Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an archipelago nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, part of the Melanesian region of Oceania. Its islands are mainly of volcanic origin and lie in a rough Y-shaped chain stretching roughly 1,300 km north to south, with the capital, Port Vila, on Efate. The country has a population of roughly 340,000, nearly all of it Melanesian, and it is notable for its linguistic diversity, with over 100 indigenous languages alongside the official languages Bislama, English and French. It was known as the New Hebrides under the Anglo-French Condominium until independence on 30 July 1980. Its ties to plate tectonics and volcanism, its exposure to tropical cyclones, and its dense forest cover shape both its landscape and its vulnerability to climate change.
Vanuatu matters for several reasons. Its islands are a case study in island geology and tropical biodiversity, and its customary land tenure and chiefly institutions, known locally as kastom, remain central to social and economic life. Its political history, including frequent changes of government since independence, is closely tied to its parliamentary system and its constitution. Its economy depends on agriculture, tourism, fisheries and offshore services, and its small size and high disaster risk have made it a prominent voice in international climate negotiations within the United Nations.
The entry proceeds from the physical setting (naming, geography, geology, climate and ecology) to the human history (settlement, customary society, European contact, the road to independence) and then to the contemporary country (government, economy, infrastructure, population, language, religion, education and health). It ends with climate risk and foreign relations, where the country's geographic exposure and regional diplomacy meet.
Name and etymology
For most of the colonial era the group was called the New Hebrides. The islands were administered under an Anglo-French condominium from 1906 until 1980 14-2, and the New Hebrides label belonged to that period. Independence on 30 July 1980 brought a new national name, adopted in place of the colonial term Vanuatu's name was adopted upon independence in July 1980, replacing the name New Hebrides previously used for the archipelago. According to one reference work, the leadership of the Vanua'aku Party, which led the first independent government, is credited with coining the name in 1980 to replace the colonial name New Hebrides.
Two roots make up the name. Vanua means "land" or "home" in several Austronesian languages, and tu means "to stand" or "remain". The first prime minister, Walter Lini, read the combined word as a statement that the country had stood on its own and would keep doing so the name was intended to connote "a country that has stood alone and will continue to stand alone". Reference works do not agree on the emphasis. Some render the name as "Our Land" and "Abiding Land." Others stress independence, so that the name conveys a meaning of "the land remains" but which also convey a sense of "independence" or "our land". Citizens are called ni-Vanuatu, and Ni-Vanuatu means "of or relating to Vanuatu" and refers to the people living in Vanuatu.
The name also appears in Bislama. Local long form: Ripablik blong Vanuatu is the official form used in that language, so the new name passed directly into local official use.
Earlier European labels were applied in turn. A Spanish expedition led by Queirós reached the islands in 1606, and Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial Spanish East Indies and named it La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo. The French explorer Bougainville had given the group a different name, Archipel des grandes Cyclades ("Archipelago of the Great Cyclades"), but this name was replaced in French by Nouvelles-Hébrides, a translation of Cook's name. Cook's English name came in 1774, and it was taken from the Scottish islands, since New Hebrides, named after the Hebrides in Scotland by Captain James Cook in 1774 is the colonial label used in English. The 1906 arrangement agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides, and an earlier Anglo-French Joint Naval Commission (1887–1889 and 1890–1906) had governed the islands before it. Official paper from the period reflects this dual heritage. Some banknotes were New Caledonia notes overprinted with a red oval depicting a coastal scene with palm trees, the cross of Lorraine, and the words NOUVELLES HEBRIDES.
Bislama, the national language, has its own naming history. Bislama is an English-based creole language and the country's three official languages are of foreign origin: English, French, and Bislama. Its own name is disputed. The Vanuatu Tourism Office links it to the trade in sea cucumbers, since its name comes from the term "Beche-de-mer", referring to sea cucumber traders who helped spread a form of pidgin English throughout the Pacific. Wikipedia instead notes also known by its earlier French name, bichelamar. Its vocabulary is largely borrowed from English, since more than 95% of Bislama words are of English origin, and combining a typical Melanesian grammar and phonology with an almost entirely English-derived vocabulary, Bislama is the lingua franca of the archipelago.
Geography and islands
Vanuatu is an archipelago shaped like an irregular Y. It consists of some 80 islands, although other sources give different totals; one puts the number at 83 islands. Counts of inhabited islands also vary. Around 65 of the islands are inhabited, while another reference gives 70 inhabited islands. The largest island is Espiritu Santo, which covers 3,955.5 km². Most people live on a small number of islands. The most populous are Efate, Espiritu Santo, and Malekula. Efate is the administrative centre, and the capital, Port Vila, is located there.
The country has a total land area of about 12,190 km², and it has 2,528 kilometres of coastline. Vanuatu has no land borders, since its islands are separated from neighbouring states by sea. Its nearest neighbours include the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, and Australia is the closest continent. The archipelago lies in the South Pacific, in the Coral Sea region east of Australia. Relative to New Caledonia, it sits about 400 km northeast of that territory, and its distance from Australia is roughly 2,000 kilometres northeast. Because the islands are spread out across a wide sea area, the country's marine territory is far larger than its land area.
Vanuatu's marine zones are defined by its maritime legislation. The national maritime law establishes a 12 nautical mile territorial sea, a 24 nautical mile contiguous zone, and a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) gives the state a maritime zone that extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines of its territorial sea. Within the EEZ, Vanuatu holds sovereign rights over the exploration, conservation and management of natural resources, both living and non-living. Sources differ on the area of the EEZ: one reference gives 663,251 km², while a Pacific data source gives 595,011 km². The country has also made an extended continental shelf submission, which it submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in May 2009.
The islands are mostly mountainous, with narrow coastal strips and thick forest. They are of coral and volcanic origin, and many islands are protected by offshore coral reefs. The highest point is Mount Tabwemasana on Espiritu Santo, which rises to 1,879 metres. Some references give 1,877 metres, so the exact figure varies by source. The mountain is located on the isolated west coast of the island of Espiritu Santo, and it consists of two peaks. Other high peaks on Santo include Mt Kotamtam at 1747 metres and Mt Tawaloala at 1742 metres. Because the terrain is steep and rugged, settlement tends to cluster along coasts and in narrow valleys, though the detailed patterns are covered in the population section.
Geology and volcanic activity
Plate boundary and island formation
The islands lie on a convergent plate boundary where the Australian Plate subducts beneath the New Hebrides Plate. Subduction at depth melts the descending crust, and the magma that forms rises to the surface, building a chain of volcanoes. Offshore, the tectonic boundary is marked by the New Hebrides Trench, which is the convergent boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates. Since about 20 million years ago, a complex 3D plate boundary system has developed owing to the opening of the North Fiji Basin and asymmetric rollback along the New Hebrides Trench. Back-arc rifting has also turned the chain: it has rotated about 28 degrees clockwise over the past six million years, around a hinge point near 11°S, 165°E.
Collision adds a second layer of deformation. Seamount chains on the subducting plate began to meet central Vanuatu about two million years ago, and buoyant features such as the d'Entrecasteaux Ridge and West Torres Plateau are being subducted, which deforms the island chain. In the south, the Loyalty Ridge on the Australian plate is driving progressive subduction and collision under the southern Vanuatu microplates, which produces much earthquake activity. The pattern is uneven: between latitudes 14°30′ and 17°S no trench occurs, because the old rigid Santo-Malekula block sits at the edge of the overriding plate. GPS surveys on both sides of the trench show that convergence vectors vary widely and define four segments.
Volcanism and eruptions
The arc is composed primarily of both active and quiescent volcanoes. Yasur, at the southeastern tip of Tanna, is a notable case: its eruption has continued since at least 1774 and may have maintained a similar style since about 1270. Its rise is modest, at 361 m, but the activity is persistent, and three visitors died in two accidents in 1994-95 from ejected projectiles.
Ambae (Aoba) shows how volcanism affects daily life. It is the most voluminous volcano in the New Hebrides arc. Its crater lake, Lake Voui, is central to the hazard. In September 2017, phreatomagmatic explosions from Lake Voui produced ash plumes up to 10–12 km and heavy ashfall. Acid rain contaminated water supplies, destroyed crops, and affected health. Authorities moved roughly 11,000 residents off the island in late September 2017. A state of emergency was declared again in April 2018, and on 26 July 2018 the government ordered the immediate evacuation of the entire population of Ambae, approximately 10,000 people, to the neighbouring island of Maewo. Most of the population returned to Ambae when initial eruptions subsided. Activity resumed in 2026: the summit eruption that began around mid-February 2026 continued intermittently through April and May. As of 23 May 2026, the volcano was at Volcanic Alert Level 3, Minor Eruption.
