Melanesia - Pacific Ocean
Vanuatu
Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu
(French: République de Vanuatu), is an island
nation located in the South Pacific Ocean.
The archipelago is some 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east
of northern Australia, 500 km (310 mi) north-east
of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of
the Solomon Islands.
The archipelago is of volcanic origin.
Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people.
Europeans began to settle in the area in
the late 18th century.
In the 1880s France and the United Kingdom
claimed parts of the country and in 1906
they agreed on a framework for jointly managing
the archipelago through a British-French
Condominium as the New Hebrides.
An independence movement was established
in the 1970s, and the Republic of
Vanuatu was created in 1980.
History
Many of the islands of Vanuatu have been
inhabited for thousands of years, with
the oldest traces of pottery dating back
to 1300 BC.
The earliest known settlement dates
back to around 4000 BC.
Ripablik blong Vanuatu
République de Vanuatu
Republic of Vanuatu
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 |
 |
| Flag |
Coat of arms |
|
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Motto: "Long God yumi stanap" (In God we stand) |
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Anthem: Yumi, Yumi, Yumi |
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Capital
(and largest city) |
Port Vila
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Official languages |
Bislama, English, French |
| Demonym |
ni-Vanuatu |
| Government |
Parliamentary republic |
| Independence |
from France and the UK |
| - |
Date |
30 July 1980 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
12,189 km² (161st)
4,706 sq mi |
| - |
Water (%) |
negligible |
| Population |
| - |
July 2008 estimate |
215,446 (173rd) |
| - |
Density |
17/km² (188th)
44/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) |
2005 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$726 million (175th) |
| - |
Per capita |
$1,576 (121st) |
| HDI (2004) |
?
0.674 (medium)
(120th) |
|
Currency |
Vanuatu vatu ( VUV) |
| Time zone |
(UTC+11) |
| Internet TLD |
.vu |
| Calling code |
+678 |
Europeans
In 1606 a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese
explorers Luis Váez de Torres and Pedro Fernandes
de Queirós became the first from Europe to reach
the islands which they believed to be part of
Terra Australis.
Europeans began settling the islands in the
late 18th century after the British explorer
James Cook visited the islands on his second
voyage and gave them the
name New Hebrides.
In 1887 the islands came under the administration
of a joint French-British naval commission.
For a few months in 1889, the settlement of
Port Vila was an independent republic
known as Franceville.
It was the first self-governing nation to practice
universal suffrage without distinction of sex or
race, although only whites were permitted
to hold office.
In 1906 the French and British agreed to an
Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides.
Vanuatu suffered from the practice of
blackbirding wherein half of the adult male
population of some of the islands became
indentured workers in Australia.
Due to diseases introduced by the new European
populations, the native population fell
to a mere 45,000 in 1935.
During World War II the islands of Efate and
Espiritu Santo were used as allied
military bases.
In the 1960s the ni-Vanuatu people started
to press for self-governance and,
later, independence.
Full sovereignty was finally granted by both
European nations on July 30, 1980 and Vanuatu
became a republic with the Commonwealth
of Nations.
Subsequently, Vanuatu joined the United Nations
in 1981 and the Non-Aligned Movement in 1983.
During the 1990s Vanuatu experienced political
instability which eventually resulted in a
more decentralised government.
The Vanuatu Mobile Force, a paramilitary group,
attempted a coup in 1996 because of a pay dispute.
There were allegations of corruption in the
government of Maxime Carlot Korman.
New elections have been called for, several
times since 1997, most recently in 2004.
Geography
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands,
two of which-Matthew and Hunter-are also
claimed by the French overseas department
of New Caledonia.
Of the 83 islands, 14 have surface areas
of more than 100 square
kilometres (38.6 sq mi).
