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

noun:

Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)

adjective:

Ni-Vanuatu

total:

24.2 years (2023 est.)

male:

23.7 years

female:

24.6 years

• 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

15-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.97 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

14 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

15.4 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

12.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

75.4 years (2023 est.)

male:

73.7 years

female:

77.2 years

total:

1.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.39 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.87 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

17.8% (2020 est.)

male:

33% (2020 est.)

female:

2.6% (2020 est.)

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

• 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

urban population:

26% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.55% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

8.42 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

0.15 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

0.5 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

70,225 tons (2012 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

25,983 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

37% (2013 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)

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 Nikenike VUROBARAVU (since 23 July 2022)

head of government:

Prime Minister Charlot SALWAI (since 6 October 2023)

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 23 July 2022 (next to be held in 2027);
• 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:

Nikenike VUROBARAVU elected president in eighth round on 23 July 2022 with 48 votes;;

• Sato KILMAN defeated as prime minister in no-confidence vote on 6 October 2023;
• Charlot SALWAI elected prime minister on 6 October 2023, 29 votes for - 0 against

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 13 October 2022 (next to be held in 2026)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - UMP 7, VP 7, LPV 5, RMC 5, GJP 4, NUP 4, RDP 4, IG 3, PPP 2, VNDP 2, NAG 1, VLM 1, other 6, independent 1;
• composition - men 51, women 1;
• percent of women 2%;
• note - political party associations are fluid

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

highest court(s):

• 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

• Green Confederation or GC [Moana CARCASSES Kalosil]
• Iauko Group or IG [Tony NARI]
• Land and Justice Party (Graon mo Jastis Pati) or GJP [Ralph REGENVANU]
• Leaders Party of Vanuatu or LVP [Nikenike VUROBARAVU]
• 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 [Alatoi Ishmael KALSAKAU]
• Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Bob LOUGHMAN]
• Vanuatu Democratic Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]
• Vanuatu First or Vanuatu [Russel NARI]
• Vanuatu Liberal Democratic Party or VLDP [Tapangararua WILLIE]
• Vanuatu Liberal Movement or VLM [Gaetan PIKIOUNE]
• Vanuatu National Development Party or VNDP [Robert Bohn SIKOL]
• Vanuatu National Party or VNP [Issac HAMARILIU]
• Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Marcellino PIPITE]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Odo TEVI (since 8 September 2017); note - also Permanent Representative to the UN

chancery:

800 Second Avenue, Suite 400B, New York, NY 10017

telephone:

[1] (212) 661-4323

FAX:

[1] (212) 422-3427

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.un.int/vanuatu/; note - the Vanuatu Permanent Mission to the UN serves as the embassy

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Chief Roi Mata’s Domain

• lower-middle income Pacific island economy;
• extremely reliant on subsistence agriculture and tourism;
• environmentally fragile;
• struggling post-pandemic and Tropical Cyclone Harold rebound;
• sizeable inflation;
• road infrastructure aid from Australia

total:

5.4% (2021 est.)

male:

5.2%

female:

5.6%

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

0 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

1,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

0 barrels (2021 est.)

production:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• for many years, 2G Global System for Mobile Communications was the primary mobile technology for Vanuatu’s 300,000 people;
• recent infrastructure projects have improved access technologies, with a transition to 3G and, to a limited degree, to LTE;
• Vanuatu has also benefited from the ICN1 submarine cable and the launch of the Kacific-1 satellite, both of which have considerably improved access to telecom services in recent years;
• Vanuatu’s telecom sector is liberalized, with the two prominent mobile operators;
• while fixed broadband penetration remains low, the incumbent operator is slowly exchanging copper fixed-lines for fiber;
• a number of ongoing submarine cable developments will also assist in increasing data rates and reduce internet pricing in coming years (2021)

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity is 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular 78 per 100 (2021)

international:

• country code - 678;
• landing points for the ICN1 & ICN2 submarine cables providing connectivity to the Solomon Islands and Fiji;
• cables helped end-users with Internet bandwidth;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2020)

• 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 (2018) mt-km

total:

1,070 km (2000)

paved:

256 km (2000)

unpaved:

814 km (2000)

Vanuatu-France :

• Matthew and Hunter Islands, two uninhabited islands east of New Caledonia, claimed by Vanuatu and France;
• in January 2019, a French naval mission landed officers on the islands to reinforce France’s sovereignty;
• in November 2021, French vessels fishing near the islands raised tensions

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List — Vanuatu does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so;
• these efforts included sentencing four traffickers to prison, following their conviction in the previous reporting period;
• however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous reporting period, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity;
• for the fourth consecutive year, authorities did not identify any trafficking victims and did not provide protection services to victims;
• for the third consecutive year, officials did not investigate any trafficking crimes;
• the government also did not conduct public awareness campaigns or administer anti-trafficking training for law enforcement officials;
• therefore, Vanuatu was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2023)

trafficking profile:

• human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Vanuatu, and traffickers exploit victims from Vanuatu abroad;
• individuals from Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, and Thailand are exploited in Vanuatu;
• workers from China may have been forced to work in Vanuatu at projects run by Chinese companies;
• traffickers target migrant women in the hospitality and tourism sectors and low-skilled foreign workers in high-risk sectors, such as agriculture, mining, fishing, logging, construction, and domestic service;
• Chinese and South Asian migrant women are at risk for labor trafficking in bars, beauty salons, and massage parlors;
• Bangladeshi criminal groups lure Bangladeshis with false promises of jobs in Australia, then exploit them in forced labor in construction in Vanuatu;
• women and girls may be at risk of debt-based coercion in sex trafficking and domestic servitude to pay back the husband’s family for the “bride-price payments” they made to the bride’s family;
• children are exploited through “child-swapping” used to pay off debts, or by taxi drivers who may facilitate their exploitation in commercial sex;
• forced labor and child sex trafficking occur on fishing vessels in Vanuatu;
• LGBTQI+ individuals are vulnerable to trafficking;
• children may experience conditions indicative of forced labor in the illegal logging industry and in newspaper sales (2023)