Epi also records repeated activity. The Epi caldera has eight recorded eruptions over the Holocene, the most recent in 2023.
Earthquakes, tsunamis and building vulnerability
Earthquakes in Vanuatu are frequent and are sometimes accompanied by tsunami, though these events are not often destructive. The seismicity extends through the slab: along the Wadati–Benioff zone, earthquake activity has been observed at shallow, intermediate and deep-focus depths of up to 700 km. The subduction zone is one of the most active plate boundaries globally, moving at a rate of approximately 170 mm (7 in) per year. Because the country lies in the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanoes are common, hazard is a standing condition rather than an occasional event.
Building vulnerability follows from this. The population resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist, and most buildings are constructed with lumber. Timber construction therefore shapes how seismic risk is managed in housing and in the choice of sites for settlement.
Uplift and recent land formation
Uplift is recorded in the islands themselves. Islands such as Malekula, Malo and Santo reveal the uplift of the New Hebrides platform, which is linked to the collision of the d'Entrecasteaux Ridge with the New Hebrides Trench. Over the late Quaternary, hundreds of meters of uplift have affected both the frontal arc and the backarc. Volcanic growth adds land of a different kind: at Ambae, new land has appeared inside the crater lake, which the authorities recorded during the 2017 unrest, when a new island had formed in the centre of the crater lake.
Climate and tropical cyclones
Seasonal pattern and temperature
Vanuatu has a hot, wet climate that varies by latitude. The northern islands are tropical, with little difference between seasons, while the southern islands are subtropical, with cooler temperatures and more distinct seasons. Humidity stays high, averaging about 83 percent through the year. In Port Vila, midday averages range from roughly 26°C in winter to 31°C in summer, and February is typically the hottest month.
The southeast trade winds blow from May to October and moderate the heat. For the rest of the year, winds become variable and cyclones can form. Rainfall peaks from November to April, although short, intense showers can occur at any time of year. Annual totals depend on altitude and on how exposed a coast is to the trade winds: Port Vila averages about 2,400 mm a year, while parts of the northern islands receive up to about 4,000 mm. Since 1907, there have been no clear long-term trends in seasonal or annual rainfall, although temperatures at Bauerfield Airport have risen.
Windward and leeward contrasts
Mountain ranges on the larger islands create sharp differences in rainfall. During the wet season, the southeastern, windward slopes receive heavy rain, while the northwestern, leeward sides remain comparatively dry, especially in the dry season. For this reason, the same month can feel very different from one island to another, and the northern islands are generally wetter than the south.
Tropical cyclones
Cyclone risk is concentrated in the months from November to April, when the islands face the highest threat from tropical cyclones. Some storms are severe enough to cause lasting damage. Cyclone Uma in 1987 caused serious destruction, and Cyclone Ivy in 2004 affected about a quarter of the population.
Tropical Cyclone Pam in March 2015 is the most destructive event in recent memory. It reached Category 5 strength and passed close to Efate and the capital, Port Vila, before moving south over Erromango and Tanna. Official post-disaster assessments estimated that about 65,000 people were displaced and roughly 17,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including schools and clinics. The economic cost, estimated at about US$449 million, equalled about 64 percent of GDP. Housing, tourism and agriculture accounted for much of the damage and losses. Official figures recorded 11 deaths, while other reports gave a figure of 24. Early warnings allowed many residents to reach shelter, which is often cited as a reason the death toll was lower than feared. The storm nonetheless destroyed food stocks, water sources and crops, and the homes of many rural families, which were built from timber and mud, were especially vulnerable.
Because of such losses, construction standards and the design of homes, schools and power lines are closely tied to cyclone exposure. Rebuilding after Pam shows how the islands' settlement patterns and infrastructure remain shaped by wind damage.
El Niño–Southern Oscillation and drought
Year-to-year variation in Vanuatu's climate is largely driven by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a pattern of ocean and atmosphere interaction across the tropical Pacific. During El Niño phases, rainfall usually falls, there are fewer tropical cyclones, drought becomes more likely, and sea-surface temperatures are cooler. In Port Vila and on Aneityum, El Niño years bring drier conditions, a late start to the wet season and cooler dry seasons, while La Niña tends to produce the opposite effects. The position of the South Pacific Convergence Zone also strongly influences rainfall and cyclone activity.
The 2015–2016 El Niño left a clear mark. By October 2015, about 72 percent of Vanuatu was classified as having very high drought hazard. The drought followed Cyclone Pam and further weakened vegetation, which increased the effects on soils and crops. Because there are no rivers, many communities depend on rainwater tanks and wells, so shortfalls quickly become water shortages. Droughts and cyclones can also interact: several past droughts ended around the time a tropical cyclone passed nearby.
The pattern is recurring. In July 2026, the national meteorological service declared the first stage of drought in northern areas after three months of low rainfall, covering Torba province and parts of Sanma, Penama and Malampa. Projections suggest that climate variability will increase in the tropical Pacific, with more tropical cyclones during future El Niño events, even as overall cyclone frequency in the southwest Pacific is projected to decline.
Ecology and biodiversity
Forest cover and terrestrial life
Forest is the dominant land cover, but published estimates depend on definitions. FAO-based data count about 440,000 hectares, or 36.1 per cent of the land, as forest According to the U.N. FAO, 36.1% or about 440,000 ha of Vanuatu is forested. Broader measures of natural vegetation are much higher, with one GEF-linked document placing it at about three-quarters of the land Seventy four percent (74%) of land in Vanuatu is covered with natural vegetation.. The forests range from cyclone-shaped lowland rainforest to montane cloud forest, and include swamp forest on Efate and kauri pine stands on Erromango Forest types include tropical lowland evergreen rain forest, broad-leaved deciduous forest, closed conifer forest, montane rain forest, cloud forest and coastal forest. Other notable vegetation includes swamp forest on Efate, kauri pine strands on Erromango. Hardwood trees are a notable forest resource, and some bat-dependent species such as ebony and mahogany have considerable economic importance In Vanuatu, some bat-dependent tree species are of considerable economic importance, such as ebony (Diospyros spp.) and mahogany (Swietenia spp.)..
Native mammals are limited to bats, and the fauna as a whole is shaped by isolation. Bats are the only native mammals, and almost all have New Guinea origins. Six are endemic or near-endemic. Two of these bats, the Fijian blossom-bat and the Banks flying-fox, are classed as vulnerable, and the Nendö tube-nosed bat is presumed extinct Of these endemic and near-endemic species, the Fijian blossom-bat and Banks flying-fox are considered vulnerable, and the Nendö tube-nosed bat is presumed to be extinct (IUCN 2000).. Fruit bats matter for forest regeneration, since they act as pollinators and seed dispersers for native trees Fruit bats are extremely valuable to the ecosystem in that they serve as pollinators or seed dispersers for native trees..
Endemism and species counts
Counts of birds and other vertebrates differ between sources. One account lists 79 bird species, about 30 of them endemic or near-endemic There are seventy-nine bird species in Vanuatu, of which an amazing thirty species are endemic or near-endemic, whereas another gives 90 species with 10 endemic A total of 90 bird species have been recorded on Vanuatu; most are not restricted to the rainforest highlands. Of the species present, 10 are endemic.. Older regional figures give a much higher share of endemic amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles, at 21.3 per cent, alongside 17.2 per cent endemism among about 870 vascular plant species Of these, 21.3% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 13.0% are threatened. Vanuatu is home to at least 870 species of vascular plants, of which 17.2% are endemic.. The national environment department describes the biodiversity as relatively intact by Pacific standards, while noting that many species are declining and that endemic taxa occur on several islands From the information that is available, the nation's biodiversity is relatively intact and perhaps better preserved than in most countries in the Pacific. However, many species are in decline.. Only two endemic genera are recognised: the endangered palm Carpoxylon macrospermum and the flycatcher Neolalage banksiana Vanuatu is home to two known endemic genera, the endangered palm Carpoxylon macrospermum and the flycatcher Neolalage banksiana..
Marine and coastal habitats
The exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles includes mangrove, seagrass, lagoon, coral and pelagic habitats Vanuatu's 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone is extensive and encompasses mangrove, sea grass, lagoon, coral and pelagic habitats.. Coral reefs are mostly fringing, barrier or atoll types Vanuatu's coral reefs are categorised as either fringing, barrier or atoll reefs.. Estimates of shallow reef area vary: one survey gives about 408 km² of inner reef Inner reef areas are limited to narrow fringing reefs and reef platforms surrounding islands and a few lagoons and barrier reefs, totalling an area of approximately 408 km2, while another gives about 70,000 hectares for a similar category Inner reef areas are limited to narrow fringing reefs and reef platforms surrounding islands and a few lagoons and barrier reefs, totalling an area of approximately 70,000 hectares.. Mangrove estimates also differ, from about 25 km² in one study Mangroves and estuarine habitat amount to a total area of only 25 km2 to scattered stands of around 3,000 hectares, mostly on Malekula scattered mangrove forests covering around 3,000 ha (most of which occur on Malekula Island).
