ECONOMY
Table 2: SCR Partner Countries and Categorization
By including states that have high levels of fragility but are not “small” in terms of geographic size or population (such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) or are landlocked, a more comprehensive understanding of small states can be reached (Table 2). By taking into account a country’s debt stock, debt servicing, and debt sustainability, this can further enhance the understanding of the key factors that help determine what a small state is. Essentially, all SCR countries are considered either fragile, conflict- affected, an island or small. Key development challenges FSDS face unique development challenges. While sharing common challenges associated with the small size of their economies and vulnerability to external shocks, FSDS represent a very diverse group of countries. A lack of economic scale, often remote location and particular geography (such as being landlocked), health-related emergencies, and vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters lead to particular needs that sometimes cannot be easily met. Moreover, with limited economic opportunities and significant migration, FSDS often face capacity constraints, further undermining their ability to grow and develop. FSDS share many wide-ranging and distinct characteristics: • Population: Many FSDS are micro states (i.e. with a population of less than 200,000) such as Tuvalu’s roughly 11,204 residents. While also being an island, Madagascar has a population of nearly 30 million, so although it does not meet the micro population criteria it is nonetheless a fragile island state (reflected in environmental risks and high levels of poverty). States such as DR Congo, with a population of nearly 90 million, also do not meet the small (geographic) state criteria – but considering the high level of fragility in the country (notably conflict and institutional weakness), it is a credible candidate for FSDS status. Overall, population size is an important determinant – either because a small population cannot drive or sustain a large and
Country/Region
Fragile a
Conflict b
Landlocked
Small State c
Island State Debt Distressed
ASIA/PACIFIC 1 2 Bhutan 3 Maldives
Afghanistan
Yes Yes Yes
Yes
Yes Yes
High
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Moderate
Yes Yes Yes
High
4 Solomon Islands Yes
Moderate
5 Tonga
Yes
High
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 16 Benin
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Moderate Moderate
17 Burkina Faso
Yes
Yes Yes Yes
6 Burundi
High High High
18 Chad
7 Comoros
Yes
Yes
19 Congo, Dem Rep Yes
Yes
Moderate
8 Djibouti 20 Gambia 22 Guinea
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes
High High
Moderate
21 Guinea-Bissau
Yes
High
9 Lesotho 23 Liberia
Yes
Moderate Moderate Moderate In distress Moderate Moderate In distress Moderate Moderate
10 Madagascar
Yes
11 Malawi
Yes Yes
24 Mali
Yes
25 Mauritania 12 Mozambique
Yes Yes
26 Niger
Yes Yes
13 Rwanda
27 Sierra Leone
High
28 Togo
Moderate In distress In distress
14 Zambia
Yes Yes
15 Zimbabwe
LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN 29 Dominica Yes
Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
High
30 Grenada
Yes Yes Yes
In distress
31 Haiti
High
32 St. Lucia 33 St. Vincent
Yes
…
& Grenadines
Yes
Yes
Yes
High
MIDDLE EAST/EUROPE/CENTRAL ASIA 34 Kyrgyzstan Yes
Yes Yes
Moderate
35 Tajikistan
Yes
High
a Fragile reflects exposure to natural disasters and climate change, weak socioeconomic fundamentals, institutional weakness, unfavorable terms of trade etc. b Conflict reflects civil war, war in neighboring country, post-conflict environment, political instability etc. c Country with a population +/- 1.5 mn people. d Risk of Debt Distress as per latest WB/IMF classification. e SCR Country yet to be approved.
• Geography: FSDS are distributed across all regions of the world and about two-thirds are island states. Many FSDS also have large, extensive and distinct geographical features such as mountain ranges, deserts, jungles and coastal expanses that inhibit transport, communications and connectivity.
sophisticated economy, or vice versa a large population in a fragile state can sustain endemic poverty. Moreover, high GDP per capita is not a clear sign that a country is in a solid economic position and is also not fragile (for example, the Maldives, Grenada, Kyrgyz Republic).
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