Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are low-lying coastal countries that tend to share similar sustainable development challenges, including small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments. Their growth and development is also held back by high communication, energy and transportation costs, irregular international transport volumes, disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure due to their small size, and little to no opportunity to create economies of scale.
The SIDS were first recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. The Barbados Programme of Action was produced in 1994 to assist the SIDS in their sustainable development efforts.
Currently, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs lists 52 small island developing states. These are broken down into three geographic regions: the Caribbean; the Pacific; and Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS). Each of these regions has a regional cooperation body: the Caribbean Community, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Indian Ocean Commission respectively, which many SIDS are members or associate members of. In addition, most (but not all) SIDS are members of the Alliance of Small Island States, which performs lobbying and negotiating functions for the SIDS within the United Nations system.
| Caribbean | Pacific | AIMS |
| Anguilla 3, 4, 7 | American Samoa 2, 6, 7 | Bahrain 3, 6 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Cook Islands 7 | Cape Verde 6 |
| Aruba 3, 5, 7 | Federated States of Micronesia | Comoros 1 |
| Bahamas | Fiji | Guinea-Bissau 1, 6 |
| Barbados | French Polynesia 3, 4, 7 | Maldives 5 |
| Belize | Guam 2, 6, 7 | Mauritius |
| British Virgin Islands 3, 4, 7 | Kiribati 1 | São Tomé and Príncipe 1, 6 |
| Cuba 6 | Marshall Islands | Seychelles |
| Dominica | Nauru | Singapore 6 |
| Dominican Republic 5 | New Caledonia 3, 4, 7 | |
| Grenada | Niue 7 | |
| Guyana | Northern Mariana Islands 3, 6, 7 | |
| Haiti 1 | Palau | |
| Jamaica | Papua New Guinea | |
| Montserrat 3, 7 | Samoa 1 | |
| Netherlands Antilles 2, 5, 7 | Solomon Islands 1 | |
| Puerto Rico 3, 5, 7 | Timor-Leste 1, 3, 5 | |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Tonga | |
| Saint Lucia | Tuvalu 1 | |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Vanuatu 1 | |
| Suriname | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | ||
| United States Virgin Islands 2, 6, 7 |
1. Also a Least developed country
2. Observer of the Alliance of Small Island States
3. Not a member or observer of the Alliance of Small Island States
4. Associate member of regional cooperation body
5. Observer of regional cooperation body
6. Not a member or observer of regional cooperation body
7. Not a member of the United Nations
|
|||||||||||