For instance, the growth rate of the RMI is 3.6 percent and that of the Solomon Islands is 3.3 percent. Given no expansion in public sector employment, and the inability of the private sector to absorb new labor force entrants, current population growth rates will result in ever-increasing levels of unemployment. At the root of the population problem is the inability of education services to reach out to the people, particularly the women. This is particularly the case in Melanesia and Micronesia. Admittedly, providing the necessary education services, particularly to females in the rural areas, is not easy.
Government budgets continue to be strained.
The capacity of education agencies is weak. The topography of many PDMCs makes the task doubly difficult. NGOs do play an important role, but their number and resources in the PDMCs remain seriously limited. Government commitment to this problem and innovative methods and approaches are urgently needed if population growth is to be addressed. The Polynesian countries are Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu.