"text":"Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. 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, when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted. Politics and society continue to be divided along linguistic lines, although those divisions are lessening over time. Coalition governments tend to be weak, and since 2008, prime ministers have been ousted through no-confidence motions or temporary procedural issues 10 times. Prime Minister Charlot SALAWI has survived at least five no-confidence motions since taking office in 2016."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia"
"text":"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"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains"
"text":"three-quarters of the population lives in rural areas; the urban populace lives primarily in two cities, Port-Vila and Lugenville; three largest islands - Espiritu Santo, Malakula, and Efate - accomodate over half of the populace"
"text":"<p>tropical cyclones (January to April); volcanic eruption on Aoba (Ambae) island began on 27 November 2005, volcanism also causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> significant volcanic activity with multiple eruptions in recent years; Yasur (361 m), one of the world's most active volcanoes, has experienced continuous activity in recent centuries; other historically active volcanoes include Aoba, Ambrym, Epi, Gaua, Kuwae, Lopevi, Suretamatai, and Traitor's Head</p>"
"text":"population growth; water pollution, most of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water; inadequate sanitation; deforestation"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"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":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes and there are several underwater volcanoes as well"
"text":"local languages (more than 100) 63.2%, Bislama (official; creole) 33.7%, English (official) 2%, French (official) 0.6%, other 0.5% (2009 est.)"
},
"Religions":{
"text":"Protestant 70% (includes Presbyterian 27.9%, Anglican 15.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.5%, Assemblies of God 4.7%, Church of Christ 4.5%, Neil Thomas Ministry 3.1%, and Apostolic 2.2%), Roman Catholic 12.4%, customary beliefs 3.7% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 12.6%, none 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2009 est.)"
"text":"three-quarters of the population lives in rural areas; the urban populace lives primarily in two cities, Port-Vila and Lugenville; three largest islands - Espiritu Santo, Malakula, and Efate - accomodate over half of the populace"
},
"Urbanization":{
"urban population":{
"text":"25.5% of total population (2020)"
},
"rate of urbanization":{
"text":"2.55% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)"
"text":"derived from the words \"vanua\" (home or land) and \"tu\" (stand) that occur in several of the Austonesian languages spoken on the islands and which provide a meaning of \"the land remains\" but which also convey a sense of \"independence\" or \"our land\""
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Port-Vila (on Efate)"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"17 44 S, 168 19 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>etymology:</strong> there are two possibilities for the origin of the name: early European settlers were Portuguese and \"vila\" means \"village or town\" in Portuguese, hence \"Port-Vila\" would mean \"Port Town\"; alternatively, the site of the capital is referred to as \"Efil\" or \"Ifira\" in native languages, \"Vila\" is a likely corruption of these names"
"text":"draft completed August 1979, finalized by constitution conference 19 September 1979, ratified by French and British Governments 23 October 1979, effective 30 July 1980 at independence"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed by the prime minister or by the Parliament membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by Parliament in special session with at least three fourths of the membership; passage of amendments affecting the national and official languages, or the electoral and parliamentary system also requires approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2013"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"mixed legal system of English common law, French law, and customary law"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"both parents must be citizens of Vanuatu; in the case of only one parent, it must be the father who is a citizen"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"10 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"President Tallis Obed MOSES (since 6 July 2017)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Bob LOUGHMAN (since 20 April 2020)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and presidents of the 6 provinces; Vanuatu president serves a 5-year term; election last held on 17 June 2017 (next to be held in 2022); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held on 20 April 2020 (next to be held following general elections in 2024)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Bob LOUGHMAN elected prime minister on 20 April 2020; Bob LOUGHMAN 31 votes, Ralph REGENVANU 21 votes"
}
},
"Legislative branch":{
