Governments in the various Pacific Island states and territories, along with their development partners and a range of regional organisations, have been participating in the multi-sectoral international development agenda that is enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs have some serious omissions in so far as they relate to key relationships between population, economic growth and sustainable development. These include an absence of reference to: population growth, population structure, fertility, migration, urbanisation and the development of appropriate data bases and information systems for developing policy frameworks and implementation plans. This paper reviews contemporary Pacific Island populations in the context of demographic factors that will impact on the achievement of the MDGs in the region. Some long-standing fictions are challenged in an attempt to ensure that persistent fact-less follies do not continue to misinform public policy and thus detract from the region"s progress towards informed and sustained development in Pacific populations.