The United Nations is working with SIDS on the development – and implementation – of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI). The MVI is a vital tool to complement Gross National Product (GNI) measurements with the aim to inform eligibility and help small island nations gain access to the concessional financing by donors.

A resolution outlining the new Multidimensional Vulnerability Index was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2023, based on the conclusions by the High-level Panel of Experts on an MVI for SIDS [Final report].

The MVI measures two things:
- structural vulnerability: the risk of a country’s sustainable development being hindered by recurrent adverse exogenous shocks and stressors); and
- structural resilience : the inherent characteristics or inherited capacity of countries to withstand, absorb, recover from or minimise the adverse effects of shocks or stressors.

Preliminary MVI country scores show that SIDS have the highest levels of structural vulnerability and a notable lack of resilience compared to all other country groups. The average composite MVI score for SIDS is 56.2, which is significantly higher than the non-SIDS low and middle-income countries (LMICs) score of 48.7, and the upper middle-income countries (UMICs) score of 48.6. On average, 14 SIDS have a composite MVI score of over 60.