Island Studies and Pacific Affairs
Island Studies and Pacific Affairs is a research topic within Demography. Science Explorer counts 16k research works in it since 1950. 19.8% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers encompasses an interdisciplinary study of islands and island nations, focusing on their economic development, vulnerability, sustainability, governance, decolonization, and resilience. It explores the unique challenges and opportunities faced by small states and island communities, particularly in the Pacific region, and delves into the complexities of globalization, political representation, and environmental impact.
- Islands
- Small States
- Vulnerability
- Economic Development
- Sustainability
- Governance
- Pacific
- Decolonization
- Globalization
- Resilience
- Research works
- 16k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 3.1k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 19.8% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +10% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Island Studies and Pacific Affairs research?
By volume, Australia and the United States publish the most (418 and 303 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Australia 418 works
- 2 United States 303 works
- 3 France 225 works
- 4 United Kingdom 158 works
- 5 New Zealand 153 works
- 6 Indonesia 145 works
- 7 Canada 69 works
- 8 China 61 works
- 9 Japan 57 works
- 10 Germany 52 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Island Studies and Pacific Affairs research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Australian National University publishes the most Island Studies and Pacific Affairs research, followed by The University of Queensland and The University of Melbourne.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Australian National UniversityAustralia 85 works
- 2 The University of QueenslandAustralia 32 works
- 3 The University of MelbourneAustralia 31 works
- 4 The University of SydneyAustralia 29 works
- 5 University of AucklandNew Zealand 25 works
- 6 University of MaltaMalta 24 works
- 7 Victoria University of WellingtonNew Zealand 24 works
- 8 University of the South PacificFiji 23 works
- 9 University of OtagoNew Zealand 22 works
- 10 University of New CaledoniaNew Caledonia 22 works
Who are the leading researchers in Island Studies and Pacific Affairs?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Island Studies and Pacific Affairs include C. Michael Hall.
- 1 C. Michael Hall New Zealand 2.2k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Island Studies and Pacific Affairs research done?
The largest centres of Island Studies and Pacific Affairs research in 2022–2025 are Canberra (Australia), Paris (France), Melbourne (Australia) and Sydney (Australia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Noumea, Suva and Msida.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- NoumeaNC · 24.6 works423×
- SuvaFJ · 35.5 works204×
- MsidaMT · 24.2 works67×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Island Studies and Pacific Affairs than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Island Studies and Pacific Affairs?
Among universities, judged by research, Fiji National University, University of Canterbury and Australian National University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiji National UniversityFiji | 76.5 | 42.2% | 225.6× | 11 | +390.2% |
| 2 | University of CanterburyNew Zealand | 70.8 | 48.8% | 40.9× | 16 | +13.9% |
| 3 | Australian National UniversityAustralia | 69.0 | 22.5% | 72.1× | 85 | +31.0% |
| 4 | Auckland University of TechnologyNew Zealand | 65.4 | 17.9% | 50.6× | 22 | +307.8% |
| 5 | University of AucklandNew Zealand | 62.8 | 31.2% | 20.3× | 25 | +0.6% |
| 6 | University of WaikatoNew Zealand | 62.8 | 24.4% | 57.3× | 16 | +138.0% |
| 7 | University of CanberraAustralia | 61.9 | 17.6% | 45.7× | 17 | +263.9% |
| 8 | The University of MelbourneAustralia | 61.8 | 21.2% | 13.8× | 32 | +60.4% |
| 9 | Griffith UniversityAustralia | 61.7 | 29.6% | 22.5× | 21 | +33.2% |
| 10 | University of New CaledoniaNew Caledonia | 61.3 | 7.4% | 531.2× | 22 | +271.8% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Island Studies and Pacific Affairs research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 10% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Island Studies and Pacific Affairs.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.