Yearbook 2016

Vanuatu. Due to political turmoil in the fall of 2015, when 14 parliamentarians were sentenced to prison for bribery, President Baldwin Lonsdale disbanded Parliament and announced new elections until January 2016.

According to countryaah, the current population of Vanuatu is 307,156. The result of the election was a divided parliament with 17 parties and eight independent candidates. In total, Parliament has 52 members. Three parties were given six seats each: the Moderate Parties Union (UMP), Our Country Party (VP) and the Land and Justice Party (LJP). In February, Parliament elected Charlot Salwai as new prime minister. He is the leader of the Reunification of Movements for Change (RMC), a small party that received three seats in parliament and who together with, among others, the VP, the LJP and the National United Party (NUP) formed the alliance Unit for Change before the election. After taking office, Salwai appointed a new coalition government.

Vanuatu Population 2016

In June, Salwai presented a bill with a total of 25 changes in the country’s constitution. These included, inter alia, rules for Parliament and the establishment of special mandates reserved for women. In the January elections, only eight of just over 260 candidates were women, and none of them were elected. According to thereligionfaqs, parliament agreed that the amendments required negotiations across party borders and that they must finally be approved in a referendum before they can enter into force.

In August, eleven of the 14 imprisoned MPs were also sentenced for trying to prevent justice from happening.

  • Abbreviation Finder: Check to see how the 3-letter abbreviation of VUT stands for the nation of Vanuatu in geography.

Country data

Area: 12,189 km2 (world ranking: 158)

Population: 276,000

Population density: 23 per km2 (as of 2017, world ranking: 175)

Capital: Port Vila

Official languages: Bislama, English, French

Gross domestic product: US $ 863 million; Real growth: 4.5%

Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 2920 US$

Currency: Vatu (VT)

Embassy

Government
Head of State: Tallis Obed Moses, Head of Government: Charlot Salwai, Appearance: Ralph Regenvanu

National holiday: 30.7.

Administrative structure
6 provinces

State and form of government
1980 Constitution
Republic (in the Commonwealth)
Parliament with 52 members, election every 4 years; Also Chiefs (Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs) advisory
election of the head of state every 5 years by Parliament and the chairman of the provincial parliaments
Voting age 18 years

Population: Vanuatuer, last census in 2009: 234,023 pop.
about 91% Ni-Vanuatu (Melanesians), 3 % Polynesians or Micronesian

Cities (with population): (as of 2013) Port Vila 51,397 pop., Luganville 14,214

Religions: 28% Presbyterians, 15% Anglicans, 12% Catholics, 12% Adventists, 6% Jews; 15% other prostestants; indigenous religions (cargo cults) and others (as of 2006)

Languages: Bislama (Ni-Vanuatu-Pidgin), English, French; 110 Melanesian languages Employed

By economic sector: No information

Unemployment (in% of all economically active persons)
No information

Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 3.1%

Foreign trade: Import: 390 million US $ (2017); Export: US $ 48 million (2017)