Pacific transitions : population and change in island societies

Publication Date: January 1995

Publisher: East-West Center

Author(s): Peter Pirie

Research Area: Economics; Population and demographics; Social conditions

Type: Report

Abstract:

Despite some well-publicized pessimism about the future of the Pacific islands recently, the population and societal transitions now underway can provide grounds for optimism. The high death rates that followed European contact and almost wiped out several island populations have continued to drop sharply. More recently, birth rates have also been dropping, easing fears of population pressures. Transitions in employment and mobility are also reshaping island societies. Fewer islanders are working in agriculture and more are in higher paid urban jobs, especially in the service industries. Even though many people are migrating from village to urban areas, from outer islands to main islands, or even to other countries for work, they often send money back to help their home communities. Greater educational opportunities are also available to islanders. While some decry the loss of traditional institutions and see Pacific islanders as the victims of exploitation or dependency, others view them as taking maximum advantage of the wide variety of opportunities now available to them.