The Cook Islands (Listeni/ˈkʊk ˈaɪləndz/; Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) is a parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It comprises 15 small islands whose total land area is 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi). The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), however, covers 1,800,000 square kilometres (690,000 sq mi) of ocean.