"description":{
"text":"unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members directly elected in 8 single-seat and 9 multi-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote to serve 4-year terms (candidates in multi-seat constituencies can be elected with only 4% of the vote)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GJP 9, RMC 7, VP 7, LPV 5, UMP 5, NUP 4, other 15; composition - men 52, women 0; percent of women 0%; note - political party associations are fluid"
"text":"Court of Appeal (consists of 2 or more judges of the Supreme Court designated by the chief justice); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 puisne judges - 3 local and 3 expatriate)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other judges appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, a 4-member advisory body; judges serve until the age of retirement"
"text":"Greens Confederation or GC [Moana CARCASSES Kalosil]<br />Iauko Group or IG [Tony NARI]<br />Land and Justice Party (Graon mo Jastis Pati) or GJP [Ralph REGENVANU]<br />Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]<br />Nagriamel movement or NAG [Frankie STEVENS]<br />Natatok Indigenous People's Democratic Party or (NATATOK) or NIPDP [Alfred Roland CARLOT]<br />National United Party or NUP [Ham LINI]<br />People's Progressive Party or PPP [Sato KILMAN]<br />People's Service Party or PSP [Don KEN]<br />Reunification of Movement for Change or RMC [Charlot SALWAI]<br />Rural Development Party or RDP [Jay NGWELE, spokesman]<br />Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]<br />Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]<br />Vanuatu Democratic Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]<br />Vanuatu First or Vanuatu [Russel NARI]<br />Vanuatu Liberal Movement or VLM [Gaetan PIKIOUNE]<br />Vanuatu Liberal Democratic Party or VLDP [Tapangararua WILLIE]<br />Vanuatu National Party or VNP [Issac HAMARILIU]<br />Vanuatu National Development Party or VNDP [Robert Bohn SIKOL]<br />Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Marcellino PIPITE]"
"text":"none; the Vanuatu Permanent Mission to the UN serves as the embassy; it is headed by Odo TEVI (since 8 September 2017); address: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400B, New York, NY 10017; telephone: [1] (212) 661-4303; FAX: [1] (212) 422-2437"
"text":"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 fern fronds, all in yellow; red represents the blood of boars and men, as well as unity, green the richness of the islands, and black the ni-Vanuatu people; the yellow Y-shape - which reflects the pattern of the islands in the Pacific Ocean - symbolizes the light of the Gospel spreading through the islands; the boar's tusk is a symbol of prosperity frequently worn as a pendant on the islands; the fern fronds represent peace",
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> one of several flags where a prominent component of the design reflects the shape of the country; other such flags are those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, and Eritrea</p>"
"text":"<p>This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for about two thirds of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with more than 330,000 visitors in 2017, are other mainstays of the economy. Tourism has struggled after Efate, the most populous and most popular island for tourists, was damaged by Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015. Ongoing infrastructure difficulties at Port Vila’s Bauerfield Airport have caused air travel disruptions, further hampering tourism numbers. Australia and New Zealand are the main source of tourists and foreign aid. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits.</p><p></p><p>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. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center.</p><p></p><p>Since 2002, the government has stepped up efforts to boost tourism through improved air connections, resort development, and cruise ship facilities. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth.</p>"
"text":"telecom services have progressed significantly in recent years; mobile phones are now the primary means of communication and more than 92% of the population is covered by a mobile network; 2016 saw the launch of LTE services and the introduction of rural satellite broadband services; mobile phone use in some rural areas is constrained by electricity shortages; investment in fixed broadband saw recent growth with fiber-optic cables; mobile broadband infrastructure also expanded with a reduction in prices; general broadband penetration is at 45%; Kacific-1 broadband satellite launch in 2019 will change telecommunications for the region (2020)"
"text":"country code - 678; landing points for the ICN1 & ICN2 submarine cables providing connectivity to the Solomon Islands and Fiji; cables helped end-users with Internet bandwidth; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2020)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated"
"text":"1 state-owned TV station; multi-channel pay TV is available; state-owned Radio Vanuatu operates 2 radio stations; 2 privately owned radio broadcasters; programming from multiple international broadcasters is available"
