Polity · 1983 CE – present
Vanuatu
Republic of Vanuatu · République du Vanuatu · Ripablik blong Vanuatu
Also recorded as Republic of Vanuatu
- Peak recorded area
- 16,764 km²
- 1983 CE
- Rulers on record
- 6
- from 2016 CE
- Data series
- 299
- 1983 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 54 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 71.84years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 335.2Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -52persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.21% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 74.31years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 69.74years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 127 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 3,127int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd92 obs · 1979 CE–2025 CE | 1.4Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Cattle Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 89Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 1,549ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Production64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 985.44tonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Yield64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 636.2hg_per_ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score36 obs · 1981 CE–2016 CE | 0CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption36 obs · 1981 CE–2016 CE | 37Kcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production36 obs · 1981 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel36 obs · 1981 CE–2016 CE | 0persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure35 obs · 1981 CE–2016 CE | 0current USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million2 obs · 1987 CE–2021 CE | 7tiv_million2021 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
Territory & resources
6 of 50 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.64% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 36.28% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 15.34%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0624hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 187Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 20Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 28 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.796index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.51index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.859index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index119 obs · 1906 CE–2024 CE | 0.686index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Legislature Total Seats49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 52seats2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 34 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.882index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 89.29per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %45 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 112.49%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Dpt Immunization %43 obs · 1982 CE–2024 CE | 71%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %43 obs · 1982 CE–2024 CE | 61%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Who Skilled Birth Attendance39 obs · 1985 CE–2023 CE | 100.05%2023 CE · WHO Global Health Observatory |
Rulers
6 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Baldwin LonsdaleHead of State2016 CE – 2017 CE
- Charlot SalwaiHead of Government2016 CE – 2020 CE
- Esmon SaimonHead of State2017 CE
- Tallis Obed MosesHead of State2017 CE – 2022 CE
- Bob LoughmanHead of Government2020 CE –
- Nikenike VurobaravuHead of State2022 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia
- Government type
- parliamentary republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Nikenike VUROBARAVU (since 23 July 2022); head of government: Prime Minister Jotham NAPAT (since 11 February 2025); cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament;
- Ethnic groups
- Ni-Vanuatu 99%, other 1% (European, Asian, other Melanesian, Polynesian, Micronesian, other) (2020 est.)
- Natural resources
- manganese, hardwood forests, fish
- Economy
- lower-middle income Pacific island economy; extremely reliant on subsistence agriculture and tourism; environmentally fragile; struggling post-pandemic and Tropical Cyclone Harold rebound; sizeable inflation; road infrastructure aid from Australia
Language & currency
- Currency
- vatu (VUV)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1981 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
WHO Global Health Observatory2024
World Health Organization (2024). Global Health Observatory data repository.
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0