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Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are low-lying coastal countries. They share similar problems because of their size. Some of these problems are: small but growing populations, limited resources, and long distances from other countries.
The SIDS were first seen 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 made in 1994 to help the SIDS to develop.
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 organisation for cooperation: the Caribbean Community, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Indian Ocean Commission.
| 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 |
 The 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 |
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 Grenada |
 Niue 7 |
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 Guyana |
 Northern Mariana Islands 3, 6, 7 |
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 Haiti 1 |
 Palau |
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 Jamaica |
 Papua New Guinea |
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 Montserrat 3, 7 |
 Samoa 1 |
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 Netherlands Antilles 2, 5, 7 |
 Solomon Islands 1 |
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 Puerto Rico 3, 5, 7 |
 Timor-Leste 1, 3, 5 |
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 Saint Kitts and Nevis |
 Tonga |
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 Saint Lucia |
 Tuvalu 1 |
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 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
 Vanuatu 1 |
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 Suriname |
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 Trinidad and Tobago |
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 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
3rd International conference of Small Island Developing States meeting in Samoa, September 2014.
