Pacific Academics and the Internet‪.‬

The geographical area described as the South Pacific is all those island countries located in the Pacific Ocean, south of the equator. This includes Papua New Guinea in the west, and Pitcairn Island in the east; Kiribati in the north, French Polynesia in the south. Discounting Papua New Guinea with a population estimated at 5.5 million, and Fiji with around 770,000 people, the majority of countries and territories in this region are small in size and population. For example, the island nation of Nauru has a land area of 21 [km.sup.2] and a population of 11,400; the Kingdom of Tonga has a land area of 747 [km.sup.2] and a population 97,446. In the same way that country and outback Australia is characterised by small communities located great distances apart, countries in the South Pacific are separated by the vast ocean that surrounds them. But unlike remote communities in Australia, countries in the South Pacific do not have a large economy and developed infrastructure to support them. For example, Australia has a GDP of USD 400 billion and a per capita GDP of US$20,262, and New Zealand, USD 52 billion and per capita GDP of USD 13,692. (1) Contrast this with the average of 13 South Pacific countries and territories (including resource-rich Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia, and subsidised American Samoa and French Polynesia), USD 965 million and per capita of USD 4,277. Economies are dependent largely on the export of primary resources (Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu) and/or tourism (Cook Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu), both of which are vulnerable to change. Telecommunications and Internet in the Region