These coastal habitats provide direct benefits. Reefs support rural incomes, nutrition and shoreline protection, particularly for coastal communities The coral reefs of Vanuatu contribute to rural incomes, nutrition, shoreline protection and, more importantly, self reliance for the people of Vanuatu. Mangroves serve as fish nurseries and storm buffers Reefs and seagrass support rich fish diversity and provide feeding grounds for species such as sea turtles, while mangroves act as nurseries and natural storm buffers.. Coastal wetlands are also threatened by salinisation and erosion linked to climate change The bio-geophysical effects include coastal and inland erosion, increased flooding, loss of coastal lowlands and wetlands and salinization of surface and groundwater..
Threats to species and habitats
Invasive species are a significant pressure. The introduction of African snails and Indian mynahs affects native fauna The introduction of African snails and Indian mynah birds also impacts native species., and hunting is reducing fruit bat populations Hunting of fruit bats is reducing their populations.. Over-exploitation has also reduced populations of coconut crabs, kava and sandalwood, and forest clearance for agriculture and development damages ecosystems Vanuatu's biodiversity is threatened by several factors, including over-exploitation of plant and animal resources, leading to the decline of species such as coconut crabs, kava, and sandalwood. The destruction of rainforests for agriculture and development, as well as the degradation of freshwater habitats due to over-exploitation and vegetation clearing, significantly impacts ecosystems.. Reef systems face further risk from warming seas and acidification, and a GEF project document describes reefs as globally threatened These areas are listed as globally threatened due to reef damage and bleaching, and will suffer additional impacts from sea temperature and pH changes associated with climate change..
Protected areas and conservation policy
Vanuatu ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1993 Vanuatu ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1993 and the identification, designation and management of protected areas for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods is a key priority for the government of Vanuatu.. Its first National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was endorsed in November 1999, and a revised plan covering 2018 to 2030 has seven strategic areas aligned with the Aichi targets Vanuatu's first National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) was developed and endorsed in November 1999. Revision of this NBSAP has led Vanuatu to develop this new NBSAP (2018-2030).; The NBSAP (2018-2030) has seven strategic areas with country indicators and targets towards achieving the Global Strategic Programme of 2020 Aichi targets.. The latest plan prioritises control of invasive species and community-led resource management VANUATU is ramping up efforts under a new biodiversity strategy that prioritizes the control of invasive species and the reinforcement of community-led resource management..
Conservation relies heavily on customary tabu areas alongside legislated reserves the two conservation management systems in Vanuatu - traditional customary areas in which certain activities are prohibited (known as 'tabu' areas) under community and customary governance or management, or through the legislative pathway of the Environmental Protection and Conservation Act (EPC Act). The Vatthe area, declared in 2004, was the first registered under national law and its management plan prohibits killing certain species In June 2004 Vatthe was officially declared a CCA under the EMC Act. It was the first such area to be registered under the Act.. Coverage remains limited: an earlier dataset reported that none of the land fell within the highest IUCN protected-area categories 0.0% of Vanuatu is protected under IUCN categories I-V..
Human settlement and prehistory
The first people known to have settled Vanuatu were bearers of the Lapita cultural complex, who arrived roughly 3,000 years ago. Their origins lay in Island Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and their arrival was part of the wider Austronesian expansion that had begun in Taiwan much earlier. Sources differ on the exact timing. Some give an arrival about 1200–1300 BCE, while general reference works describe Austronesian-speaking settlement some 4,000 years ago. Lapita culture reached the archipelago by about 1200 BCE, after first appearing in the Bismarck Archipelago around 1600 BCE. Earlier populations had already settled New Guinea and the Solomons, but there is no archaeological trace of human presence in Vanuatu before the Lapita arrival.
Archaeology in the archipelago rests largely on pottery, settlement remains and burials. Lapita pottery is recognisable by its dentate-stamped decoration, made with comb-like tools that produced many different motifs on a range of vessel forms. The most significant find is the Teouma site on the south coast of Efate, which was uncovered in 2003 during soil quarrying. Its earliest activity was a cemetery, the oldest known in the Pacific, and its pottery has been dated to about 3200–3000 years before present. A 2001 discovery on Uripiv, a small island off northeast Malakula, produced another Lapita settlement and cemetery, one of only three Lapita cemeteries identified to date. Skeletal studies from Teouma have been debated. Craniofacial measurements link the earliest colonists with present-day Polynesian and Asian populations, while later remains show a more Melanesian profile. Ancient DNA suggests that the Lapita-related ancestry has since been largely diluted, which implies that later migrations from already inhabited parts of Melanesia reshaped the population over time. The archipelago also appears in discussions of how Lapita communities linked Remote Oceania with the broader Pacific.
The linguistic legacy of these settlers is central to the country's present diversity. Lapita people brought an Austronesian language, which is ancestral to all of the indigenous languages of Vanuatu. Counts of these languages vary considerably depending on how dialects are grouped, with published figures ranging from about 105 to 138. Three languages are Polynesian in origin, belonging to the Futunic group, and the rest form part of the Southern Oceanic branch, including the non-Polynesian languages of southern islands such as Erromango, Tanna and Aneityum. Some researchers argue that the descendant population gradually adopted the Lapita language rather than being replaced abruptly, which would explain how a single ancestral tongue diverged into dozens of local varieties. Over the centuries, these varieties became deeply tied to place and identity, and many communities remained multilingual.
Early economies combined marine and terrestrial resources with the introduction of plants and animals. Lapita colonists carried domesticated plants and animals on their voyages, and microfossil analysis of Lapita deposits has identified introduced aroids, a family that includes important root crops. Isotope data from the Uripiv burials support a model in which the earliest settlers relied on broad-spectrum resource gathering, supplemented by some horticulture and animal husbandry. Gardening and pig-keeping intensified in later periods, particularly after local marine and land resources had become depleted. The sea was equally central, as colonisation depended on long-distance voyaging, and the archaeological record shows strong connections between islands. Cultural divergence among islands began to appear several generations after first arrival, around seven to eight generations later, but inter-island contact remained active.
Customary society and chiefly institutions
Social life across Vanuatu is organised around kastom, the body of inherited customary norms that Ni-Vanuatu people treat as their own law and identity. Kinship ties, obligations of exchange and respect for senior people shape how villages function. Authority rests less on written law than on oral history and on exchanges of valuables such as pigs, mats and kava (Their power is not derived from a written constitution but from centuries of oral history and the tangible exchange of wealth, primarily in the form of pigs, mats, and kava.). Decision-making in villages usually runs through long, open discussion, and disputes are typically handled in prolonged talk in which each party may speak until the group reaches agreement (The process involves long discussions where all parties are allowed to speak until a consensus is reached.). Because of the kinship and ancestor veneration that underpin these norms, a chief's legitimacy is tied to his lineage and to the proper performance of ritual obligations.
Customary land tenure
Land is the area where custom has the most direct legal weight. The 1980 constitution assigns ownership to indigenous custom owners and their descendants, and it makes customary rules the basis for holding and using land (Article 73 states that '[a]ll land in the Republic of Vanuatu belongs to the indigenous custom owners and their descendants', while Article 74 states that '[t]he rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land in the Republic of Vanuatu'.). Rural land is therefore held under custom, while urban land is public and peri-urban land can fall under either system (Rural land is custom, urban land is public and peri-urban land can be either.).
Because customary rules are largely unwritten, boundaries have become less certain over time, and several claimants can hold overlapping interests in the same area of a single community (Because of this, boundaries and rights have inevitably become less certain over time. Within a single community it is not uncommon for there to be conflicting forms of interest in the same area of land.). Land disputes were moved out of the Island Courts in 2001 and assigned to Customary Land Tribunals, which decentralised the resolution of land cases (The jurisdiction over land has recently been removed from the Island Courts and a new system created, the Customary Lands Tribunals.). Chiefs have also been involved in disputes over informal occupation: in 2015 chiefs at Mele village near Port Vila asked squatters to leave, and the following year fifty chiefs meeting at the Vaturisu Council of Chiefs on Efate resolved that squatting should be regulated more strictly (In 2015, indigenous chiefs at Mele village near Port Vila asked squatters to go home. A chief in Lenakel, on the island of Tanna, said he believed most of the squatters had migrated from Tanna and asked them to harvest their crops and then return. The following year, fifty chiefs met at the Vaturisu Council of Chiefs of Efate and resolved that squatting should be better regulated.). The 2013 Custom Land Management Act now forms part of the legal framework for these arrangements (The relevant laws are the 1980 constitution, the 1980 Land Reform Act, the 1983 Land Leases Act and the 2013 Custom Land Management Act.).
