Vanuatu

Airports

33 total, 28 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

1,027 km total; at least 240 km sealed or all-weather roads

Merchant marine

65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 885,668 GRT/1,473,443 DWT; includes 26 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo, 5 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 21 bulk, 1 combination bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry

Ports

Port-Vila, Luganville, Palikoulo, Santu

Railroads

none

Telecommunications

stations--2 AM, no FM, no TV; 3,000 telephones; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

a paramilitary force is responsible for internal and external security; no military forces

Defense expenditures

NA

Military manpower

NA

Agriculture

export crops--copra, cocoa, coffee, and fish; subsistence crops--copra, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, and vegetables

Aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $541 million

Budget

revenues $80.1 million; expenditures $86.6 million, including capital expenditures of $27.1 million (1988 est.)

Currency

vatu (plural--vatu); 1 vatu (VT) = 100 centimes

Electricity

10,000 kW capacity; 20 million kWh produced, 125 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

vatu (VT) per US$1--107.17 (January 1990), 116.04 (1989), 104.43 (1988), 109.85 (1987), 106.08 (1986), 106.03 (1985)

Exports

$16 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--copra 37%, cocoa 11%, meat 9%, fish 8%, timber 4%; partners--Netherlands 34%, France 27%, Japan 17%, Belgium 4%, New Caledonia 3%, Singapore 2% (1987)

External debt

$57 million (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$120 million, per capita $820; real growth rate 0.7% (1987 est.)

Imports

$58 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--machines and vehicles 25%, food and beverages 23%, basic manufactures 18%, raw materials and fuels 11%, chemicals 6%; partners--Australia 36%, Japan 13%, NZ 10%, France 8%, Fiji 5% (1987)

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

food and fish freezing, forestry processing, meat canning

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

8.0% (1988 est.)

Overview

The economy is based primarily on subsistence farming that provides a living for about 80% of the population. Fishing and tourism are the other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light-industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds

Coastline

2,528 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Connecticut

Contiguous zone

24 nm;

Continental shelf

edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Environment

subject to tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundary

none

Land use

1% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures; 1% forest and woodland; 91% other

Maritime claims

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);

Natural resources

manganese, hardwood forests, fish

Note

located 5,750 km southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and Australia

Terrain

mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

14,760 km2; land area: 14,760 km2; includes more than 80 islands

Administrative divisions

11 island councils; Ambrym, Aoba/Maewo, Banks/Torres, Efate, Epi, Malakula, Paama, Pentecote, Santo/Malo, Shepherd, Tafea

Capital

Port-Vila

Constitution

30 July 1980

Diplomatic representation

Vanuatu does not have a mission in Washington; US--the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green (bottom) 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

Independence

30 July 1980 (from France and UK; formerly New Hebrides)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State--President Frederick TIMAKATA (since 30 January 1989); Head of Government--Prime Minister Father Walter Hadye LINI (since 30 July 1980); Deputy Prime Minister (vacant)

Legal system

unified system being created from former dual French and British systems

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament; note--the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and land

Long-form name

Republic of Vanuatu

Member of

ACP, ADB, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, ITU, NAM, SPF, UN, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 30 July (1980)

Political parties and leaders

National Party (Vanua'aku Pati), Walter Lini; Union of Moderate Parties, Maxine Carlot; Melanesian Progressive Party, Barak Sope

Suffrage

universal at age 18 Parliament--last held 30 November 1987 (next to be held NA); byelections were held NA December 1988 to fill vacancies resulting from the expulsion of opposition members for boycotting sessions; results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(46 total) National Party 26, Union of Moderate Parties 19, independent 1

Type

republic

Birth rate

37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

94% indigenous Melanesian, 4% French, remainder Vietnamese, Chinese, and various Pacific Islanders

Infant mortality rate

36 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

NA

Language

English and French (official); pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama)

Life expectancy at birth

67 years male, 72 years female (1990)

Literacy

10-20% (est.)

Nationality

noun--Vanuatuan(s); adjective--Vanuatuan

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

7 registered trade unions--largest include Oil and Gas Workers' Union, Vanuatu Airline Workers' Union

Population

165,006 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990)

Religion

most at least nominally Christian

Total fertility rate

5.5 children born/woman (1990)