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:

24.6 years (2024 est.)

male:

24.1 years

female:

25 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:

0.96 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

13.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

15 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

12.3 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

75.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

74 years

female:

77.4 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:

• 2022: Nikenike VUROBARAVU elected president in eighth round;
• electoral college vote - Nikenike VUROBARAVU (VP) 48 votes, Solas MOLISA (VP) 4 votes;
• note - Charlot SALWAI (RMC) elected prime minister on 6 October 2023, 29 votes for, 0 against;
• Prime Minister Sato KILMAN lost no-confidence vote on 6 October 2023, requiring a new election

note: the National Council of Chiefs (Malvatu Mauri) is a formal advisory body of chiefs recognized by the country's constitution; it advises the government on matters of culture and language

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, NCM 2, VNDP 2, LM 1, NAG 1, PUDP 1, UCM 1, VLM 1, VPDP 1, independent 1;
• composition - men 50, women 1, percentage women 2%;
• note - political party associations are fluid

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

• Iauko Group (Eagle Party) or IG
• Laverwo Movement or LM
• Land and Justice Party (Graon mo Jastis Pati or GJP)
• Leaders Party of Vanuatu or LVP
• Nagriamel Movement or NAG
• National United Party or NUP
• Nagwasoanda Custom Movement or NCM
• People's Progressive Party or PPP
• People Unity Development Party or PUDP
• Rural Development Party or RDP
• Reunification of Movement for Change or RMC
• Union of Moderate Parties or UMP
• Unity for Change Movement or UCM
• Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP
• Vanuatu Liberal Movement or VLM
• Vanuatu National Development Party or VNDP
• Vanuatu Progressive Development Party or VPDP

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) 661-4303

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

chief of mission:

• Ambassador Ann Marie YASTISHOCK (since 16 April 2024);
• note - also accredited to the Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

embassy:

Port Vila

• 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

agriculture:

21.2% (2018 est.)

industry:

10% (2018 est.)

services:

59.8% (2018 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

10.7% (2023 est.)

male:

8.9% (2023 est.)

female:

13% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

lowest 10%:

3% (2019 est.)

highest 10%:

24.7% (2019 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

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 4G;
• 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 (2023)

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 (Capital FM 107 and Laef FM);
• programming from multiple international broadcasters is available (2023)

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 ports:

3 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

0

small:

1

very small:

2

ports with oil terminals:

2

key ports:

Forari Bay, Luganville, Port Vila

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List — the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period, therefore Vanuatu remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year;
• for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/vanuatu/