The Malvatumauri
The Malvatumauri, the National Council of Chiefs, is the apex of the chiefly system and a body recognised in the constitution. The council was first set up in 1976 with 20 members, and its members are chosen by fellow chiefs in district councils (The council was first established in July 1976 with 20 members, and Willy Bongmatur was its first chairman. Members of the Council are elected by their fellow chiefs sitting in district councils of chiefs.). Its name is commonly glossed as "chief", "stone or place" and "living" in Bislama, according to one chief's explanation (According to chief Willie Bongmatur Maldo, in Bislama "Mal" means chief, "vatu" means stone, island, or place, and "mauri" means something that is alive.). The constitution gives the body a broad mandate over custom, allowing it to discuss all matters relating to custom and tradition and to make recommendations for preserving Ni-Vanuatu culture and languages (which has "a general competence to discuss all matters relating to custom and tradition and may make recommendations for the preservation and promotion of Ni-Vanuatu culture and languages"). The constitution also requires that Parliament consult the council on land matters, although in practice that consultation has often been skipped (While the Constitution is unclear on how the customary owners or the rules of kastom are to be determined, it does stipulate that the Parliament must consult the Malvatumauri on all matters related to land. Their authority however is frequently bypassed.).
The council's membership has changed over time: a 2009 programme document describes a 22-member body, while a 2023 report of the council's meeting describes 44 members plus area council chairmen (to bring together all 44 members of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs, along with 78 chairmen of Area Councils from across Vanuatu.). Its influence is also contested. A study of the Council's powers describes it as largely ineffective, and a 2006 Act of Parliament was passed in an attempt to strengthen it (However, the Council has been largely ineffective and its impact, insignificant. The Malvatumauri has made several attempts to be active in its role through a number of proposals. This prompted the drafting of and subsequent passing of the Council of Chiefs Act 2006 by Vanuatu Parliament.). Chiefly authority also operates at lower levels. Village chiefs are linked to the Malvatumauri through sub-national councils of chiefs, forming a four-level structure that begins in the village (Village chiefs are linked through sub-national councils of chiefs to the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs; The Malvatumauri is the head of a four-level chiefly structure, which starts at the village level).
The nakamal and ritual life
The nakamal is the traditional meeting house, and in villages it is the main setting for public discussion and ceremony. Most nakamals have no lockable door, which signals that friendly visitors are welcome, and a cleared area in front is often used for dancing and gatherings (Significantly, most nakamals lack a lockable door, indicating that all friendly visitors are welcome, although there may be a low barrier across the entrance to keep out animals. In front of a nakamal there is often a flattened clearing, or nasara, used for dances and outdoor gatherings.). Kava preparation and consumption is now one of the nakamal's most prominent everyday functions (The nakamal's most prominent function nowadays is as a place for the preparation and drinking of kava.). The national nakamal in Port Vila was begun in 1983 and opened in 1990 as a symbol of unity for the country's customs (Construction began in 1983, and it was officially opened in 1990.). It was damaged by Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015 and destroyed by fire in early 2023 (In 2015, it was again damaged by Tropical Cyclone Pam, yet the people and the government of Vanuatu came together to rebuild it once more). The rebuilt house, using locally sourced materials and traditional building methods, was celebrated on Chiefs' Day in March 2025 (Dozens of chiefs from across the country — and also Kanaky New Caledonia — joined the ceremony in the capital Port Vila on Wednesday, March 5, during the Chiefs Day national public holiday). Ritual practice, including the ancestor-oriented ceremonies and exchanges that accompany rites of passage and disputes, takes place in and around these meeting spaces.
European contact and the Anglo-French Condominium
The Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, sailing for the Spanish crown, reached the islands in 1606, and the Spanish established a short-lived settlement at Big Bay. Later visits followed: the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville came in 1768, and Captain Cook visited the islands and gave them the name New Hebrides in 1774. From the 1840s, European missionaries and sandalwood traders settled on the fringes of islands, although Britannica judges their impact on the Indigenous population to have been minimal at that stage.
The most destructive episode of this period was the labour trade known as blackbirding. Recruitment in the New Hebrides began in 1863, when a New South Wales merchant and politician imported labourers from the New Hebrides and the Loyalty Islands for his Logan River cotton plantation. Many recruits were pressured onto ships. Some blackbirders lured entire villages aboard with trade goods or fake church services, and the death toll on overcrowded ships with poor food and sanitation was high. At the peak of the trade, it is estimated that nearly half of the male population of the New Hebrides were employed in overseas plantations. The resulting absence of men caused indigenous birth rates to fall sharply. Returning workers also brought diseases such as syphilis and tuberculosis, and their overseas earnings and foreign ideas undermined traditional chiefly power structures. Missionaries were among the strongest critics of the trade, and the British government's Pacific Islanders Protection Act of 1872 eventually ended it.
Settlement on land followed a similar pattern of disruption. Missionaries came to convert the population to Christianity, while settlers established plantations of cotton and other crops. Over time, copra and cocoa became the main exports. British settlers, many from Australia, and French settlers from New Caledonia and Europe pushed into the New Hebrides in what was described as the largest land-grabbing competition among Europeans in the Pacific. European regulations sometimes resulted in land disputes, particularly around plantations, and the question of land ownership later became central to property rights debates under both colonial and independent rule.
Formal joint rule grew out of rivalry between the two powers. In 1887, British and French governments established a Joint Naval Commission to protect their interests, but that body was reactive and proved wholly inadequate to manage the growing European population and the complex land disputes. Fearing unilateral annexation by either power, Great Britain and France established a joint administration known as the Anglo-French Condominium in 1906. The arrangement was unusual: the dual administration operated separate courts, police forces, currencies, and school systems, and the two systems met only in a joint court. Contemporaries often mocked it as "Pandemonium" because of its inefficiency. Accounts differ on its effect on local people: Britannica describes the impact on the Indigenous population as limited, whereas the land and labour disruptions of the same period suggest a more significant influence.
The condominium also left a lasting linguistic and institutional legacy. Because two colonial systems ran side by side, English and French both remain official languages. The French also drew on outside labour: starting in 1921, the French allowed workers from Central Vietnam to come to the islands on five-year contracts, and Vietnamese workers began returning home in 1953, with most of them having left by 1963. Throughout the condominium period, the ni-Vanuatu lived under both French and British authority, a situation that persisted until the independence movement of the following decades.
Independence movement and the road to 1980
Wartime presence and its legacy
In an attempt to halt the rapid Japanese expansion southward, which threatened Australia's marine communication lines, American troops occupied the Anglo-French New Hebrides Condominium in early 1942. The first American troops landed on Efate in March, establishing joint rule with the colonial authorities. The main American presence was on Espiritu Santo, where the U.S. Navy Seabees built a major advance naval base to support the Pacific campaign. By the end of the war it had become the second-largest base in the theater. By the end of the war, over 500,000 American service members had lived or passed through the base.
Local labour was also drawn into the war effort. The Vanuatu Labor Corps, a labor unit of the United States Army and Navy, consisted of New Hebrides natives. Its size fluctuated between 1,000 and 10,000 men. The base's economic footprint was large: the archipelago provided vital supplies of food, fuel, arms, ammunition and dry docks. The postwar legacy was contentious. When the base closed, surplus equipment was dumped into the sea near Luganville, and unused equipment was later dumped at what is now called Million Dollar Point. Many ni-Vanuatu later regarded this as a grievance rather than a simple clean-up.
Political movements in the 1960s and 1970s
Political organisation grew around land and language. On Espiritu Santo, the Nagriamel movement was led by Jimmy "Moses" Stevens, a local political and religious leader. Nagriamel had originally emerged in opposition to European land seizures, but as independence approached it developed into a secessionist project. Protests over the clearing of European-held land for coconut production spread across Santo and Malekula under this movement.
The main nationalist party was built by Walter Lini, an Anglican priest and leader of the Vanua'aku Pati. The party was founded on 17 August 1971 by Walter Lini as the New Hebridean Cultural Association, renamed later that same year as the New Hebrides National Party. The NHNP went on to win the 1975 elections. In 1977, it was renamed the Vanua'aku Pati. The party won the pre-independence 1979 elections and Lini became chief minister. Lini's outlook combined Christianity, Melanesian custom, social solidarity and non-alignment.
The divide was also linguistic. English-speaking politicians such as Walter Lini, Donald Kalpokas, and other leaders of the Vanua'aku Pati favored early independence, whereas French-speaking political leaders favored continuing association with the colonial administrators, particularly France.