From largest to smallest: Espiritu Santo
3,956 km² (1,527 sq mi), Malakula
2,041 km² (788 sq mi), Efate
(900 km²/350 sq mi), Erromango
(888 km²/343 sq mi), Ambrym
(678 km²/262 sq mi), Tanna
(555 km²/214 sq mi), Pentecost
(491 km²/190 sq mi), Epi
(445 km²/172 sq mi), Ambae or Aoba
(402 km²/155 sq mi), Vanua Lava
(334 km²/129 sq mi), Gaua
(328 km²/127 sq mi), Maewo
(304 km²/117 sq mi), Malo
(180 km²/70 sq mi), and Anatom
or Aneityum (159 km²/65 sq mi).
Most of the islands are mountainous, of
volcanic origin and have a tropical or
sub-tropical climate.
The nation's largest towns are the capital
Port Vila, situated on Efate, and Luganville
on Espiritu Santo.
The highest point in Vanuatu is Mount
Tabwemasana, at 1879 m (6158 ft), on the
island of Espiritu Santo.
There are several active volcanoes in
Vanuatu, including Lopevi, as well as
several underwater ones.
Volcanic activity is common with an
ever-present danger of a major eruption,
the last occurred in 1945.
Rainfall averages about 2,360 millimetres
(93 in) per year but can be as high as 4,000 mm
(157 in) in the northern islands.
Vanuatu is recognised as a distinct terrestrial
ecoregion, known as the Vanuatu rain forests.
It is part of the Australasia ecozone, which
includes New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands,
Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand.
Administrative divisions
Vanuatu has been divided into six
provinces since 1994.
The names in English of all provinces are
derived from the initial letters of
their constituent islands:
Malampa (Malakula, Ambrym, Paama)
Penama (Pentecost, Ambae, Maewo - in French:
Pénama)
Sanma (Santo, Malo)
Shefa (Shepherds group, Efate - in French:
Shéfa)
Tafea (Tanna, Aniwa, Futuna, Erromango,
Aneityum - in French: Taféa)
Torba (Torres islands, Banks islands)
Provinces are autonomous units with their
own popularly elected local parliaments
known officially as provincial councils.
They collect local taxes and make by-laws in
local matters like tourism, the provincial
budget or the provision of some basic services.
They are headed by a chairman elected from
among the members of the local parliaments
and assisted by a secretary appointed by
the Public Service Commission.
Their executive arm consists of a provincial
government headed by an executive officer
who is appointed by the Prime Minister with
the advice of the minister of local government.
The provincial government is usually formed by
the party that has the majority in the provincial
council and, like the national government, is
advised in Ni-Vanuatu culture and language by the
local council of chiefs.
The provincial president is constitutionally a
member of the electoral college that elects
the President of Vanuatu.
The provinces are in turn divided into
municipalities (usually consisting of
an individual island) headed by a council
and a mayor elected from among the
members of the council.
Up to this day almost 77.923% of the
population speak French.
Politics
Vanuatu has a parliamentary democracy
political system which is currently
headed by a President who has, primarily,
ceremonial powers and who is elected
for 5-year terms by a two-thirds majority
in an electoral college.
This electoral college consists of members
of Parliament and the presidents of
Regional Councils.
The President may be removed by the
electoral college for gross misconduct
or incapacity.
The Prime Minister, who is the head of
government, is elected by a majority vote
of a three-fourths quorum of the Parliament.
The prime minister, in turn, appoints the
Council of Ministers, whose number may not
exceed one-fourth of the number of
parliamentary representatives.
The prime minister and the Council of
Ministers constitute the executive
government.
The Parliament of Vanuatu is unicameral
and has 52 members who are elected by
popular vote every four years, unless
earlier dissolved by a majority vote
of a three-fourths quorum or by a
directive from the President on the
advice of the Prime Minister.
The national Council of Chiefs, called
the Malvatu Mauri and elected by district
councils of chiefs, advises the government
on all matters concerning ni-Vanuatu
culture and language.
Government and society in Vanuatu tend
to divide along linguistic French and
English lines.
Forming coalition governments, however,
has proved problematic at times due to
differences between English
and French speakers.
The Supreme Court consists of a chief
justice and up to three other judges.
Two or more members of this court may
constitute a Court of Appeal.
