
News
Resources
Meeting Documents, 2023
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2020
Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2019