The Cook Islands Maori of New Zealand

The Cook Islands Maori of New Zealand, numbering approximately 76,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Polynesian ethnic group indigenous to Rarotonga, the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Rarotongan is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Cook Islands Maori

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: New Zealand
People Cluster: Polynesian
Primary Language(s): Rarotongan (rar)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 76,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009615
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Cook Islands Maori of New Zealand

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

35%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Rarotongan
Language Family: Austronesian

80%
%
Cook Islands Maori Speakers

Media Resources in Rarotongan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Rarotongan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Rarotongan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Cook Islands Maori are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Cook Islands Maori:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Cook Islands Maori of New Zealand

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Cook Islands Maori Across Countries (ROP3 - 102284) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Cook Islands MaoriCook Islands MaoriNew Zealand76,000No Longer UnreachedRarotonganProtestantism
Cook Islands MaoriCook Islands MaoriCook Islands12,500No Longer UnreachedRarotonganProtestantism
Cook Islands MaoriCook Islands MaoriFrench Polynesia1,800No Longer UnreachedRarotonganProtestantism
Cook Islands MaoriCook Islands MaoriUnited States100No Longer UnreachedRarotonganProtestantism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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