Which are the Best Small Island Nations?

A small island has less than 50km² of land. I have veered towards including collective names for islands (such as 'Channel Islands') and only rarely have I added entries to my database for individual islands if they're part of a grouping. This is because, generally speaking, political and demographic data is only available for the larger groupings of islands. The main emphasis of this website is on nation states that fall entirely within a given category, so, there is no attempt here to try and quantify and name every piece of habitable land!

There are 85 locations that fall within this category. By adding up all the known populations that fall within these locations, and summing their physical land areas, we can calculate population densities. Some islands and territories can end up being counted twice depending on how they are classified and divided up politically, but, mostly such errors involve only small populations. So, some data on this collection of countries in total:

• Population: 43.9m
• Land Area: 248 457km²
• Independent States: 35
• Other Territories: 50
• Compare to other regions of the world

1. Summary Data
2. Social and Moral Development
3. Demographics and Migration
4. National Culture
5. Peace Versus Instability
6. The Natural Environment
7. Economic Inequality and Poverty
8. Modernity and Learning
9. Health
10. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
11. Religion and Beliefs
12. Links

1. Summary Data

#economics #human_development #population #wealth

Not showing due to lack of data: Christmas Island.

This page only shows places where the database has enough data to be able to come to reasonable conclusions about each place. The main focus is on nation states, but, some distinct external territories may be listed if the database has enough information about them. Averages are calculated from as many valid data points as possible, meaning, that some territories and locations that are not listed above may still be used to calculate some of the average values. Some calculations only use Independent State data - hover the cursor over values to see hints.

Links:

• Compare to other regions of the world
• What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life
• The Population of the Earth
• Homosexuality in Animals and Humans

2. Social and Moral Development

#education #equality #gender_equality #health #human_development #human_rights #modernity #morals #politics #prejudice #technology #the_internet #tolerance

Here are each country's overall scores across the categories that make up the Social and Moral Development Index. This is followed by lists of how each country scores in each individual data set.

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

For more, see:

• "What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

3. Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #emigration #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population #small_islands

Population:

Migration:

Of countries classed as small islands, those with the highest percent of immigrants in their populations are Bahrain (48.4%), Singapore (46.0%) and Nauru (32.7%), although the average for Small Islands is 11%. When it comes to emigration the highest rates are Dominica (104.8%), Samoa (67.3%) and Grenada (65.5%). The average group emigration rate is 26%.

For full commentary and data, see:

• Which Small Island Nations Have the Most Immigrants Or Emigrants?

4. National Culture

#charity #corruption #happiness #morals #politics

Despite their rather varied nature, small islands in general tend to do well in resisting corruption. The worst are Haiti and Comoros, according to Transparency International's 2022 data₁₂. The best islands at this are Singapore, the Seychelles and Taiwan.

5. Peace Versus Instability

#extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

6. The Natural Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #over-exploitation #the_environment

Islands are most susceptible to the effects of climate change₂₁ such as rising seas and the salination of water tables. The IPCC (2013) predicted that waters are expected to rise 26-82cm this century₂₂, which has already ransacked Tuvalu and is gradually submerging many other islands. They are valuable assets for studying other effects of human over-exploitation of the planet, as their isolated and smaller-scale environments make it easier to study biodiversity, climate change and natural cycles; the cause-and-effect of things like over-hunting can be studied with fewer confounding factors.

Islands have long been hailed by environmentalists as the first-line against pollution and emissions, which meshes well with people's perceptions of islands as being closer to nature₂₃. Across the world, island colonists were the first to come into association for the purpose of lobbying distance governments into enforcing sustainable practices₂₄. A collection of "small island developing states" (SIDS) have become a powerful lobbying voice within the United Nations as AOSIS, collectively trying to coerce rich nations into curbing behaviours that are causing climate change, although they have not had much success.

Ambassador Moses, chair of AOSIS, talks of the "Loss and Damage" plans included in Doha that address concerns that island nations are suffering permanent losses as a result of climate change. Risks include the increased susceptibility to natural events such as floods, water table salination and loss of coastlines and land₂₅. These claims are corroborated by the IPCC reports, but in general now the predictions are held to be on the optimistic side₂₆.

7. Economic Inequality and Poverty

#capitalism #economics #health #inequality #life_expectancy #poverty #social_development

8. Modernity and Learning

#education #english #intelligence #it_security #maths #politics #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #the_internet

Modernity and Education:

Technology and Information:

9. Health

#alcohol #birth_control #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Hong Kong and The Maldives₅₂. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Marshall Islands, S. Sudan and Palau₅₂.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Asia and The Mediterranean₅₂, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Australasia and Africa₅₂.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

Children's Health:

10. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#equality #gender_equality #human_rights #morals #politics #prejudice #Small_Islands #tolerance

The best countries amongst those classed as small islands at protecting human rights, engendering tolerance and supporting equality, are Taiwan, Malta and Cyprus but the collection as a whole does poorly compared to the global average. The worst countries are Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Brunei.

For full commentary and data, see:

• Comparing Small Islands on Human Rights, Freedom, Tolerance and Equality

11. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #folk_religion #god #hinduism #human_development #islam #judaism #no_religion #religion #religiosity #secularisation

Links:

• Compare to other regions of the world
• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?
• Human Religions