Vanuatu

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Vanuatu does not have a standing military. Instead, the country relies on its Vanuatu Police Force, which includes a paramilitary wing called the Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF).

Military membership

International wars

Vanuatu has not partaken in international wars.

Vanuatu is also a member of 3 international military organizations. This makes it the 177th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

In total, Vanuatu is a member of 14 international political organizations. This makes it the 58th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Pacific Islands Forum
Pacific Regional Environment Programme
Pacific Community
Commonwealth of Nations
Member states of the Organization internationale

de la Francophonie

International Criminal Court

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

It is the 44th most democratic state in the world. This is mostly thanks to the ability of Parliament to resign the president as well as regular elections that are mostly free and fair. Some drawbacks are governmental corruption and mismanagement of funds.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Vanuatu take place in the form of a constitutional democracy where the president is head of state, and the Prime Minister is head of government. Its presidential elections take place every five years but have often been shorter due to regular no-confidence votes against the president. Its parliamentary elections take place every four years.

Interpol
Global Green Growth Institute
Alliance of Small Island States
Association of World Election Bodies
World Organization for Animal Health
Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation

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Known for its world-famous diving sites, its shipwrecks as well as its rain forest, Vanuatu, or the Republic of Vanuatu has been independent for more than 40 years. In its early history, the area was inhabited by the Melanesian people that migrated there around the 13th century BC. After coming into contact with Spanish explorers in the 17th century, the area became famous for kidnapping its inhabitants and putting them in forced labour camps at the start of the 19th century. European settlers arrived on the islands which mainly originated from France and the United Kingdom. Both states did not laid claim on the island and agreed to jointly govern Vanuatu. During the second half of the 20th century, both France and the United Kingdom agreed to give Vanuatu more self-governance and in 1980, it gained full independence, but remained in the British Commonwealth. Since then, Vanuatu has economically remained mostly stable, but politically has seen large scandals regarding corruption, mismanagement of funds as well as many unfinished presidential terms.

Located in Oceania, Vanuatu is an island state that consists of 13 large islands and roughly 70 smaller volcanic islands. Its geography is made up of volcanic mountains while its terrain is densely forested.

It is the 157th largest state with a total surface area of 12.250 square kilometers or 4.730 square miles. This makes Vanuatu slightly smaller than Qatar and slightly larger than Montenegro.

It has no permanent internal bodies of water.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Most of its drinking water comes from several sources with surface water being the largest, groundwater being second and mostly rainwater on the smaller islands. Its tap water is of decent quality.

The climate of Vanuatu is a subtropical climate which is known to have two distinct seasons. Its summers are relatively long and sunny while its winters are short and partly cloudy. The average temperature is 24.1 degrees Celsius or 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes Vanuatu the 79th warmest state in the world.

The average high temperature is 27 degrees Celsius or 81 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average low temperature is 21 degrees Celsius or 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rain mainly occurs during its rain season between December and March and is unevenly spread out throughout the islands with its northern island receiving up to six times as much as its southern island. On average, Vanuatu receives 249.9 centimetres or 98.4 inches of rainfall per year which ranks it as the 14th highest in the world.

The capital of Vanuatu, Port Vila, is home to roughly 50,000 people. The closest capital is Suva, Fiji, with a distance of 1.079 kilometers or 671 miles. The capital that is the furthest removed is Nouakchott, Mauritania, with a distance of 19.586 kilometers or 12.170 miles.

The economy of Vanuatu is an underdeveloped economy which is largely dependent on the export of wood and fishery. Its economy is a free market economy with a large portion of the population being dependent on subsistence farming. In recent years, Vanuatu has made investments to grow its tourism sector by building more hotels as well as attracting cruise ships. Currently, its largest export partners are Malaysia and the Philippines which combined represent roughly 40 percent of all exports. Most of its imports come from Australia which is solely responsible for nearly 30 percent of all imports.

Vanuatu is a member of 13 international economic organizations. This makes it the 87th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Asian Development Bank
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
International Energy Agency
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Melanesian Spearhead Group
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
Group of 77

It has a GDP of US$892 million, which makes it the 183rd highest in the world and represents 0.001 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is the 156th highest in the world with US$72.794 per square kilometer or US$188.543 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is the 132nd highest in the world with US$2.950.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power parity per capita is the 164th highest in the world with US$2.914.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Vanuatu is the 173rd most populous state in the world with a total population of 302,000 people. Its population mostly exists of Melanesian people that speak more than 100 distinct languages. Aside from these languages, it has Bislama, French and English as its official language.

It has the 156th highest population density in the world with 25 people per square kilometer or 64 people per square mile.

Around two percent of its population, or 6000 people, have migrated to other states. The main destinations have been Australia, France and Italy and the main reason for migration has been economic.

Immigration to Vanuatu is represented by 2000 people, or a half percent of its population. The main supplier of migrants has been Australia as well as France.

The literacy rate in Vanuatu is 85.7 percent which is the 130th highest in the world. Its education is provided for free by the government but is mostly focused on urban areas while being limited in rural areas.

The health care system in Vanuatu is considered to be underdeveloped with a large portion of its population lacking access to healthcare. Noncommunicable diseases pose a large threat to the overall health of the population with cardiovascular diseases being the leading cause of death. However, noncommunicable diseases are also prevalent in Vanuatu and are mainly mosquito borne diseases. The average life expectancy is 71 years which is the 140th highest in the world. Women have an average life expectancy of 72.8 years, while men have an average life expectancy of 69.4 years.

The government of Vanuatu provides freedom of religion towards all religions. Despite not having an official state religion, its does formally adheres to the Christian values.

Christianity is represented by 77.8 percent of the population which makes it the 63rd most Christian state in the world. The largest denomination is Presbyterianism followed by Roman Catholicism which have been introduced in Vanuatu during its colonial period by missionaries from the United Kingdom as well as France.

Islam is represented by 0.1 percent of the population which makes it the 175th most Islamic state in the world. Islam only arrived at the end of the 20th century and has started to spread throughout its islands. Today, there is a mosque present, and most Muslims adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam.

Buddhism is represented by less than 0.01 percent of the population and mainly consist of migrants from South East Asia.

There are no official Hindu statistics in Vanuatu.

There are no official Jewish organizations in Vanuatu.

Other religions are represented by 3.7 percent of the population and mainly adhere to John Frunism which is a mystical person that would bring prosperity to those that follow him.

Irreligion is represented by 0.8 percent of the population.