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| Introduction | Vanuatu |
| 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. |
| People | Vanuatu |
| Population: | 202,609 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 34.1% (male 35,281; female 33,785) 15-64 years: 62.4% (male 64,669; female 61,829) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 3,740; female 3,305) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 22.3 years male: 22.3 years female: 22.2 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.57% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 23.67 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 8.02 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 56.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 59.25 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 62.1 years male: 60.64 years female: 63.63 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.87 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA |
| Nationality: | noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural) adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
| Ethnic groups: | indigenous Melanesian 98%, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, other 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% (including Jon Frum Cargo cult) |
| Languages: | three official languages: English, French, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama), plus more than 100 local languages |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 53% male: 57% female: 48% (1979 est.) |
| Government | Vanuatu |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides |
| Government type: | parliamentary republic |
| Capital: | Port-Vila (Efate) |
| 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 Kalkot Matas KELEKELE (since 16 August 2004) 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 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament head of government: Prime Minister Serge VOHOR (since 29 July 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Ham LINI (since 18 August 2004) |
| Legislative branch: | 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 - UMP 8, VP 8, NUP 10, 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 |
| 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: | Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [NA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]; Greens (Vanuatu) [Moana CARCASSES] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, NAM, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, 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 |
| Communications | Vanuatu |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 6,500 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 7,800 (2003) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2002) |
| Radios: | 67,000 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 1 (2002) |
| Televisions: | 2,300 (1999) |
| Internet country code: | .vu |
| Internet hosts: | 512 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 7,500 (2003) |
| Transportation | Vanuatu |
| Highways: | total: 1,070 km paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1999 est.) |
| Ports and harbors: | Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,192,474 GRT/1,560,828 DWT registered in other countries: 1 (2003 est.) foreign-owned: Australia 2, Canada 1, Estonia 1, Germany 1, Japan 25, Monaco 4, New Zealand 2, Panama 1, Poland 7, Switzerland 3, United Kingdom 5, United States 2 by type: bulk 28, cargo 2, combination bulk 3, container 2, liquefied gas 2, multi-functional large load carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 5 |
| Airports: | 30 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 27 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
| Military | Vanuatu |
| Military branches: | no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF; including the paramilitary Mobile Force or VMF) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | NA |
| Transnational Issues | Vanuatu |
| Disputes - international: | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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