Vanuatu

Republic of Vanuatu
  • Ripablik blong Vanuatu (Bislama)
  • République de Vanuatu (French)
Motto: "Long God yumi stanap" (Bislama)
Nous nous tenons devant Dieu (French)
"With God we stand"[1][2]
Anthem: "Yumi, Yumi, Yumi" (Bislama)
"We, We, We"
Location of Vanuatu
Capital
and largest city
Port Vila
17°S 168°E / 17°S 168°E / -17; 168
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2020)
Religion
(2020)[3]
  • 4.6% Animism
  • 1.4% Baha'i faith
  • 0.6% other / none
Demonym(s)Ni-Vanuatu and Vanuatuan
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary republic
• President
Nikenike Vurobaravu
Charlot Salwai
LegislatureParliament
Independence
• from the United Kingdom and France
30 July 1980
• Admitted to the United Nations
15 September 1981
Area
• Total
12,189 km2 (4,706 sq mi) (157th)
Population
• 2023 estimate
335,908[4] (182nd)
• 2020 census
300,019[5]
• Density
27.6/km2 (71.5/sq mi) (188th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
$1.064 billion[6]
• Per capita
$3,001[6]
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
$1.002 billion[6]
• Per capita
$3,188[6]
Gini (2010)37.6[7]
medium
HDI (2021)Decrease 0.607[8]
medium (142nd)
CurrencyVatu (VUV)
Time zoneUTC+11 (VUT (Vanuatu Time))
Driving sideright
Calling code+678
ISO 3166 codeVU
Internet TLD.vu

Vanuatu (English: /ˌvɑːnuˈɑːt/ VAH-noo-AH-too or /vænˈwɑːt/ van-WAH-too; Bislama and French pronunciation [vanuatu]), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (French: République de Vanuatu; Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country in Melanesia, located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.

Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived on the largest island, Espíritu Santo, in 1606. Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial Spanish East Indies and named it La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo.

In the 1880s, France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the archipelago, and in 1906, they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through an Anglo-French condominium.

An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was founded in 1980. Since independence, the country has become a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

  1. ^ Selmen, Harrison (17 July 2011). "Santo chiefs concerned over slow pace of development in Sanma". Vanuatu Daily Post. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  2. ^ Lynch & Pat 1996, p. 319.
  3. ^ "National Profiles – Religious demographics (Vanuatu)". The Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Vanuatu Population (2023) – Worldometer". worldometers.info. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  5. ^ "2020 National Population and Housing Census – Basic Tables Report, Volume 1, Version 2" (PDF). vnso.gov.vu. Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  7. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". World Bank. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.