Vanuatu

I

Introduction

Vanuatu, independent republic consisting of more than 80 islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, located about 5,600 km (about 3,500 mi) southwest of Hawaii and about 2,400 km (about 1,500 mi) northeast of Australia. From the late 19th century until independence in 1980, Vanuatu (then called the New Hebrides) was governed jointly by France and Britain. The capital and largest city is Port-Vila, located on the island of Éfaté.

II

Land and Resources

The islands of Vanuatu extend about 800 km (about 500 mi) from north to south and about one-quarter of that distance from east to west. They lie in a Y-shaped configuration that tilts in a northwest to southeast direction. Total land area is 12,190 sq km (4,707 sq mi). About 70 of the islands are inhabited. The largest island, Espiritu Santo, has a land area of 4,856 sq km (1,875 sq mi); other principal islands include Malakula, Éfaté, Erromango, and Ambrym. Vanuatu's exclusive economic zone—that is, the area of the ocean in which it controls fishing and other rights—covers about 1.8 million sq km (about 700,000 sq mi).

Most of Vanuatu’s islands are peaks of volcanic mountain ranges that rise from the ocean floor; several of the volcanoes are active, including Mount Yasur on the island of Tanna. The highest peak, Mount Tabwemasana on Espiritu Santo, rises to an elevation of 1,879 m (6,165 ft). Many of the islands have narrow coastal plain regions with relatively rich soils that support a variety of agricultural crops. Forests cover a large portion of the land. Two small rivers drain Espiritu Santo and smaller streams flow on some other islands.

Vanuatu has a tropical, humid climate. Trade winds moderate the climate between May and October, producing a slightly drier, cooler season than during the rest of the year. Winds vary considerably during the warmer season, causing occasional cyclones between December and April. A major cyclone ravaged Vanuatu in February 1987, destroying numerous buildings and ships. Average daily temperatures range from 22° to 27°C (72° to 81°F). Rainfall averages about 2,300 mm (about 90 in) in the southern islands and about 3,900 mm (about 154 in) in the northern islands.

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Vanuatu supports more than 1,000 species of vegetation, including coconut palms, banyan trees, orchids, and ferns. Small reptiles, bats, and rats inhabit the islands, along with numerous varieties of birds, such as pigeons, parrots, and thrushes. Varied sea animals thrive in the surrounding waters, including bonito, tuna, swordfish, dolphins, sharks, crabs, and corals. Éfaté contains manganese deposits, which were mined in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1994 a geophysical survey identified possible gold and copper deposits on Malakula and Espiritu Santo.

III

The People of Vanuatu

The population of Vanuatu was estimated at 218,519 in 2009, yielding a population density of 18 persons per sq km (46 per sq mi). Ethnic Melanesians known as ni-Vanuatu are 94 percent of the people; the remainder are of French, Vietnamese, Chinese, Polynesian, or Micronesian descent. Rural areas are almost entirely ni-Vanuatu and contain 77 percent of Vanuatu’s people. About 70 percent of the republic’s population live on the islands of Anatom, Éfaté, Espiritu Santo, Futana, Malakula, and Tanna. Besides the capital of Port-Vila, the only other urban area in Vanuatu is Luganville on Espiritu Santo.

English, French, and Bislama, a form of pidgin English, are Vanuatu’s official languages. Government documents are sometimes published in all three. There are also more than 100 Melanesian languages spoken in the republic (see Austronesian languages). Given this linguistic variety, Bislama tends to serve as the nation’s lingua franca, or common language of communication. Literacy rates in Vanuatu rank among the lowest of Pacific nations. Although nearly all of Vanuatu’s children attend primary schools, only about one in five students continues beyond the primary level. The joint British and French colonial administration established a dual education system in Vanuatu, whereby some primary schools teach in English and others teach in French; this system continues today. A teacher training college and an extension of the University of the South Pacific (founded in 1989) are located in Port-Vila.

A majority of the people of Vanuatu practice Christianity. About 35 percent of the population are Presbyterians, while Anglicans (members of the Church of England) and Roman Catholics each comprise about 15 percent. Much of the rural population, regardless of church membership, continues to adhere to traditional animist rituals and beliefs (Animism).

The way of life in Port-Vila reflects its French and English colonial heritage. With fine restaurants, shops, and hotels, it is a cosmopolitan city that caters to Western tourists. Vanuatu’s other urban area, Luganville, is a simpler community with far fewer Western characteristics. In rural areas, the traditional lifestyle centered around subsistence agriculture remains largely intact. Houses made from local wood and palm leaves predominate, and much of the clothing is of traditional design. Both urban and rural residents consume kava, a mildly narcotic drink made from a plant in the pepper family, in ceremonial and recreational settings. Organized sports such as soccer and cricket are popular in Vanuatu’s urban areas.

IV

Economy

In 2007 Vanuatu had an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of $452 million. Agriculture dominates the country’s economy at both the subsistence and commercial levels. About 80 percent of the people engage primarily in subsistence agriculture. Food crops include yams, taro, cassava, and bananas. Livestock raising and small-scale fishing provide nearly all of the beef, pork, poultry, and fish consumed in Vanuatu. Agricultural activities also generate most of the country’s major exports, including copra (dried meat of the coconut), beef, cocoa, and coffee. The forestry industry, which is controlled to prevent overlogging, provides timber, the other important export. Agriculture and forestry also supply Vanuatu’s manufacturing industries, which include food processing and canning and wood processing.

Although agriculture employs the majority of Vanuatu’s workforce, the services sector—especially tourism and offshore banking—provides the majority of GDP. Although Vanuatu’s government originally discouraged tourism beyond Éfaté in an effort to preserve isolated island cultures, the desire to spread the tourism industry’s economic benefits more widely has led in recent years to an increase in rural and village-based tourism. Other sources of revenue in Vanuatu include a shipping registry, which allows foreign merchant ships to operate under the Vanuatu flag to profit from the country’s less restrictive regulations, and the licensing of foreign vessels to fish in surrounding waters. The possibility of reopening manganese-mining operations on Éfaté holds further economic potential.

The value of Vanuatu’s imports typically outweighs the value of its exports by several times. Principal imports include machinery and vehicles, manufactured goods, and mineral fuels. Sources for Vanuatu’s imports include Japan, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, France, and the Fiji Islands, while the principal purchasers of its exports are Japan, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The national unit of currency in Vanuatu is the vatu (102.4 vatu equal U.S.$1; 2007 average).

Air Vanuatu and several other airlines provide international service from Vanuatu’s main airport, located near Port-Vila. Several shipping lines provide frequent service to Port-Vila and Luganville, and small vessels shuttle among the islands. There are some paved roads on Éfaté, but mostly unimproved roads elsewhere. Vanuatu has two weekly newspapers, one published by the government and one privately owned. The government operates the only radio and television stations. Radio Vanuatu broadcasts in the three official languages. Many television programs are imported from New Zealand and France. International telephone service is available in Port-Vila and Luganville.

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