Vanuatu

Location:

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Border Countries:

Terrain:

mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

Geography:

a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes

Capital:

Port-Vila (on Efate)

About Vanuatu

Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980, when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted.

Population:

215,446 (July 2008 est.)

Language:

local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)

Religion:

Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 Census)

Phone Service:

NA

Currency:

vatu (VUV)

Climate:

tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April

Natural Hazards:

tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanic eruption on Aoba (Ambae) island began 27 November 2005, volcanism also causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis