Pacific Island countries (PICs) are usually divided into three categories. These include the Melanesian, the Polynesian and the Micronesian groups. The Melanesian groups include Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu including Timor Leste. These countries are generally resource rich and have reasonably large land areas. They have signifi cant populations relative to their size and in some such as PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Timor Leste, population growth rates are high.The Polynesian groups include Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands which have smaller populations, moderate amounts of natural resources and have largely been dependent on foreign aid and remittances. The third group includes the Micronesian states such as Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Palau Federated States of Micronesia, are small coral atolls, poor resources and again largely dependent on remittances and aid.