The State of Human Development in the Pacific

The State of Human Development in the Pacific

June 17, 2015

Pacific Island countries (PICs) are facing enormous challenges related to profound changes underway across their societies and economies. Climate change, migration, monetization, slow and volatile economic growth and the transition from traditional subsistence-based economies to market-based ones, together with the erosion of natural and social capital, and the diminution of traditional social structures are among some of the factors shaping new ways of life in the Pacific. Despite the fact that most PICs are middle-income countries, and are ranked as having medium-to high human development, and are among the highest per capita aid recipients in the world, progress on achieving the MDGs is mixed, and only two PICS - Niue and Cook Islands - are on track to achieve all of the MDGs by 2015.

This report provides an updated picture on the state of human development in the Pacific, drawn from new data and analysis from Household Income and Expenditure (HIES) surveys conducted in various PICs, as well as other recent research. While UNDP’s Pacific Centre has led the production of this report, many UN agencies, and other development partners working in the Pacific have also made substantial contributions to its content and analysis. UNDP is grateful to all these agencies and partners for their support in helping to produce this report. The report examines the dimensions and drivers of economic exclusion (income poverty and inequality) and the causes and characteristics of social exclusion and vulnerability in the Pacific from a human development perspective. Much of the data and analysis presented in the report particularly relating to social exclusion has not been previously considered from a regional perspective, and the report therefore adds value in the context of a renewed interest in the social dimensions of sustainable development in the Pacific.

Regions and Countries