Vanuatu

Republic of Vanuatu

republicIndependence 30 July 1980 (from France and UK)

Vanuatu as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 98 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalPort-Vila

Position16 00 S, 167 00 E

Area14,760 sq km

LocationOceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,

Populationas each edition published it

189,036 people July 1999 est. · 165,006 in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.02% 1999 est. · 2.36% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 21.9 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

61.44 years 1999 est. · 58.8 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.61 children per woman 1999 est. · 5.5 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

59.58 deaths per 1,000 live births 1999 est. · 36 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$1,300 1997 est. · $900 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 6% in 1993

Geography

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, | about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

17 fields

Land useshare of 14,760 sq km

arable land 2%permanent crops 10%permanent pastures 2%forests and woodland 75%other 11% (1993 est.)

Area

14,760sq km

land: 14,760 sq kmwater: 0 sq kmnote: includes more than 80 islandsslightly larger than Connecticut

Coastline

2,528km

land boundaries: 0 kmMaritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselinescontiguous zone: 24 nmcontinental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental marginexclusive economic zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 12 nm

Highest point

1,877m

Tabwemasanalowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Location

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates

16 00 S, 167 00 E

Map references

Oceania

Climate

tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds

Terrain

mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

Natural resources

manganese, hardwood forests, fish

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Natural hazards

tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes

Environment--current issues

a majority of the population does not have access to a potable and reliable supply of water; deforestation

Environment--international agreements

party to:: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified:: Desertification, Law of the Sea

People

15 fields

Population

189,036

(July 1999 est.)growth rate: 2.02% (1999 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1999 est.)

Birth

28.49Death

8.26Net migration

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1999 est.)61.44

59.41 · 63.57

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1979 est.)53%

57% · 48%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Religions

Presbyterian 36.7%Anglican 15%Catholic 15%indigenous beliefs 7.6%Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%Church of Christ 3.8%other 15.7%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 39% (male 37,040; female 35,760)
15-64 years:: 58% (male 56,649; female 53,799)
65 years and over:: 3% (male 3,125; female 2,663) (1999 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 1.17 male(s)/female
total population:: 1.05 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate

59.58 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.61 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective:: Ni-Vanuatu

Ethnic groups

indigenous Melanesian 94%, French 4%, Vietnamese, Chinese, Pacific Islanders

Languages

English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama)

Government

Republic; President Jean Marie LEYE (since 2 March 1994); Prime Minister Donald KALPOKAS (since 30 March 1998)

18 fields

Parliament, 52 seats, elected 6 March 1998one dot, one seat

-VP 18UMP 12NUP 11other and independent 11

Country name

conventional long form:: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form:: Vanuatu
former:: New Hebrides

Data code

Government type

republic

Capital

Port-Vila

Administrative divisions

6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba

Independence

30 July 1980 (from France and UK)

National holiday

Independence Day, 30 July (1980)

Constitution

30 July 1980

Legal system

unified system being created from former dual French and British systems

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Jean Marie LEYE (since 2 March 1994)
head of government:: Prime Minister Donald KALPOKAS (since 30 March 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Willie JIMMY (since 19 October 1998)
cabinet:: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament
elections:: president elected by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils for a five-year term;
election for president last held 2 March 1994 (next to be held NA 1999);
following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members;
election for prime minister last held 6 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results:: Jean Marie LEYE elected president;
percent of electoral college vote--NA;
Donald KALPOKAS elected prime minister by Parliament with a total of 35 votes;
other candidate, Rialuth Serge VOHOR, received 17 votes

note: the general legislative elections in November 1995 did not give a majority to any of the political parties; since the election, there have been four changes of government--all of which have been coalitions formed by Parliamentary vote;

Rialuth Serge VOHOR was prime minister from November 1995 until he resigned 7 February 1996 when faced with a no-confidence vote in Parliament; Maxime Carlot KORMAN was then elected prime minister and served until he was ousted in a no-confidence motion on 30 September 1996;

VOHOR was then elected prime minister for a second time; as a result of legislative elections in March 1998, KALPOKAS was elected prime minister and formed a coalition government with Father LINI's National United Party (NUP)

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:: last held 6 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results:: percent of vote by party--NA;
seats by party--VP 18, UMP 12, NUP 11, other and independent 11;
note--political party associations are fluid;
there have been four changes of government since the November 1995 elections

note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and land

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission

Political parties and leaders

Union of Moderate Parties or UMP

International organization participation

ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US

Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US, it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN

Diplomatic representation from the US

the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu

Flag description

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle);
centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow

Economy

The economy is based primarily on subsistence | or small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the | population.

31 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$1,300

purchasing power parity? · (1997 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

2.2%

(1997 est.)

Debt--external

$63million

(1996 est.)

GDP--composition by sector(1996)

agriculture 23%industry 13%services 64% (1996)

Budget

Revenues

$94.4 millionExpenditures

$99.8 million (1996 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $30.4 million

Electricity

fossil fuel 100%hydro 0% · nuclear 0% · other 0%

Electricity production

30 million (1996)Electricity consumption

30 million (1996)

Economy--overview

The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits.

A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands.

GDP

purchasing power parity--$240 million (1997 est.)

GDP--real growth rate

NA%

Population below poverty line

NA%

Labor force

Labor force--by occupation

agriculture 65%, services 32%, industry 3% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Industries

food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning

Agriculture--products

copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef

Exports

$30 million (f.o.b., 1996)

Exports--commodities

copra, beef, cocoa, timber, coffee

Exports--partners

Japan 28%, Spain 21%, Germany 14%, UK 7%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, Australia, New Caledonia (1996 est.)

Imports

$97 million (f.o.b., 1996)

Imports--commodities

machines and vehicles, food and beverages, basic manufactures, raw materials and fuels, chemicals

Imports--partners

Japan 47%, Australia 23%, Singapore 8%, New Zealand 6%, France 3%, Fiji (1996 est.)

Economic aid--recipient

$45.8 million (1995)

Currency

1 vatu (VT) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

vatu (VT) per US$1--129.66 (January 1999), 127.52 (1998), 115.87 (1997), 111.72 (1996), 112.11 (1995), 116.41 (1994)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields

Fixed lines

4,000

(1994 est.)

Telephone system

domestic:: NA
international:: satellite earth station--1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios

49,000 (1994 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1 (1997)

Televisions

2,000 (1994 est.)

Transportation

7 fields

Merchant marine, 82 ships by typeone square, one ship · ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,327,078 GRT/1,764,558 DWT

bulk 31cargo 24chemical tanker 3combination bulk 1liquefied gas tanker 4oil tanker 2refrigerated cargo 11vehicle carrier 6note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 15 countries among which are ships of Japan 28, India 10, US 10, Greece 3, Hong Kong 3, Australia 2, Canada 1, China 1, and France 1 (1998 est.)

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m

total: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11

Networkskm

Highways

1,070Railways

Highways: paved: 256 km · unpaved: 814 km (1996 est.)