Vanuatu

Formerly known as the New Hebrides, the Melanesian nation of Vanuatu is a relatively new republic facing severe economic problems. An archipelago of over eighty islands, it is one of the poorest nations in the Pacific, with little arable land and a dependence upon subsistence agriculture. The ni-Vanuatu, as the island's inhabitants are known, have faced economic development challenges and have continued to work to develop their tourism infrastructure.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: The Indigenous population of Vanuatu is Melanesian, or ni-Vanuatu. As of 2020, ni-Vanuatu made up an estimated 99 percent of the population. Other ethnic groups include French, Vietnamese, Chinese, and other Pacific Islanders.

Most ni-Vanuatu reside on the island of Efate; the capital city of Port-Vila had a population of approximately 53,000 as of 2018.

An estimated 26 percent of the total population lives in urban centers, as of 2023. Most of the people live along the coasts of the islands, leaving much of the interior uninhabited. The result is high population density in Vanuatu's coastal areas.

Although Bislama, English, and French are the official languages, ni-Vanuatu pidgin is also spoken, as well as numerous Melanesian languages and dialects.

As of 2020, a large percentage of ni-Vanuatu adhered to Christianity, often mixed with traditional beliefs. About 27.2 percent were Presbyterian, 12 percent Anglican, 14.8 percent Seventh-Day Adventist, 12.1 percent Roman Catholic, 4.9 percent Assemblies of God, 3.2 percent Neil Thomas Ministry, and 2.3 percent Apostolic. Many others remained firm in traditional beliefs. Other small religions include the cargo cults of John Frum on Tanna and of Prince Philip.

A cargo cult is one that believes that magic will bring its adherents wealth. Jon Frum began during the 1940s, when the islanders saw American ships and planes full of what they considered rich cargo. The belief of adherents is that the mythical messianic figure Jon Frum will return one day and take care of all their material needs. The Prince Philip cult began with the prince's visit to Vanuatu in 1974. Members of this cult believe that Prince Philip will return some day to rule over them.

Indigenous People: The Indigenous people of Vanuatu are the Melanesians, who are believed to have inhabited the islands for approximately four thousand years. Pottery fragments dating to 1300–1100 BCE have been found in Vanuatu.

Europeans happened upon the islands in 1606, and again in 1768. A few years later, Captain James Cook named the island group the New Hebrides, and the name stuck. Sandalwood was discovered on the island of Erromago in the early nineteenth century.

In the 1860s, adult males in the New Hebrides were taken as long-term indentured labor to plantations in Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa. This practice removed more than half of the men from the islands, and there is some evidence that the effects are still evident in the unexpectedly small population.

Early in the twentieth century, the United Kingdom and France formed the British-French Condominium to administer the islands, with each country using its own system of government. Under the Condominium, Melanesians were not allowed to become citizens.

Education: Primary school begins at age six and lasts for six years. Lower secondary education begins at age twelve and lasts for four years, followed by three years of upper secondary school (ages sixteen through eighteen). Periodic exit examinations determine a student's progress through the school system. Enrollment drops off sharply after primary school.

Vocational education and teacher training for those who qualify are also available at several institutions.

Port-Vila maintains the Emalus campus of the University of the South Pacific, and there are other institutes for technical education, teacher education, agriculture, and nursing. Students also travel to Fiji, New Guinea, and France to attend college.

The adult literacy rate in Vanuatu is 88 percent: 87.7 percent for men and 88.2 percent for women (2023 estimate).

Health Care: Spending only 4.4 percent of its annual GDP on health care (2021 estimate), Vanuatu has faced great public health challenges. Life expectancy at birth is 75.7 years overall (74 for men and 77.4 for women), as of 2024. About 94 percent of the urban population and 66.9 percent of the rural population had access to improved sanitation in 2022.

Vanuatu ranked 146 out of 193 countries and territories, based on 2023 data, on the United Nations Human Development Index rank, which measures the standard of living.

Food: The ni-Vanuatu have three food groups. Kakae blong givim paoa (food that gives power) is the group of high-carbohydrate foods such as taro, kumala, yam, and cooking bananas. Kakae blong blokem mo daonem sik (food that blocks and destroys sickness) is the fruit-and-vegetables group. Kakae blong bildemap bodi (food that builds up bodies) is the group of protein sources such as beef, chicken, mollusks, fish, eggs, peanuts, and dried peas and beans.

Laplap is the national dish. It is a combination of root crop foods (such as taro and kumala), coconut milk and meat, wrapped in a laplap leaf and cooked on hot stones. People in rural areas live almost exclusively on this high-carbohydrate diet.

Arts & Entertainment: Art is an important part of ni-Vanuatu ritual and spirituality. Artistic items such as decorated masks and headdresses are not meant to last and must "die" after serving their ritual purpose. Other ritual items, such as the large wooden slit drums, are permanent. No ritual items are meant for public display or sale.