The Santo rebellion and the Coconut War
Beginning in June 1980, Jimmy Stevens, head of the Nagriamel movement, led an uprising against the local colonial officials, which lasted about twelve weeks. The uprising declared the independence of the island of Espiritu Santo as the State of Vemerana. The rebels were supported by the Phoenix Foundation, an American libertarian organisation obsessed with creating states free of taxation and strong central government, and by French-speaking landowners. On 8 June 1980, the New Hebrides government asked Britain and France to send troops to suppress the rebellion in Espiritu Santo. France refused to allow the United Kingdom to deploy troops to defuse the crisis, and French soldiers stationed on Espiritu Santo took no action. Consequently, only after 30 July could Lini request assistance from Papua New Guinea. Its troops landed on Santo and crushed Vemarana in the brief "Coconut War". Stevens' son was killed when his vehicle broke through a Papua New Guinean roadblock, and Stevens surrendered shortly afterwards. Accounts of his sentence differ: one reports 14.5 years in prison, another 14 years in jail.
The conflict had practical effects. A former bank employee on Santo recalled that for four months there were no shipments or air transport reaching the island. Papua New Guinean forces withdrew in September 1980, and the government then charged several hundred people associated with the rebellion.
Independence on 30 July 1980
Constitutional change had been prepared in advance. Independence was agreed upon at a 1977 conference in Paris. Following elections and the drafting of a constitution in 1979, the New Hebrides gained independence within the Commonwealth as the Republic of Vanuatu on July 30, 1980. The new state's first head of state was chosen by parliament: Ati George Sokomanu was elected President, a ceremonial office, by the Parliament when Vanuatu gained independence in 1980. Lini became the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, remaining in the post until 1991. The celebrations were not uniform: the flag-raising in Luganville on Espiritu Santo was jeered by Nagriamel supporters.
Government and politics
Vanuatu's politics take place within a constitutional democracy. The constitution describes the country as a sovereign democratic state, and it places sovereignty with the people, who exercise it through elected representatives. The Constitution asserts Vanuatu to be a "sovereign democratic state", with sovereignty vested in "the people of Vanuatu which they exercise through their elected representatives". Under the parliamentary system, the presidency is an elected office and the prime minister leads the government. The head of the Republic is an elected president. The prime minister of Vanuatu is the head of government.
The president is chosen indirectly. A college that combines Parliament with the heads of the provincial councils selects the president by secret ballot. The President of the Republic shall be elected, in accordance with Schedule 1, by secret ballot by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the President of the Provincial Government Councils. The role is largely symbolic. The duties of the President are mostly ceremonial; for example, the appointment and dismissal of ministers is the formal responsibility of the Prime Minister alone. The prime minister is chosen from within Parliament, and the cabinet is kept small. The number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, shall not exceed a third of the number of members of Parliament.
Legislative power sits in a single chamber. The independent Republic of Vanuatu has a Westminster-style constitution and a 52-member unicameral Parliament elected by the Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) election system. Bills may be introduced by any member, by the prime minister, or by a minister, and when a bill has been passed by Parliament it shall be presented to the President of the Republic who shall assent to it within 2 weeks. Judicial authority is kept separate. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Courts have intervened in high-profile disputes. In 2023 the Supreme Court ruled that since one seat in Parliament was vacant only 26 votes were required to dislodge the prime minister.
Alongside Parliament, the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs holds a constitutional advisory role. The Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs shall be composed of custom chiefs elected by their peers sitting in District Councils of Chiefs. Its remit is wide but non-binding. The Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs has a general competence to discuss all matters relating to land, custom and tradition and may make recommendations for the preservation and promotion of ni-Vanuatu culture and languages. Consultation is mandatory on certain bills: the Council must be consulted on any question, particularly any question relating to land, tradition and custom, in connection with any bill before Parliament. It does not exercise legislative authority, [but] its recommendations carry significant cultural and moral influence.
Elections are run by an independent body. The Electoral Commission shall have general responsibility for and shall supervise the registration of electors and the conduct of elections to Parliament, the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs, provincial government and municipal councils. Candidates are formally endorsed by the commission, and political parties are free to form and contest elections. The electoral system itself has encouraged fragmentation. The single non-transferable vote system makes micro-parties, one-person shell parties, and regional parties possible. The main early parties split over time. In the decades after independence, the English-oriented Vanua'aku Party and the French-oriented Union of Moderate Parties fragmented into numerous smaller parties, defined increasingly by personality politics rather than ideology.
Government stability has been a persistent problem since independence. Each change in government resulted from either a Parliamentary motion of no-confidence or the threat of one. The no-confidence motion has been the usual mechanism. In August 2023, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau was defeated in a no-confidence vote, with 26 votes for the no-confidence motion and 23 against. His successor, Kilman was ousted by 27 members of the Parliament, with the members of the government having left in protest. In 2022 and 2023, Vanuatu had four Prime Ministers from four political parties. Party switching by MPs has driven much of this. In 2022, after a snap election in response to a no-confidence motion, the then-Prime Minister Bob Loughman dissolved his short-lived administration, leading to the re-election of the same Members of Parliament (MPs) who had switched parties.
In response, Parliament passed reforms to tie members to parties. The proposed reforms passed by Parliament in December 2023 aim to tie members of Parliament to political parties in pursuit of strengthening the political party system and enhancing government stability. These reforms went to a national vote, Vanuatu's first referendum since independence, held in May 2024. Critics have argued that such changes could weaken accountability tools such as the no-confidence vote. Instability has continued after the referendum. The current prime minister, Jotham Napat from the Leaders Party of Vanuatu, since 11 February 2025. Later, Vanuatu's Prime Minister, Jotham Napat, survived a no confidence motion by a wide margin.
Economy
Vanuatu's economy is small, open and concentrated in a few sectors. Estimates for 2025 put nominal GDP at about US$1.2 billion (roughly Vt 146.2 billion) 2-2, though other compilations give US$1.35 billion 6-2. Growth figures also disagree. The World Bank series records 0.94% real growth for 2024, down from 2.09% in 2023 8-7, while another compilation lists 3.8% for the same year 1-11. Such differences reflect data revisions and the thin statistical base of a country of about 340,000 people, so the figures are best read as approximate.
Agriculture is the largest source of livelihoods. Roughly 80% of the population is engaged in farming, from subsistence gardening to smallholder production of coconuts and cash crops 4-6. Official figures place agriculture at about a fifth of GDP, although analysts argue that its contribution is underestimated in national accounts because much output is consumed at home 20-12,20-13. Copra was long the leading export, averaging about 20% of exports in 2012–15 22-7. Kava has since overtaken coconut products as the top merchandise export 21-13, and kava exports reached about US$33 million in 2023, roughly ten times their 2012 value 27-3,27-4. Cocoa is a smallholder crop, grown by about one rural household in four 22-10, with exports of about US$9.3 million in 2024 27-5. UNCTAD notes that the family farming system also underpins food security, which is why policy must balance cash cropping against subsistence 22-2,22-3.
Services and other sectors add to foreign exchange. Tourism is the main earner of foreign exchange among services, but it has proved highly vulnerable to the pandemic, cyclones and the 2024 collapse of Air Vanuatu 21-9. Reconstruction after the December 2024 earthquake in Port Vila and Efate, public infrastructure works and a slow tourism revival have since supported activity 3-6,3-7. Fishing is substantial but earns little foreign exchange 28-1, and its expansion is limited by off-loading and repair capacity 21-15. The country has also kept its pre-independence status as an offshore financial centre, with about 2,000 registered institutions providing banking, trust and insurance services 26-3,26-4. Timber contributed around 5% of exports in 2012–15 22-7.
Trade is heavily concentrated. Vanuatu imports mainly fuel, machinery and vehicles 21-5 and sends its exports chiefly to China, Australia and the United States 21-6. Trade as a share of GDP fell from 110.7% in 2018 to 75.7% in 2024 21-4. The central bank identifies remittances, tourism, trade and investment as the main channels through which conditions in partner economies reach Vanuatu 3-4. Foreign aid also finances public investment, particularly after disasters.
Citizenship by investment has become the government's largest single revenue source. The scheme dates back to a 1996–2002 programme that ended under international pressure after 2001 11-4. The current programme was launched in 2017 14-11 and requires a non-refundable contribution starting at US$130,000 under the Development Support Programme 14-1. Because the country levies no income or corporate tax, receipts from this scheme exceeded any other revenue source 11-6. Receipts equalled about 28% of government revenue in 2019 and roughly 12% of GDP 11-7, and in the first half of 2026 they reached about VT 11.4 billion (US$95.5 million), around 39% of revenue 12-1,12-4. The money has funded disaster recovery and early repayment of external debt 11-8. Critics describe the scheme as a form of passive investment that depends on foreigners who never visit the country 11-3. The IMF has flagged a sharp fall in programme revenue 18-8, and the loss of visa-free Schengen access in late 2024 and the EU's 2022 suspension of visa-waiver privileges have weakened demand 12-5,17-12. Commentators also point to light source-of-funds checks 19-1, an issue that has fed debate over the scheme's governance and transparency.
