Where is Vanuatu?
About Vanuatu
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
Vanuatu is a group of more than 80 islands in the Pacific Ocean. Together with 3 other countries, Vanuatu forms a group of islands known as Melanesia.
The land is a mixture of mountains and tropical rainforest. The islands often suffer from cyclones and many of the islands have active volcanoes on them.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Vanuatu, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 16 00S
Longitude - 167 00E
Check the weather in Port Vila now. Bauerfield is the international airport for Port Vila.
This is the time in Port Vila now
The Vanuatun flag is 2 equal horizontal
stripes of red, at the top, and green with a black isosceles triangle on the flag pole side. The colours are separated by a black-edged yellow band in the shape of a horizontal "Y".
In the middle of the triangle is a boar's tusk circling two crossed fern fronds.
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Vanuatu to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
Back to the top
The total land area of Vanuatu is 12,189 sq kms which is the 6th largest in Oceania.
Vanuatu has no lakes, rivers and canals.
Vanuatu has no boundaries with other countries.
Vanuatu has a coastline of 2,528 kms which is the 6th longest in Oceania.
The highest point in Vanuatu is Tabwemasana at 1,877 metres.
The total population of Vanuatu is 282,814 people, making it the 6th largest country in Oceania by population.
Of this number 141,608 are females and 141,206 are males.
A person from Vanuatu is called a Vanuatun.
To be a citizen of Vanuatu your parents must be citizens of Vanuatu. It is not sufficient to be born in Vanuatu. You have to live in Vanuatu for
10 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Vanuatu, by population are:-
The birth rate in Vanuatu is 24.5 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Vanuatu is 4.1 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 14.0 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 16.1 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 22.1 and for males is 21.3. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 7.1. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 14.1. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
Vanuatu spends 5.0% of its total income on health care.
There are 0.12 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 1.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
25.2% of the population are estimated as obese.
98.9% of the urban population and 92.9% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
65.1% of the urban population and 55.4% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Vanuatu spends 4.9% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Vanuatu. Primary education is for six years until age 12 and secondary education can continue till 18/19. None of this is compulsory.
This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 3 terms and starts in the first week of February and finishes at the end of November. There is usually a 2 week
break at the beginning of May and a 2 week break in the middle of August.
83.8% of females and 86.6% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
10.6% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 11.2% are unemployed while with males 10.2% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Vanuatu is 115,900.
They work in the following sectors.
There are 3 paved airports in Vanuatu, which is the 9th highest number in Oceania.
There are no railways in Vanuatu.
There are 1,070 kilometres of roads in Vanuatu, which means Vanuatu is in 8th place for the most kilometres of roads in Europe.