Vanuatu

Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980, when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted.

• tropical;
• moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October;
• moderate rainfall from November to April;
• may be affected by cyclones from December to April

• three-quarters of the population lives in rural areas;
• the urban populace lives primarily in two cities, Port-Vila and Lugenville;
• three largest islands - Espiritu Santo, Malakula, and Efate - accomodate over half of the populace

• tropical cyclones (January to April);
• volcanic eruption on Aoba (Ambae) island began on 27 November 2005, volcanism also causes minor earthquakes;
• tsunamis volcanism: significant volcanic activity with multiple eruptions in recent years;
• Yasur (361 m), one of the world's most active volcanoes, has experienced continuous activity in recent centuries;
• other historically active volcanoes include
  • Aoba,
  • Ambrym,
  • Epi,
  • Gaua,
  • Kuwae,
  • Lopevi,
  • Suretamatai,
  • and Traitor's Head

• population growth;
• water pollution, most of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water;
• inadequate sanitation;
• deforestation

party to:

Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)

adjective:

Ni-Vanuatu

0-14 years:

34.89% (male 51,313 /female 49,190)

15-24 years:

20.03% (male 28,631 /female 29,053)

25-54 years:

35.39% (male 49,803 /female 52,140)

55-64 years:

5.57% (male 7,973 /female 8,072)

65 years and over:

4.12% (male 5,968 /female 5,894) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

68.7 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

61.6 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

7.1 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

14.1 (2015 est.)

• three-quarters of the population lives in rural areas;
• the urban populace lives primarily in two cities, Port-Vila and Lugenville;
• three largest islands - Espiritu Santo, Malakula, and Efate - accomodate over half of the populace

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Vanuatu

conventional short form:

Vanuatu

local long form:

Ripablik blong Vanuatu

local short form:

Vanuatu

former:

New Hebrides

etymology:

derived from the words "vanua" (home or land) and "tu" (stand) that occur in several of the Austonesian languages spoken on the islands and which provide a meaning of "the land remains" but which also convey a sense of "independence" or "our land"

name:

Port-Vila (on Efate)

geographic coordinates:

17 44 S, 168 19 E

time difference:

UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

draft completed August 1979, finalized by constitution conference 19 September 1979, ratified by French and British Governments 23 October 1979, effective 30 July 1980 at independence

amendments:

• proposed by the prime minister or by the Parliament membership;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by Parliament in special session with at least three-fourths of the membership;
• passage of amendments affecting the national and official languages, or the electoral and parliamentary system also requires approval in a referendum;
• amended several times, last in 2013

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

both parents must be citizens of Vanuatu; in the case of only one parent, it must be the father who is a citizen

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

highest courts:

• Court of Appeal (consists of 2 or more judges of the Supreme Court designated by the chief justice);
• Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 puisne judges - 3 local and 3 expatriate)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition;
• other judges appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, a 4-member advisory body;
• judges serve until the age of retirement

subordinate courts:

Magistrates Courts; Island Courts

chief of state:

President Tallis Obed MOSES (since 6 July 2017)

head of government:

Prime Minister Charlot SALWAI (since 11 February 2016)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to parliament

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and presidents of the 6 provinces;
• Vanuatu president serves a 5-year term;
• election last held on 17 June 2017 (next to be held in 2022);
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by parliament from among its members;
• election for prime minister last held on 11 February 2016 (next to be held following general elections in 2020)

election results:

• Baldwin LONSDALE (independent) died suddenly on 17 June 2017;
• Parliament elected Tallis Obed MOSES on 6 July 2017 with a 39 to 17 vote in the fourth round;
• Charlot SALWAI elected prime minister on 11 February 2016 with 46 votes

description:

unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 22 January 2016 (next to be held in 2020)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - VP 8, PPP 6, UMP 5, GJP 4, NUP 4, IG 3, GC 3, NAG 3, RMC 3, MPP 2, NIPDP 2, PSP 1, VLDP 1, VNP 1, VPDP 1, VRP 1, and independent 4;
• note - political party associations are fluid

note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language

• Greens Confederation or GC [Moana CARCASSES Kalosil]
• Iauko Group or IG [Tony NARI]
• Land and Justice Party (Graon mo Jastis Pati) or GJP [Ralph REGENVANU]
• Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]
• Nagriamel movement or NAG [Frankie STEVENS]
• Natatok Indigenous People's Democratic Party or (NATATOK) or NIPDP [Alfred Roland CARLOT]
• National United Party or NUP [Ham LINI]
• People's Progressive Party or PPP [Sato KILMAN]
• People's Service Party or PSP [Don KEN]
• Reunification of Movement for Change or RMC [Charlot SALWAI]
• Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]
• Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]
• Vanuatu Democratic Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]
• Vanuatu Liberal Democratic Party or VLDP [Tapangararua WILLIE]
• Vanuatu National Party or VNP [Issac HAMARILIU]
• Vanuatu National Development Party or VNDP [Robert Bohn SIKOL]
• Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Marcellino PIPITE]

• none;
• the Vanuatu Permanent Mission to the UN serves as the Embassy;
• it is headed by Odo TEVI (since 2014);
• address: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400B, New York, NY 10017;
• telephone: [1](212)661-4303;
• FAX: [1](212)422-2437

• 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 fern fronds, all in yellow;
• red represents the blood of boars and men, as well as unity, green the richness of the islands, and black the ni-Vanuatu people;
• the yellow Y-shape - which reflects the pattern of the islands in the Pacific Ocean - symbolizes the light of the Gospel spreading through the islands;
• the boar's tusk is a symbol of prosperity frequently worn as a pendant on the islands;
• the fern fronds represent peace

note: one of several flags where a prominent component of the design reflects the shape of the country; other such flags are those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, and Eritrea

name:

"Yumi, Yumi, Yumi" (We, We, We)

lyrics/music:

Francois Vincent AYSSAV

note: adopted 1980; the anthem is written in Bislama, a Creole language that mixes Pidgin English and French

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

agriculture:

65%

industry:

5%

services:

30% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

• telecom services have progressed significantly in recent years;
• mobile phones are now the primary means of communication and more than 90% of the population is covered by a mobile network (2016)

domestic:

• 2016 saw the launch of LTE services by Digicel and the introduction of rural satellite broadband services by Kacific;
• mobile phone use in some rural areas is constrained by electricity shortages (2016)

international:

country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2016)

• 1 state-owned TV station;
• multi-channel pay TV is available;
• state-owned Radio Vanuatu operates 2 radio stations;
• 2 privately owned radio broadcasters;
• programming from multiple international broadcasters is available (2008)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

287,526 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,510,732 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,070 km (2000)

paved:

256 km (2000)

unpaved:

814 km (2000)

total:

421 (2017)

by type:

bulk carrier 22, container ship 1, general cargo 27, other 371 (2017)