Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Austronesian speakers from the Solomon Islands first settled Vanuatu around 2000 B.C. By around 1000, localized chieftain systems began to develop on the islands. Around 1600, Melanesian Chief ROI MATA united some of the islands of modern-day Vanuatu under his rule. In 1606, a Portuguese explorer was the first European to see Vanuatu's Banks Islands and Espiritu Santo, setting up a short-lived settlement on the latter. The next European explorers arrived in the 1760s, and the islands -- then known as the New Hebrides -- were frequented by whalers in the 1800s.
- Capital
- Port-Vila (on Efate)
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Population
- 318,007
- Area
- 12,189 sq km
- Location
- Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia
- Climate
- tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April;
- Natural resources
- manganese; hardwood forests; fish
- Languages
- indigenous languages (more than 100) 82.6%; Bislama (official; creole) 14.5%; English (official) 2.1%…
- Religions
- Protestant 39.9% (Presbyterian 27.2%; Seventh Day Adventist 14.8%; Anglican 12%; Churches of Christ 5%…
- Independence
- 30 July 1980 (from France and the UK)
- Administrative divisions
- 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba
- Currency
- vatu (VUV)
- Export partners
- Thailand 49%; Japan 19%; Cote d'Ivoire 10%; China 7%…
- Import partners
- China 26%; Australia 15%; Angola 11%; Fiji 9%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain