Amid ongoing challenges related to economic development in the Pacific Islands, the Asian Development Bank is making crucial progress toward eradicating extreme poverty and boosting economic resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to a U.N. article from 2019, about 25% of Pacific Islanders live in poverty and the Pacific Island countries have a notably high unemployment rate for women and young people. Moreover, around four in 10 children living in the Pacific Islands are vulnerable to falling into poverty, according to UNICEF. While nearly 80% of the Pacific Islands’ inhabitants live in Papua New Guinea, the remaining population occupies the other smaller 14 islands, a 2014 report from the UNFPA notes.
Today, a series of challenges inhibit economic expansion, poverty reduction and development in the Pacific Islands region. Pacific Island nations have been forced to contend with high economic vulnerability due to their small populations and geographic size, physical detachment from key global markets, environmental degradation andvulnerability to changes in the climate and natural disasters.