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Ageing refers to the process whereby an increasing proportion of a population is aged 60 years and over. Up until the 1980s, most Pacific Island populations were either ageing slowly or not at all and the proportion of the population over 60 years remained below 6 percent. Median age remained within the range of 16-20 years. In the last two decades of the 20th century the pace of ageing accelerated and is projected to reach a peak around 2025. The number of older persons in the Pacific is projected to increase at an average annual rate of 3.7 percent between 2014 and 2050 and to grow in number from around 512 thousand to 2 million. The oldest old (80 years and over) is currently growing at a faster rate than the 60 and over age group. The oldest old are projected to increase at an average annual rate of 5 percent between 2014 and 2050 and by 2050 there will be 205 thousand persons aged 80 and over.

This report provides a summary of updated population and development profiles of 15 Pacific countries. Four of these countries (Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) are classified as Least Developed Countries (LDCs). All of these countries are politically independent, as are Fiji, Nauru and Tonga. Three countries (Palau, Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia) are associated to the United States through a Compact of Free Association. Two countries (Cook Islands and Niue) are self governing in free association with New Zealand, and the Tokelau Island is a dependent territory of New Zealand. The political status of each of the 15 countries has important consequences for both demographic dynamics and the level of development and how they are linked. With respect to Violence Against Women (VAW) national prevalence, the data was generated using WHO household survey methodology, with UNFPA technical support, in a majority of the Pacific countries. The primary data source for the core population indicators is the respective national census reports, although other national sources such as Demographic Health Surveys have also been used where appropriate. 

In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), in Cairo, initiated a major paradigm shift from a demographic focused perspective of population and development to a new vision that focused on human rights, particularly the rights of individuals, couples and families, at the centre of relationships between population, development and human well-being. The comprehensive 20 year Programme of Action (PoA) that was adopted by 179 countries, including Pacific Island Countries, placed the right to sexual and reproductive health as well as gender equality and women’s empowerment at the core of its recommended population development strategies. 

UNFPA is guided by the idea “Everyone Counts”, and while this is often referred to with regard to work on population, it is equally true in the mandate of the Fund to ensure universal access to reproductive health. This is central to the spirit of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), and the Programme of Action adopted by 174 countries in Cairo (1994) to realize the ICPD promise over 20 years. When the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5B was adopted in 2008, it included access to reproductive health care for all members of society, including those living with disabilities

Many countries have taken up the cause of preventing adolescent pregnancies, often through actions aimed at changing a girl’s behaviour. Implicit in such interventions are a belief that the girl is responsible for preventing pregnancy and an assumption that if she does become pregnant, she is at faul

These young expectant mothers not only join the troubling national statistics on teenage pregnancy, they also become the subject of negative commentary over the dinner table, the object of sniggering in school and on the streets, and, worse still, they become a tag line for parents and teachers who warn other girls: You don’t want to end up like her! 

These young expectant mothers not only join the troubling national statistics on teenage pregnancy, they also become the subject of negative commentary over the dinner table, the object of sniggering in school and on the streets, and, worse still, they become a tag line for parents and teachers who warn other girls: You don’t want to end up like her! 

This report has been prepared by Dr. Henrica A.F.M. (Henriette) Jansen, Dr. Seu’ula Johansson -Fua , Betty Hafoka -Blake, and Gabriella Renee ‘Ilolahia.

The views in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government or of any other organisation or person.