The Cook Islands are situated in the South Pacific Sea between French Polynesia and American Samoa. There are 15 main islands and the country is divided into the northern Cook islands and the southern Cook islands.

The islands became a protectorate of Great Britain in 1888. In 1901, the islands were included in the Colony of New Zealand. In 1949 Cook Islands residents who were British citizens were granted New Zealand citizenship. The territory remained a part of New Zealand until 1965 when it was offered self-governing status which it accepted. However its government works in close association with that of New Zealand.

The first stamps of the islands were issued in 1892. They were inscribed “Cook Islands Federation”. From 1919 to 1932, the stamps were designated “Rarotonga”, the name of one of the islands. From 1932, New Zealand stamps were overprinted “Cook Islands”. From this time the Cook Islands also issued its own stamps, which they continued to do after independence in 1965.