Vanuatu

• 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

• 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

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.99 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

malaria

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)

etymology:

• there are two possibilities for the origin of the name: early European settlers were Portuguese and "vila" means "village or town" in Portuguese, hence "Port-Vila" would mean "Port Town";
• alternatively, the site of the capital is referred to as "Efil" or "Ifira" in native languages, "Vila" is a likely corruption of these names

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

chief of state:

President Tallis Obed MOSES (since 6 July 2017)

head of government:

Prime Minister Bob LOUGHMAN (since 20 April 2020)

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 20 April 2020 (next to be held following general elections in 2024)

election results:

Bob LOUGHMAN elected prime minister on 20 April 2020; Bob LOUGHMAN 31 votes, Ralph REGENVANU 21 votes

description:

unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members directly elected in 8 single-seat and 9 multi-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote to serve 4-year terms (candidates in multi-seat constituencies can be elected with only 4% of the vote)

elections:

last held on 19–20 March 2020 (next to be held in 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - GJP 9, RMC 7, VP 7, LPV 5, UMP 5, NUP 4, other 15;
• composition - men 52, women 0;
• percent of women 0%;
• note - political party associations are fluid

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

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

• 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]
• Rural Development Party or RDP [Jay NGWELE, spokesman]
• 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 First or Vanuatu [Russel NARI]
• Vanuatu Liberal Movement or VLM [Gaetan PIKIOUNE]
• 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 8 September 2017);
• 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

• 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

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 8

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

374,603 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1.66 million mt-km (2018)

total:

1,070 km (2000)

paved:

256 km (2000)

unpaved:

814 km (2000)

total:

369

by type:

bulk carrier 26, container ship 1, general cargo 45, other 297 (2019)