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.

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

16 00 S, 167 00 E

Oceania

total: 12,200 sq km
land: 12,200 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes more than 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited

slightly larger than Connecticut

0 km

2,528 km

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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

mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m

manganese, hardwood forests, fish

arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 6.97%
other: 91.39% (2005)

NA

tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanic eruption on Aoba (Ambae) island began 27 November 2005, volcanism also causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis

a majority of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water; 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

a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes

208,869 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 32.6% (male 34,804/female 33,331)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 67,919/female 65,138)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 4,027/female 3,650) (2006 est.)

total: 23 years
male: 23 years
female: 23 years (2006 est.)

1.49% (2006 est.)

22.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 53.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.35 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 51.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 62.85 years
male: 61.34 years
female: 64.44 years (2006 est.)

2.7 children born/woman (2006 est.)

NA

NA

NA

noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu

Ni-Vanuatu 98.5%, other 1.5% (1999 Census)

Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 Census)

local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74%
male: NA
female: NA

conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu
former: New Hebrides

parliamentary republic

Port-Vila (Efate)

6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba

30 July 1980 (from France and UK)

Independence Day, 30 July (1980)

30 July 1980

unified system being created from former dual French and British systems

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President Kalkot Matas KELEKELE (since 16 August 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Ham LINI (since 11 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Sato KILMAN (since 11 December 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils; election for president last held 16 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009); 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 29 July 2004 (next to be held following general elections in 2008)
election results: Kalkot Matas KELEKELE elected president, with 49 votes out of 56, after several ballots on 16 August 2004

unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2004 (next to be held 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NUP 10, UMP 8, VP 8, VRP 4, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 16; note - political party associations are fluid
note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language

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)

Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Greens Party or VGP [Moana CARCASSES]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]

NA

ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US; it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN

the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu

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

This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 2004, 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. GDP growth rose less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth. Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of tourists and foreign aid.

$580 million (2003 est.)

NA

1.1% (2003 est.)

$2,900 (2003 est.)

agriculture: 26%
industry: 12%
services: 62% (2000 est.)

NA

agriculture: 65%
industry: 5%
services: 30% (2000 est.)

NA%

NA%

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

3.1% (2003 est.)

revenues: $52.6 million
expenditures: $54.3 million; including capital expenditures of $700,000 (2003)

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

food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning

1% (1997 est.)

41 million kWh (2003)

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

38.13 million kWh (2003)

0 kWh (2003)

0 kWh (2003)

0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

620 bbl/day (2003 est.)

NA bbl/day

NA bbl/day

0 cu m (2003 est.)

0 cu m (2003 est.)

$205 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

copra, beef, cocoa, timber, kava, coffee

Thailand 47%, Malaysia 18.4%, Japan 7.5%, Belgium 5.4%, China 4.9% (2004)

$233 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels

Taiwan 24%, Australia 16.5%, Japan 11.4%, Singapore 8.5%, NZ 7.2%, Fiji 6.3%, US 4.4% (2004)

$83.7 million (2002)

$27.5 million (2002)

vatu (VUV)

VUV

vatu per US dollar - NA (2005), 111.79 (2004), 122.19 (2003), 139.2 (2002), 145.31 (2001)

calendar year

6,800 (2004)

10,500 (2004)

general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004)

67,000 (1997)

1 (2004)

2,300 (1999)

.vu

487 (2005)

1 (2000)

7,500 (2004)

31 (2005)

total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)

total: 28
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 18 (2005)

total: 1,070 km
paved: 256 km
unpaved: 814 km (1999)

total: 52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,214,417 GRT/1,649,713 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 28, cargo 10, container 1, liquefied gas 2, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 5
foreign-owned: 52 (Australia 2, Canada 5, Denmark 6, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Japan 26, NZ 2, Poland 5, Russia 1, Switzerland 2, US 1) (2005)

Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo)

no regular military forces; security forces comprise the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), which includes Vanuatu's naval force, known as the Police Maritime Wing (PMW); border security in Vanuatu is the joint responsibility of the Customs and Inland Revenue Service, VPF, VMF, and PMW (2003)

males age 18-49: 50,221 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 33,837 (2005 est.)

NA

NA

Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France