Global Biennial Small States Conference
Video: Small States Talk Solutions
Commonwealth Secretariat to launch first Global Small States Conference
The Commonwealth Secretariat’s first Global Small States Conference was held in Marlborough House on 28-29 July 2010.
What are Small States?
The Commonwealth is home to 32 of the world’s small states. The Secretariat defines a small state as a country with a population of 1.5 million or less with unique special development challenges – limited diversification, limited capacity, poverty, susceptibility to natural disasters and environmental change, remoteness and isolation, openness, and income volatility. The Secretariat’s grouping of Small States also includes the larger member countries: Botswana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Namibia and Papua New Guinea, because they share many of the same characteristics of small states.
Small states are among the most highly indebted countries in the world. With debt ratios above the International Monetary Fund recommended 60 per cent to Gross Domestic Product, some small states are effectively insolvent