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World Bank Country Study Reports are among the many reports originally prepared for internal use as part of the continuing analysis by the Bank of the economic and related conditions of its developing member countries and of its dialogues with the governments. Some of the reports are published in this series with the least possible delay of the use of the governments and the academic, business and financial, and development communities. The typescript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formal printed texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. Some sources cited in this paper may be informal documents that are not readily available.

The World Bank’s 11 Pacific Island member countries are a diverse group in terms of economic and social conditions. Five are least developed countries, with annual per capita GDP as low as US$ 700, while in some of the territories average incomes are comparable to those in wealthy industrialized countries. Population densities and growth rates, land areas and the level of urbanization all display similarly wide ranges. There is a great diversity of cultures and languages.