Global-Pacific Islands relations - statistics & facts
The Pacific Islands region encompasses millions of square kilometers of ocean, tens of thousands of islands, and is home to millions of people across 22 island nations and territories. These nations maintain strong trade relations with their regional neighbors, as well as the wider global community. They are also helped by many countries around the world to improve their development and to combat the effects of climate change, by investing in disaster prevention and preparedness.
As the effects of climate change have already begun to be felt in these island nations, from increasingly severe weather events to rising sea levels, more funding has been allocated to disaster prevention and preparedness. This funding, alongside emergency response aid, has become more important in recent years, as many millions of people in this region have been affected by severe natural disasters.
Though the Pacific Island nations are developing through global trading and international assistance, many countries are becoming very concerned with the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels and increased extreme weather events have the potential to be catastrophic to these small island countries. Many developed countries have recognized the threat this poses to the Pacific Islands and have begun working with these nations to ensure that they are prepared to deal with these problems, in addition to taking action on climate change.
Trade partners of the Pacific Islands
With an abundance of natural resources and goods, the Pacific Islands have developed good trading relations with countries around the world. For example, the main export partner for the Federated States of Micronesia is Thailand, which receives over 60 percent of the country’s exports. Other countries in the region, such as Papua New Guinea, have a more diverse range of export partners, such as China, Australia, and Japan. The Pacific Islands also have a strong regional trade network; in the distribution of exports from Tonga, almost 15 percent of goods went to Fiji.Australian Official Development Aid to the Pacific Islands
As one of the closest developed nations to the Pacific Islands, Australia has a special relationship with the countries in this region, forged by shared history, common values, and cultural affinity. As such, Australia continues to help the development of these nations through its Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs, which provide funding and support for various development issues. This ODA is distributed among several different sector groups, such as governance, humanitarian aid, and education. While Australia provides ODA to regions across the world, the largest amount of its ODA funding is directed toward its neighbors in the Pacific. The ODA from Australia comes from many different partners, such as non-government organizations and academic institutions, who then fund different sector group programs.As the effects of climate change have already begun to be felt in these island nations, from increasingly severe weather events to rising sea levels, more funding has been allocated to disaster prevention and preparedness. This funding, alongside emergency response aid, has become more important in recent years, as many millions of people in this region have been affected by severe natural disasters.
Though the Pacific Island nations are developing through global trading and international assistance, many countries are becoming very concerned with the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels and increased extreme weather events have the potential to be catastrophic to these small island countries. Many developed countries have recognized the threat this poses to the Pacific Islands and have begun working with these nations to ensure that they are prepared to deal with these problems, in addition to taking action on climate change.
