Small Island Digital States: How Digital Can Catalyse SIDS Development

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are increasingly becoming Small Island Digital States. Digital is positively impacting lives and livelihoods across SIDS – improving the reach and effectiveness of government and public service delivery, providing exciting new opportunities for citizen engagement and empowerment; and shaping new products, sectors, and opportunities. This major publication serves as a roadmap for SIDS’ policymakers, decision-makers, and innovators. It advocates for an inclusive digital transformation that benefits all parts of society. From Tuvalu’s venture into the metaverse, to the recent launch of National Digital Strategies by Suriname, Niue, and the Cook Islands; and the open-source digital health leadership of Mauritius. SIDS are going digital.

Small Island Digital States is grounded on extensive Digital Readiness Assessments conducted by UNDP in collaboration with over 15 SIDS governments around the world. It also draws on digital products and services, initiatives, and innovations being shaped and delivered by UNDP Country Offices across the global SIDS community. The report sets out recommendations tailored to SIDS across five critical pillars for inclusive and sustainable digital success: connectivity, government, regulation, the economy, and people. It also explores the role and potential of data in SIDS development, highlights how young people in SIDS are becoming digital leaders, and how digital can support key sectors in SIDS – from tourism, to agriculture, and how digital is enabling financial inclusion.