Public finances remain fragile. One compilation reports government debt of about US$554 million, equal to 40.9% of GDP 6-3. Annual inflation was negative in early 2025, at -0.6% 2-2.
Infrastructure and transport
Air transport
Bauerfield International Airport, the country's main gateway, lies a few kilometres from central Port Vila on Efate. Sources differ on the exact distance: one places it just 6 kilometres north of the capital, while another gives approximately 5 kilometres. Although the airfield is modest in size, its runway can take large wide body jets such as the Airbus A330. Until the national carrier, Air Vanuatu, entered bankruptcy in 2024, the airport also served as that airline's international base (Air Vanuatu, until its bankruptcy in 2024). The airfield also plays a humanitarian role: after a storm or earthquake, it becomes the main route for relief supplies into the country.
Domestic air links are carried mainly by air services operated by Air Vanuatu. Its ATR-72 aircraft connect Port Vila with Santo and Tanna. In 2024 the airline restarted its inter-island network, adding a Port Vila–Tanna route and using Twin Otters, which can take off and land on shorter runways, to reach smaller airstrips. Many outer islands are served only sporadically. Some receive only one or two flights a week, and most airstrips are unsealed grass; only a small number have tarmac. Weather regularly interrupts these flights, and heavy rain, cyclones or strong winds can disrupt the schedule.
Ports and sea links
Vanuatu has two major commercial ports, the Port of Vila and the Port of Luganville in Santo. Port Vila is the country's commercial and economic centre, but its facilities are limited: one multipurpose wharf handles cargo ships, cruise liners and oil tankers. Cargo vessels sometimes have to wait at anchor when a cruise ship is due, which delays the movement of goods and fuel. A new wharf at Lapetasi is intended for international cargo, though it lacks a means of discharging fuel, so tankers still use the main wharf. The harbour is sheltered from most winds, but not from westerly winds and cyclones. In December 2024, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake offshore caused significant damage to city and port infrastructure in Port Vila, and cruise calls were later restored, with a ship returning in August 2025.
Luganville, the second-largest urban centre, has a population of around 13,000. Cruise ships either dock at Luganville or anchor in Champagne Bay near Hog Harbour on the island's northeast coast. Most domestic sea transport is less formal. Inter-island services rely largely on cargo vessels with basic facilities for passengers, and the main domestic shipping route runs between Port Vila and Santo. Passenger sailings on other routes are irregular, which makes island-hopping by sea difficult to plan.
Electricity, water and telecommunications
Electricity, piped water and telecommunications networks are concentrated in Port Vila and Luganville, while rural and outer-island communities have far less reliable access. Extending these networks to dispersed villages is therefore a central infrastructure challenge, as is protecting them from damage. Transmission lines, water intakes and telecom towers are vulnerable to high winds during cyclones, flooding and, on some islands, the ash and gas emissions of volcanic activity. Repairs can be slow where the islands are remote and transport is limited, so resilience and rapid restoration are as important as the initial build-out. Energy and connectivity choices are closely tied to grid design, renewable-energy options and connectivity gaps between urban and rural areas.
Population and settlement patterns
Vanuatu's 2020 census counted 300,019 residents. Official census figures put the population at 234,023 in 2009 and 111,251 in 1989, so growth has been rapid over several decades. The UN's 2024 revision projects roughly 342,000 people in mid-2026, a growth rate of a little over 2 percent a year. Across the country's 12,190 square kilometres, the average density is about 28 people per square kilometre, but people are unevenly spread across the islands.
Melanesians, the Ni-Vanuatu, make up almost the entire population, at about 99 percent. Non-Melanesian residents are a small minority, mainly of European, Asian, Polynesian and Australian origin, and they are concentrated in the towns, especially Port Vila. The overall population structure and origins are discussed in demography and Melanesia.
Most people still live outside towns. Census results show that 76% of youth aged 12–30 live in rural areas, which affects their access to schooling, sanitation and jobs. The main urban centres are small by international standards. In the 2020 census, Port Vila had 49,528 residents and Luganville had 18,062, while Efate, the island that holds the capital, had 50,340 people, about 17 percent of the national total. UN-based estimates put the urban share of the population in 2026 at about a quarter, while other estimates place it closer to 30 percent, so the exact figure depends on how urban areas are defined.
Urban growth has been driven by internal migration. Between the 1999 and 2009 censuses, the urban population rose by 42 percent, or about 3.5 percent a year, which the census report described as roughly 1,400 additional urban residents annually. Port Vila's growth has increasingly taken place on its outskirts, particularly east along the Teouma corridor and west of the airport in the Mele Flats. Residents have been drawn there by cheaper rents and affordable transport into the city centre, although growth slowed after the 2008 global financial crisis. This spread of settlement places pressure on urban services, housing supply, water and sanitation, schools and the local job market.
The population is young. In the 2020 census, 38.6% of residents were under 15 and about 55 percent were of working age (15–59), with a dependency ratio of 82. The median age is about 20, although urban areas such as Port Vila have a higher median, around 23. Projections show the median age rising to about 25 by 2050, so the youthful profile is expected to shift gradually as fertility declines. The sex ratio is close to balance, at about 102 males per 100 females.
These demographic trends shape policy priorities. A large cohort of school-aged children and young adults creates demand for education and skills training, while the concentration of people in and around the capital places pressure on health services and public health programmes. Rural communities, meanwhile, face the challenge of delivering services across dispersed islands.
Languages, arts and cultural heritage
Vanuatu has three official languages: Bislama, English and French. The constitution names all three, while the national language policy identifies Bislama as the national language and English and French as the languages of education. Bislama is an English-based creole whose vocabulary comes mostly from English, with a French component and some words from local languages. It is the first language of many residents of Port Vila and Luganville and the common second language across the outer islands, so it works as the main lingua franca between speakers of different vernaculars. Its spread has come at the expense of local tongues: the share of people who use an indigenous language as their first language fell from about 73 percent in 1999 to about 63 percent in 2009.
Against this, the country has more than 100 indigenous languages, all of them Oceanic and belonging to the Oceanic branch of Austronesian. One reference counts 138, which gives Vanuatu one of the highest densities of distinct languages per person in the world. Many of these languages are spoken by small communities, and documentation work has focused on recording vocabulary, narratives and speech before it is lost. Schooling in English or French, which is determined partly by a legacy of the colonial condominium, means that many children grow up learning two foreign languages alongside a vernacular and Bislama.
Vanuatu's best-known artistic tradition is sand drawing, known in Bislama as sandroing. Performed mainly in the northern islands, it involves tracing a continuous line with a single finger through sand, volcanic ash or clay, forming geometric and symbolic patterns on an imagined grid. The drawings carry folklore, genealogies, rituals and other forms of kastom, and they are erased or dispersed once made, so the knowledge exists chiefly in the memory of performers. Early ethnographic recording is significant here: the young ethnographer Bernard Deacon collected more than 100 drawings from Malekula and Ambrym in 1926 and 1927, and the mathematician Marcia Ascher later analysed the patterns for their mathematical structure. Researchers estimate that more than 400 drawings have been collected over the past century, but they are scattered across archives and private collections, which has led to calls for a common archive.
UNESCO first proclaimed Vanuatu sand drawing a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and later inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Recognition has been used to support teaching: the Vanuatu Cultural Centre in Port Vila runs Saturday lessons for children, and since around 2010 traditional knowledge such as sand drawing has been part of school objectives. Tourism creates both opportunities and pressures, as sand drawing festivals are promoted to visitors and performances are adapted for outside audiences.
Land diving, known as naghol in the local language, is a ritual performed by men on the southern part of Pentecost Island. Men leap headfirst from wooden towers roughly 20 to 30 metres high, with flexible vines tied to their ankles, aiming to brush the softened earth. The ritual is tied to the yam harvest and to rites of passage for young men, and it is widely described as a precursor of bungee jumping. Its season runs from about April to June. Because the south-east of Pentecost is hard to reach, performers are sometimes hired to perform at more accessible locations for visitors, which has changed the practice's social setting while the ceremony itself remains a rite of kastom. Oral tradition more broadly, including legends, genealogies and the knowledge held by elders, is transmitted through speech and performance rather than through written records, which makes it vulnerable when older speakers die.
