Subsistence is the main characteristic of the economies of Melanesia.
Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, has one of the more developed economies, though still has a large subsistence sector. Fiji experienced a period of rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s but stagnated in the early 1980s.
New Caledonia has about 25 percent of the world's known nickel resources, mostly mined from open-pit mines. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20 percent of imports. Substantial financial support from France, and tourism, are key to the health of the economy.
Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain, the high cost of developing infrastructure, serious law and order problems, and difficulties with land title. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85 percent of the population. Mineral deposits, including petroleum oil, copper, and gold, account for 72 percent of export earnings.
The economy of Western New Guinea is undeveloped. The people subsist by hunting, fishing, and cultivating bananas, corn, manioc, sago, yams, and other crops.
Pearl farming is a major source of income for the Maluku island of Aru.
The Solomon Islands is a lesser-developed nation, and more than 75 percent of its labor force is engaged in subsistence farming and fishing. Fishing is the main economic activity in the Torres Strait Islands, particularly fishing for prawns, rock lobsters, and Spanish mackerel, along with subsistence horticulture.
The Vanuatuan economy is based on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65 percent of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism are other mainstays. Mineral deposits are negligible. The country has no known petroleum deposits.