The combination of costumes, drums, body paint, masks, headdresses, and song comprise art as well as ritual. The right to create certain items, designs, or songs may belong to individuals, lineages, or clans.

The ni-Vanuatu also produce more practical items, such as colorful dyed mats and baskets woven from pandanus leaves.

A small group of young artists has been trained in modern Western techniques since the late 1970s. In 1989 this group formed an association, Nawita (Octopus), in Port-Vila. Their work, while original, is inspired by traditional forms.

Elements of traditional art forms have also been used by a theater company headquartered in Port-Vila. Wan Smolbag Theater produced plays and sketches about health, the environment, and human rights. The theater company performed throughout the Pacific Islands and also held workshops for government agencies and other organizations.

Other art forms include carving: pig-killing clubs, chiefs' staffs, and wooden bowls and platters carved in stylized shapes of birds, turtles, and fish are meant for everyday use.

Modern musical forms include gospel, blues, and jazz. The Vanuatu Jazz Festival is held in Port-Vila in May.

Football (soccer) is popular in Vanuatu, and the nation sends a team to the Olympics. The Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF) was formed in 1980, shortly after independence. Youth participation is encouraged and developed partly through junior championship games.

Holidays: Official public holidays include New Year's Day (January 1), Fr. Lini Day (February 21), Chiefs Day (March 6), Labour Day (May 1), Independence Day (July 30), Constitution Day (October 5), Unity Day (November 29), Childrens Day (July 24), and Family Day (December 26). Several Christian holidays, including Good Friday, Ascension Day, and Assumption Day, are celebrated as well.

The John Frum Festival is celebrated on the island of Tanna each year on February 15.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Vanuatu is an archipelago of over eighty volcanic islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) west of Fiji and 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of New Caledonia. The islands stretch from north to south for 1,300 kilometers (808 miles).

On the western edge of the Pacific Plate, Vanuatu is no stranger to earthquakes. In fact, as the Indo-Australian Plate repeatedly dips under the edge of the Pacific Plate, the islands move 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) northwest each year. They also rise 2 millimeters (0.07 inches) higher each year.

The islands are mostly mountainous, with narrow coastal plains. The highest point in the country is Mount Tabwemasana on Espiritu Santo, at 1,877 meters (6,158 feet).

Vanuatu has twenty-five to thirty freshwater lakes. Most of these are crater lakes, some in active volcanoes. The largest is Lake Letas, a crater lake on intermittently active Mount Garet on Gaua Island. The lake covers 190 square kilometers (73 square miles). Except for New Guinea, this is the largest freshwater lake in the Pacific islands. The highest lakes in the South Pacific are atop the active volcano Waivundolue on Ambae Island. These lakes lie at an elevation of more than 1,300 meters (4,265 feet).

The Teouma River on Efate, the Matenoi River in the southern part of Malekula, and many other rivers flow through narrow mountain gorges. Some rivers are dry except during times of heavy rain.

Natural Resources: Vanuatu has hardwood forests, manganese deposits, and plenty of fish.

Deforestation heads any list of environmental problems for the country. Other problems include soil degradation and erosion, lack of stable access to drinking water, overgrazing, illegal fishing by poison, and pollution from pesticides.

Major natural hazards in Vanuatu include frequent tropical cyclones or hurricanes, volcanic activity, and earthquakes.

Plants & Animals: Forest covers about one-third of the land, particularly at the higher elevations and on the wet windward slopes. Semi-deciduous forests are found low on the drier leeward slopes. There are also some savannahs (grasslands).

Vanuatu has about 900 species of flowering plants, but only 135 of these are native. In contrast, there are around 250 varieties of ferns, including the namwele, a prehistoric fern tree. Nabangas, or giant banyan trees, are common, as are the smaller mangrove trees which often grow in swamps.

Pigs are now considered indigenous, although they were introduced. Also common to the islands are butterflies, fruit bats, nonvenomous snakes, a giant poisonous centipede, and nonvenomous scorpions. In the waters surrounding Vanuatu there are aggressive tiger sharks, venomous sea snakes, numerous species of game fish, non-stinging jellyfish, eels and potentially deadly lion fish, stonefish, and cone shells, in addition to a living coral reef.

Climate: Climate change continues to shape Vanuatu’s environment, leaving the country especially exposed to warming oceans, rising sea levels, and increasingly intense extreme weather events, including powerful cyclones.

Vanuatu’s climate varies across its island chain. The northern islands have a hot, tropical climate with little seasonal change, while the southern islands experience a semi-tropical climate with more noticeable seasonal differences. In Port Vila, average temperatures generally range between 21 and 25 degree Celsius (70 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit). Southeast trade winds are common from May to October, and the cyclone season typically spans November to April. Vanuatu is among the Pacific nations most exposed to cyclones, particularly in the central and northern islands. The rainy season usually occurs from November to April, although brief showers can happen at any time of year. Overall, conditions tend to be cooler and drier from May to July, with cooler evenings in the southern islands during the middle of the year.

