Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000
Population Density Inhabited Capital Urbanised GNP in
Total islands Island $ US
KIRIBATI 80,000 112 21/ 33 Tarawa Gilbert - 72.000 858
WALLIS AND FUTUNA 15,000 55 3 / 3 Alofi Wallis - 10.000 3,333
TONGA 105,000 130 44 / 174 Nuku Tongatapu 1,848
Alofa - 67.000
TOKELAU 1,700 168 3 / 3 Fakaofo Fakaofo - 1.000 5,282
NIUE 2,500 10 1 / 1 Alofi Niue - 2500 4,000
COOK 20,000 78 12/15 Avarua Rarotonga - 10.000 4,737
FRENCH POLYNESIA 220,000 53 76 / 118 Papeete Tahiti - 115.000 10,254
TOTAL 444,200 160/347 7 islands
- 277.500
Basic demographic and socioeconomic overview of Polynesia ‘Mana’ Node Countries
(GNP: Gross National Product in $US per capita)
350 on the Great Barrier Reef. French Polynesian reefs also support an impressive 800
different fish species, about half the numbers found in Australia.
DEMOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
Population
While the Polynesian Mana node region has 440,000 inhabitants, the density per country is
highly varied - French Polynesia has the largest population of 220,000 people, while Tokelau
has less than 2,000 inhabitants. However, in many countries there are large non-resident
populations living in countries with historical ties, e.g. New Zealand and France. Population
increases are between 0.5% (Tonga) and 2.3% (Kiribati), with life expectancy over 60 (and
as high as 72) years. All countries have only one urban concentration as the capital, with
more than half the total population living in these 7 towns. More than half the 347 islands
are uninhabited, for example, only 37 of the 174 Tongan islands are inhabited. Although all
peoples are originally Polynesian, there are many distinct Polynesian languages, but most
can communicate using a common language base.
Political Status and Links
The present political alliances, international funding and predominant languages spoken
reflect previous histories. In this region, only Kiribati, Niue, and Tonga are fully independent
countries. Tokelau and Cook Islands are associated with New Zealand, while French
Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna have autonomous links as part of the French Overseas
Territories. All countries are members of SPREP and the South Pacific Community (SPC).
Some attend the Pacific Forum (Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tonga) and others have links to the
European Union (French Polynesia, Kiribati, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna).
Economies
The Gross National Product (GNP) varies considerably between countries with Kiribati and
Tonga at the low end of the spectrum and the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Wallis and
Futuna, and French Polynesia at the higher end. The differences in the economies reflect
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