| Background: |
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. |
| 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 |
| Area: |
total:
12,200 sq km
land: 12,200 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes more than 80 islands |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly larger
than Connecticut |
| Maritime
claims: |
measured from
claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the
continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical;
moderated by southeast trade winds |
| Terrain: |
mostly mountains
of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m |
| Natural
resources: |
manganese,
hardwood forests, fish |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
2%
permanent crops: 10%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 75%
other: 11% (1993 est.) |
| 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, 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 |
| Population: |
192,910 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
36.35% (male 35,822; female 34,299)
15-64 years: 60.43% (male 59,764; female
56,808)
65 years and over: 3.22% (male 3,348; female
2,869) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.7% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
25.4 births/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.38 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 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 (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
61.05
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 60.95 years
male: 59.58 years
female: 62.39 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.19 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
| Ethnic
groups: |
indigenous
Melanesian 94%, French 4%, Vietnamese, Chinese, Pacific
Islanders |
| Religions: |
Presbyterian
36.7%, Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs
7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%,
other 15.7% |
| Languages: |
English
(official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or
Bichelama) |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 53%
male: 57%
female: 48% (1979 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu
former: New Hebrides |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| 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 Father John BANI (since 25 March
1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Edward
NATAPEI (since 16 April 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Serge
VOHOR (since 16 April 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
prime minister, responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected for a four-year
term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and
the presidents of the regional councils for a five-year
term; election for president last held 25 March 1999 (next
to be held NA 2003); 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 16 April 2001
(next to be held NA 2002)
election results: Father John BANI elected
president; percent of electoral college vote - NA%; Edward
NATAPEI elected prime minister by Parliament with a total of
27 out of 52 votes
note: the government of Prime Minister Barak
SOPE was ousted in a no confidence vote on 14 April 2001 and
Edward NATAPEI was elected the new prime minister by
Parliament |
| 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: |
Melanesian
Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party
or NUP [Willie TITONGOA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP
[Serge VOHOR]; Vanuaaku Party (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward
NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| 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, UNMIBH,
UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| 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
- 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. The most recent natural disaster, a
severe earthquake in November 1999 followed by a tsunami,
caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecote
and left thousands homeless. GDP growth has risen less than
3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns,
the government is moving to tighten regulation of its
offshore financial center. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $245 million (1999 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
-2.5% (1999 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $1,300 (1999 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
20%
industry: 9%
services: 71% (1999 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2.5% (1999 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 65%,
services 32%, industry 3% (1995 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$94.4 million
expenditures: $99.8 million, including capital
expenditures of $30.4 million (1996 est.) |
| Industries: |
food and fish
freezing, wood processing, meat canning |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1% (1997 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
35 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
32.6 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
copra, coconuts,
cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables;
fish, beef |
| Exports: |
$25.3 million
(f.o.b., 1999) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
copra, kava,
beef, cocoa, timber, coffee |
| Exports
- partners: |
Japan 32%,
Germany 14%, Spain 8%, New Caledonia 7%, Australia 2% (1997
est.) |
| Imports: |
$77.2 million
(f.o.b., 1999) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and
equipment, foodstuffs, fuels |
| Imports
- partners: |
Japan 52%,
Australia 20%, New Caledonia, Singapore, New Zealand,
France, Fiji (1997 est.) |
| Debt
- external: |
$48 million (1997
est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$45.8 million
(1995) |
| Exchange
rates: |
vatu per US
dollar - 143.95 (December 2000), 137.82 (2000), 129.08
(1999), 127.52 (1998), 115.87 (1997), 111.72 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
4,000 (1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
154 (1996) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 2, FM 2,
shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
2,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.vu |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
3,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
1,070 km
paved: 256 km
unpaved: 814 km (1996) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Forari,
Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,067,384 GRT/1,330,543
DWT
ships by type: bulk 23, cargo 7, chemical
tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 1, liquefied gas 3,
petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 7, vehicle carrier 6
note: includes some foreign-owned ships
registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 2,
Canada 1, China 1, France 1, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Japan
22, Netherlands 1, Norway 1, Switzerland 1, US 4 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 17 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
no regular
military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF; includes the
paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force or VMF) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Disputes
- international: |
claims Matthew
and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia |
|