Economy

Vanuatu is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific. Obstacles to economic development include reliance on a small number of commodity exports, the occurrence of natural disasters, and the great distances to markets.

However, Vanuatu has some economic advantages. The country is a tax haven, with numerous offshore banking institutions. Since 2002, however, when international concerns about money laundering became acute, Vanuatu has increased requirements for oversight and reporting; incidents such as the 2017 document leak known as the Paradise Papers further hurt the industry.

Industry: Only light, locally-focused industries are present on Vanuatu. These include food processing (including frozen food and fish, and canned meat), and processed wood products. There are virtually no mineral resources on the islands.

The estimated per capita GDP was US$3,200 in 2024.

Agriculture: Only 1.6 percent of the land is arable. About 10.3 percent of it is used for permanent crops such as cocoa and coffee (2022 estimates). Much of the agricultural activity involves slash-and-burn subsistence farming, supplemented by fishing and hunting.

Vanuatu's chief agricultural products are copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, fruits, and vegetables. Important livestock products include beef and fish.

Exports, mainly of copra and coconut products, fish, perfume plants, and cargo ships, brought in approximately US$152.087 million in 2022.

Tourism: Tourism is a central pillar of Vanuatu’s economy, attracting visitors with its unspoiled natural environment, rich cultural heritage, and distinctive local traditions. Prior to recent global disruptions, the sector welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and accounted for a substantial share of national economic activity. Global health crises and ongoing climate-related pressures, however, significantly reduced visitor arrivals and temporarily weakened tourism’s contribution to the economy, underscoring the sector’s sensitivity to external shocks.

Most visitors travel to Efate, Espiritu Santo, and Tanna, while tourism development on other islands continues to expand gradually. Efate is widely recognized for its scenic coastal routes, Espiritu Santo for its expansive white-sand beaches, and islands such as Ambrym and Tanna for the rare opportunity to observe active volcanoes.

Vanuatu offers a diverse range of experiences, including scuba diving, game fishing, windsurfing, golf, yacht charters, horseback riding, hiking, and mountain climbing, positioning the country as a versatile destination for both adventure and leisure travelers.

Government

In the nineteenth century, the British and French settled what was then called the New Hebrides. Different administrative districts were ruled by the two European countries, and Melanesians were not allowed to have British or French citizenship.

Feelings of nationalism arose during World War II. At this time, the Jon Frum movement became not only a religion, but also a political party. On July 30, 1980, the islands gained their independence from both France and the United Kingdom, becoming the nation of Vanuatu. The name means "land eternal," an appropriate choice for an area with such a long history.

Vanuatu is a parliamentary republic with a unicameral Parliament of fifty-two members. Members of Parliament are elected by popular vote to four-year terms.

The head of state is the president, who is elected by a two-thirds majority of an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of Regional Councils. The president's term is five years.

The prime minister is the head of government, elected by Parliament from among its members, and is usually the leader of the majority party or coalition. The prime minister then appoints a cabinet called the Council of Ministers.

The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch and may officiate in any civil or criminal action. The chief justice is appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. The other justices are appointed by the president with input from the Judicial Service Commission. The chief justice appoints two or more justices to the Court of Appeal.

The country is organized into six provinces: Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, and Torba.

Political parties include the Land and Justice Party (GJP), Green Confederation (GC), Melanesian Progressive Party (MPP), Vanuatu Democratic Party, Natatok Indigenous People's Democratic Party (NATATOK), National United Party (NUP), People's Progressive Party (PPP), and more.

Interesting Facts

• The ni-Vanuatu believe that a shark attack occurs when a man changes himself into a shark to exact revenge on an enemy.
• The islands of Vanuatu form a Y-shape in the Pacific Ocean.
• Amid concerns about plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean off Efate, Vanuatu outlawed single-use plastic bags and polystyrene takeout boxes in 2018.
• In 2023, Vanuatu secured what was considered a historic resolution from the UN to have the International Court of Justice establish countries' responsibilities to address climate change.

Bibliography

"About Vanuatu Parliament." Parliament of the Republic of Vanuatu, parliament.gov.vu/index.php/others/about-vanuatu-parliament/about-us. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.

"Economic Impact Reports." World Travel and Tourism Council, 2020, wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact. Accessed 21 Sep. 2020.

"Pacific Island Countries" World Bank Group, worldbank.org/ext/en/region/eap/pacific-islands. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

"Vanuatu." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme 2023, 6 May 2025, hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/VUT. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.

"Vanuatu." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 5 Jan. 2026, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/vanuatu/. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.

“Vanuatu Aims to Submit World’s Most Ambitious Climate Plan to the United Nations This Year.” Department of Climate Change, Government of Vanuatu, 12 Mar. 2025, docc.gov.vu/index.php/resources/news-events/news/150-vanuatu-aims-to-submit-world-s-most-ambitious-climate-plan-to-the-united-nations-this-year. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.