Religion and belief
Christianity is the main religious tradition in Vanuatu. Presbyterians form the largest denominational group, at 27.2% in the 2020 census, though that share has slipped from 35.8% in 1989 The Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu remained the largest religious denomination in the country, though its share declined from 35.8% in 1989 and 27.9% in 2009 and then stabilised to 27.2% in 2020. Seventh-day Adventists rank next at 14.8%, while Anglicans and Catholics each account for just over 12% of the population The Seventh-day Adventist Church was the second-largest group with representing 14.8% of the population. This was followed by the Anglican and Catholic Churches, each accounting for just over 12% of the population.
Denominational strength varies by province. Anglicanism predominates in Torba and Penama, Presbyterianism in Malampa and Shefa, and Catholicism is particularly strong in Penama and Malampa In Penama and especially Torba, the Anglican Church was predominant, while the Presbyterian Church was the main religion in Malampa and Shefa but had minimal presence in Torba and Penama. Catholicism was particularly strong in Penama and Malampa. The Presbyterian Church traces its origin to the London Missionary Society, which founded it in the mid-1800s It was created by missionaries of the London Missionary Society in the mid-1800s. Churches have also shaped schooling: the Presbyterian Church operates its own schools, and its ministers are trained at a theological college on South Santo The church runs schools. PCV ministers are trained in the Presbyterian's official theological institute, the Talua Theological Training Institute on South Santo.
The constitution does not establish a state religion. Its preamble instead refers to traditional Melanesian values, faith in God and Christian principles The preamble of the constitution refers to a commitment to "traditional Melanesian values, faith in God, and Christian principles," but there is no state religion. In 2017 parliament chose Tallis Obed Moses, a Presbyterian pastor, as president, and in his first address as head of state he described Christianity as the country's only religion In July the parliament elected Tallis Obed Moses, a Presbyterian Church pastor, as president. In his first official address as head of state, given at his home church, he said, "We have only one religion in Vanuatu and that is Christianity." Other officials and commentators have described the state as secular, so the relationship between the state and religion is a matter of interpretation.
Kastom, ancestors and syncretism
Alongside the churches stands kastom, the customs, beliefs and ancestral practices handed down through generations It encompasses the customs, beliefs and ancestral practices passed down through generations, shaping the society and identity of the Ni-Vanuatu people. Traditional belief is rooted in animism and ancestor worship, holding that spirits inhabit trees, stones and the ocean Vanuatu traditional beliefs, collectively known as "kastom," are rooted in animism and ancestor worship, emphasizing that spirits inhabit natural objects like trees, stones, and the ocean. The dead are understood to pass into another realm where they continue to affect the living. Ancestral spirits are thought to bring blessings such as good harvests and protection in cyclones, but they can also bring illness or misfortune Death is viewed not as an end, but as a transition into a spiritual realm where the deceased continue to influence the living. Ancestral spirits can bring blessings, such as a bountiful yam harvest or protection during cyclones, but they can also inflict punishment in the form of illness or bad
Many people hold both systems at once. Some attend church on Sundays and consult kastom in village decisions, so the two frameworks operate side by side rather than in strict succession Kastom continues to guide important decisions in villages across the country, often alongside, not in place of, the Christian faith professed on Sundays. Missionary churches gradually adapted: many allowed congregations to perform dances and pig-killing rites, and many ni-Vanuatu kept beliefs in ancestral ghosts, taboos and sorcery while accepting Christianity Over time, however, many of the established churches became more accommodating towards kastom, allowing their congregations to engage in kastom practices such as dances and pig killing. In addition, regardless of the official attitude of the Church, many ni-Vanuatu accepted Christianity while maintaining their belief in kastom ideas such as ancestral ghosts, tabus and the power of sorcerers. Kava plays a central role in these ceremonies, where it is used to communicate with ancestral spirits Kava, a traditional drink, plays a crucial role in indigenous religious ceremonies. It is believed to facilitate communication with the spiritual world and is used in rituals seeking guidance from ancestral spirits.
Religious institutions and customary authority
Customary authority and religious authority overlap in practice but are not identical. Kastom shapes how communities settle disputes, manage land and use their environment Kastom dictates how communities interact with one another, how disputes are settled, and how the environment is managed. Pressure to conform is mainly social rather than institutional. In some communities, people who abandon ancestral practices or change denomination may be rejected by their extended family or village The pressure that does exist is more social and cultural than institutional. On some islands, those who turn away from ancestral traditions (kastom) or change denomination may face rejection from the extended family or village, since community identity is deeply tied to local customs.
Cargo movements
The best-known religious movement tied to custom is the John Frum movement on Tanna. It emerged no later than the late 1930s The John Frum movement arose on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu no later than the late 1930s. The earliest administrative record of the name dates to 1940, when a district agent investigated the theft of goats used to feed a gathering at Green Point 1940 (November): British District Agent James Nicol conducted inquiry into theft of goats to feed people gathered at Green Point (southwest Tanna) who were meeting and dancing for John Frum. This was the first administrative record of John Frum's name. Followers expect John Frum, often pictured as an American serviceman, to return with wealth Followers believe John Frum — often depicted as an American serviceman — will one day return bringing wealth and prosperity.
Accounts of the figure's origin differ. A 1949 island administrator linked the name to the English word "broom," reading the movement as an effort to sweep white people off the island that view of the origins of the cult gained credence in 1949, when the island administrator, Alexander Rentoul, noting that "frum" is the Tannese pronunciation of "broom," wrote that the object of the John Frum movement "was to sweep (or broom) the white people off the island of Tanna." Other versions describe a man named Manehivi using the alias, while some say the figure came in a vision induced by kava In some versions, a native man named Manehivi appeared dressed in a Western-style coat using the alias "John Frum," promising houses, clothes, food, and transport. Others say John Frum was a spirit vision induced by kava. Colonial authorities arrested and exiled leaders for years, changing course only in 1956 1941-1956: Condominium authorities continued to arrest, exile from Tanna, and/or jail John Frum leaders; Colonial authorities changed course in 1956 to no longer treat the movement as subversive. American forces arrived in 1942 and many Tannese, including followers, joined a US military labour corps 1942 (March): American forces landed at Port Vila and established military outposts around Efate Island, including a major airport. Many Tannese, including John Frum supporters, joined the U.S. military native labor corps.
The movement persists in institutional form. It endures today institutionalized as a church and a political party. Its strongholds remain at Sulphur Bay and Green Point the John Frum cult remains strong on Tanna today, especially at Sulphur Bay in the southeast and Green Point in the southwest of the Island. Followers mark 15 February as John Frum Day Every year on February 15, Tanna observes John Frum Day. Estimates of membership differ: the US State Department put it below 1% of the population The John Frum Movement, an indigenous religious group, is centered on the island of Tanna and constitutes less than 1 percent of the population., while the Humanists International report gives 5% 5% of the population adhere to the John Frum Movement, an Indigenous religious group with its own political party, based on the island of Tanna.
A smaller example of the same pattern is the Prince Philip Movement on Yaohnanen, where a small group believes the British prince is the son of an ancient mountain spirit In this village, a small sect of people are part of the Prince Philip Movement, a religious belief that Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh and husband to the late Queen Elizabeth II, is the pale-skinned son of an ancient mountain spirit.
Education, health and public services
Vanuatu's school system follows a "2-6-4-3" pattern: six years of primary school, four years of junior secondary and three years of senior secondary. Progression is controlled by national examinations at several stages. The Year 6 exam is set and marked in-country, while later examinations have been handled by a regional assessment board. The Ministry of Education and Training manages the sector together with church education authorities. State provision through Provincial Education Boards accounts for most schools and enrolments at primary and secondary level. Non-state provision, mainly church-owned schools that receive government funding, enrolled 36% of primary and 47% of secondary pupils in 2020. Policy aims to phase out school fees by replacing them with larger government grants under the 2010 Schools Grants Scheme.
Primary enrolment is close to universal, but secondary enrolment is low and many pupils leave before completing secondary school. Learning outcomes are also weak. The Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment of 2021 found that 79% of Year 4 pupils did not reach the minimum reading standard, and literacy remains a priority for development partners. The system is bilingual. Schools are registered as English-medium or French-medium, and pupils usually study in their first language of instruction during primary school before beginning the other language at secondary level. Bislama is recognised as the national language but is not the main medium of formal instruction. Sources also disagree on whether schooling is compulsory: one describes it as non-compulsory because of the country's dispersed population, while another describes primary education as compulsory for children aged 6 to 13.
Post-secondary provision is concentrated in Port Vila. The University of the South Pacific (USP), which is owned by the governments of twelve Pacific island countries including Vanuatu, runs its main Vanuatu campus at Emalus in Port Vila, which hosts the USP School of Law. USP also maintains sub-centres on Santo, Tanna and Malekula. Vocational and technical training is offered through technical colleges and through Pacific TAFE certificate programmes, which give students practical skills in trades and other fields. For students from outer islands, the main obstacles are the cost of fees, uniforms and boarding, and the distance to schools and campuses, which makes higher-education largely an urban pathway.
