About Small Island developing states (SIDS):
- What are they: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are maritime countries that tend to share similar sustainable development challenges.
- Location: These countries are across the globe in the Caribbean, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean and South China Sea.
- Population: An estimated 60 million people live in small island developing States.
- How many: The UN has never established any criteria to determine an official list of SIDS" but it maintains a shorter, unofficial list for analytical purposes. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs lists 57 small island developing states.
- Groupings: These are broken down into following three geographic regions, with each region having it’s own regional cooperation body.
- Caribbean: The Caribbean Community
- Pacific: The Pacific Islands Forum
- Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS): The Indian Ocean Commission
