The Cook Islands is an island country and associated state of New Zealand in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately 236.7 square kilometres (91 sq mi). The Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean. The capital is Avarua, located on the island of Rarotonga.