Health services are delivered mainly by the public sector, under a Ministry of Health with six provincial administrations. The country's population is spread across dozens of inhabited islands, and roughly three-quarters or more live in rural and remote areas. Port Vila and Luganville have the best-funded services, yet they also contain high poverty rates, while rural areas receive comparatively few services. Facilities range from a national referral hospital and provincial hospitals, such as those in Luganville and Lenakel, to health centres, dispensaries and aid posts. Many outer-island facilities depend on boats or aircraft for resupply, and disruptions to transport and drug supplies are common. The Ministry has outlined policies for universal health coverage, but capacity constraints hinder implementation.
The workforce is the most serious constraint. Vanuatu has about 12 nurses per 10,000 people, far below the 45 per 10,000 benchmark associated with the Sustainable Development Goals, and many rural facilities have vacancies or cannot operate fully. Community-level care depends heavily on village health workers, who provide health promotion and basic treatment. A Ministry of Health review carried out with WHO support in 2022–2023 identified problems with their training, incentives and coordination. Disease patterns combine infectious and chronic conditions. The country eliminated lymphatic filariasis in 2016 and trachoma in 2022, but noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and respiratory illness have risen, and outbreaks of preventable diseases still affect children. Cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions regularly damage health infrastructure and interrupt supply chains, which compounds the problems of delivering care across dispersed communities.
Climate change, disaster risk and international positions
Vanuatu is among the countries most exposed to climate change. One assessment cited in later analyses places it first on the 2021 UN University World Risk Index, and the country has at times lost a third of its GDP to cyclones. Its low-lying atolls and coastal villages face rising seas, and the government has repeatedly warned that the state could be submerged. Rising sea levels add to the damage caused by storm surges during tropical cyclones, and they threaten freshwater supplies and coastal gardens through salt intrusion. Changes in rainfall make droughts and floods harder to predict, which affects farming and water security. Although the country's own emissions are very small, its exposure is high, a combination that shapes much of its foreign policy.
At the United Nations, Vanuatu has made climate liability a central theme. In March 2023 the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution, sponsored by 132 states and led by Vanuatu, asking the International Court of Justice to clarify what states must do under international law to protect the climate system, and what follows when they fail to do so. The court delivered its advisory opinion on 23 July 2025, and the judges reached their conclusions unanimously. The opinion found that inaction on climate change could amount to an internationally wrongful act. Advisory opinions are not binding judgments, but they carry considerable legal authority. In early 2026 Vanuatu circulated a follow-up draft resolution that would build on the opinion. It proposed an International Register of Damage to document climate-related losses and asked the UN Secretary-General to develop a reparation mechanism to coordinate compensation claims. Amnesty International reported that the draft was still under negotiation in spring 2026.
Vanuatu has also pressed for funding for loss and damage, meaning the economic and non-economic losses that cannot be prevented by adaptation. Many developed countries have resisted framing these losses in terms of liability or compensation, and this divide has shaped the negotiations on a dedicated fund agreed at the 2022 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh. The fund's transitional arrangements were tasked with identifying sources of finance and closing gaps in speed, eligibility and access. For a country with a small budget, the practical question is whether such money reaches disaster-hit communities quickly enough to matter.
Cyclone Pam, which struck on 13 March 2015 as a Category 5 storm, shows how disasters translate into national crises. The storm passed close to Efate, where the capital Port Vila is located, and it was reported that a large share of the city was destroyed. Tens of thousands of people were left homeless. The President appealed for international help within days. The United Nations launched a flash appeal, and UNDP began a cash-for-work programme in April to clear debris, which was the first essential stage of early recovery. Australia committed AUD 15 million for humanitarian relief and a further AUD 35 million for the government's National Recovery Plan. The IMF approved emergency financing of about USD 11.9 million in June 2015. A study of the aid response estimated total contributions at about USD 37 million for the response phase and about USD 147 million for recovery, and it found that financial transparency was relatively high during the response but low during recovery. Recovery efforts also drew on a World Bank-supported needs assessment, which informed later reconstruction and the push for more resilient buildings. Recovery from later disasters, including earthquakes, has followed a similar pattern of emergency relief, rebuilding and dependence on external finance.
Vanuatu's international climate commitments are framed through the Paris Agreement. In September 2025 the government submitted its third Nationally Determined Contribution, covering 2025 to 2035. The plan contains 219 measurable targets: 35 for mitigation, 132 for adaptation and 52 for loss and damage. It commits the country to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 68.3 per cent of current levels by 2035. Vanuatu's forests and oceans already absorb more carbon than the country emits, so it is a net sink. The government estimates that the plan will require about USD 3 billion over the decade, mostly from grants, multilateral development banks and climate funds, along with insurance and other mechanisms. A dedicated Climate Finance Country Platform is intended to direct these flows according to national priorities. Earlier targets were explicitly conditional on international support, a feature that the government has used to argue that wealthy countries must share the burden of adaptation.
Foreign relations and regional cooperation
Non-alignment and early diplomacy
Vanuatu joined the United Nations in 1981, and it also belongs to the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands Forum. In its first decade, the Lini government's foreign policy rested on non-alignment and on support for decolonization movements, from Western Sahara to neighbouring New Caledonia. Lini, an Anglican pastor, forged the doctrine of Melanesian socialism, and the country joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1983. Late in the Cold War, Vanuatu stood apart from other Oceanian states by declining to side with the Western bloc. It set up relations with Cuba in 1983 and the Soviet Union in June 1986, and established relations with the United States on September 30, 1986, three months to the day after it had done so with the Soviet Union. Ties with Washington were strained in the 1980s but later became cordial, and bilateral relations now rest mainly on US aid.
Former colonial powers and the Pacific neighbourhood
Relations with France began poorly after 1980 and remained bad throughout the 1980s. Ties with the United Kingdom began formally on independence day, and the two countries share membership of the Commonwealth, the UN, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization. The British High Commission in Port Vila closed in 2005 and reopened in 2019. France remains a partner through shared Francophone and cultural links, and Vanuatu is a member of the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique.
Australia is the central partner. Australia is Vanuatu's largest economic, development, security and humanitarian partner. A 2022 bilateral security agreement covering disaster relief, policing, cybersecurity and maritime safety was never formally approved by Vanuatu after a change of prime minister, and it was later overtaken by the Vanuatu Australia Nakamal Partnership Agreement. New Zealand is also a close partner, and guest-worker programmes are a prominent element of relations with both countries.
China, Japan and competing partners
Diplomatic relations with China were established in 1982. China funded the construction of the parliamentary building in 1993, and Vanuatu was one of the first Pacific countries to join China's Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, which led to projects including a presidential palace, a finance ministry building and roads. In late 2004, a prime minister briefly signed a communiqué with Taipei, but the foreign ministry in Port Vila denied that ties with Taiwan had been established.
Japan established diplomatic relations in January 1981, and it has been a donor through grants and technical cooperation. The United States has also expanded its presence. Washington announced plans for an embassy that would open a more direct channel with Vanuatu, which had previously been represented from Papua New Guinea. In 2023, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau described a policy of "friends to all and enemies to none." Both Washington and Beijing seek a presence in Vanuatu, and the government has stressed that its sovereignty must not be compromised by any partner.
Development finance and foreign policy priorities
Because of its dependence on external finance, the government joined the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Since 1980, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand have provided most of Vanuatu's development aid. Vanuatu has also used its foreign policy to back self-determination in Melanesia. It has supported independence movements in New Caledonia and East Timor and strongly supports the Free Papua Movement in western New Guinea. This position has strained relations with Indonesia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also manages unresolved maritime boundaries, sovereign territorial disputes and the National Oceans Governance Framework.
Climate diplomacy at the United Nations
Vanuatu's most prominent international initiative in recent years has been on climate change. It led a group of states that asked the UN General Assembly to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice. The proceedings were referred to the ICJ by General Assembly Resolution 77/276 on 29 March 2023, and the request was adopted by consensus, the first time in UN history that a resolution requesting an advisory opinion had been adopted that way. On 23 July 2025, the Court's result was unanimous, with all 15 judges agreeing on the core findings. Although advisory opinions are not binding, they carry significant authority in interpreting states' obligations on climate change. Vanuatu's government then said it would pursue a further UN resolution to turn the opinion into political action, with the aim of gaining majority support.
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- VANUATU WILL PURSUE RESOLUTION TO TURN THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE’S ADVISORY OPINION ON THE OBLIGATIONS OF STATES IN RESPECT TO CLIMATE CHANGE INTO POLITICAL ACTIONlossanddamagecollaboration.org