Magistrate courts handle most routine
legal matters.
The legal system is based on British
common law and French civil law.
The constitution also provides for the
establishment of village or island
courts presided over by chiefs to
deal with questions of customary law.
Foreign relations and military
Vanuatu has joined the Asian Development Bank,
the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund,
the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, la
Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.
Since 1980 Australia, the United Kingdom (UK),
France, and New Zealand have provided the bulk
of Vanuatu's development aid.
Direct aid from the UK to Vanuatu ceased in 2005
following the decision by the AUS to no longer
focus on the Pacific.
However, more recently new donors such as the
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and the
People's Republic of China have been providing
increased amounts of aid funding.
In 2005 the MCA announced that Vanuatu was one of
the first 15 countries in the world selected to
receive support - an amount of US$65 million was
given for the provision and upgrading of key
pieces of public infrastructure.
Vanuatu retains strong economic and cultural
ties to Australia, the European Union
(in particular France) and New Zealand.
Australia now provides the bulk of external
assistance, including to the police force,
which has a paramilitary wing.
Vanuatu's military consist of a small,
mobile, corps of 300 volunteers.
The Vanuatu Police Force (VPF)
includes the paramilitary Vanuatu
Mobile Force (VMF).
Total military expenditures are not
available.
Economy
The economy is based primarily on subsistence
or small-scale agriculture, which provides a
living for 65% of the population.
Fishing, cattle farming, offshore financial
services, and tourism (with about 50,000
visitors in 1997) are other mainstays
of the economy.
Mineral deposits are negligible.
The country has no known petroleum
deposits.
A small light-industry sector caters
to the local market.
Tax revenues come mainly from import
duties and a 12.5 percent VAT on goods
and services.
Economic development is hindered by
dependence on relatively few commodity
exports, vulnerability to natural disasters,
and long distances between constituent
islands and from main markets.
A severe earthquake in November 1999,
followed by a tsunami, caused extensive
damage to the northern island of Pentecote,
leaving thousands homeless.
Another powerful earthquake in January 2002
caused extensive damage in the capital, Port
Vila, and surrounding areas, and was also
followed by a tsunami.
Another earthquake of 7.2 struck on
2 August 2007.
GDP rose less than 3%, on average,
in the 1990s.
In response to foreign concerns the
government has promised to tighten
regulation of its offshore
financial centre.
In mid-2002, the government stepped up
efforts to boost tourism.
Australia and New Zealand are the main
suppliers of Vanuatu's foreign aid.
Vanuatu is a tax haven that until 2008 did
not release account information to other
governments or law-enforcement agencies.
International pressure, mainly from Australia,
influenced the Vanuatu government to begin
adhering to international norms to improve
transparency.
In Vanuatu, there are no income tax, no
withholding tax, no capital gains tax, no
inheritance taxes, or exchange controls.
A disproportionately large number of
ship-management companies choose to flag
their ships under the Vanuatu flag,
because of the tax benefits and
favourable labour laws.
Several file-sharing groups, such as the
providers of the KaZaA network of Sharman
Networks and the developers of WinMX,
have chosen to incorporate in Vanuatu to
avoid regulation and legal challenges.
The ninth season of the reality TV series
Survivor was filmed on Vanuatu, entitled
Survivor: Vanuatu-Islands of Fire.
Two years later, Australia's Celebrity
Survivor was filmed at the same
location used by the U.S. version.
Demographics
Vanuatu has a population of 221,506.
Most is rural, though Port Vila and Luganville
have populations in the tens of thousands.
The inhabitants of Vanuatu, or Ni-Vanuatu, are
in the majority (98.5%) of Melanesian descent,
with the remainder made up of a mix of Europeans,
Asians and other Pacific islanders.
Three islands were historically colonised
by Polynesians.
About 2,000 Ni-Vanuatu live and work in
New Caledonia.
In 2006 the New Economics Foundation and Friends
of the Earth environmentalist group rated Vanuatu
as the happiest place to live out of 178 nations
all over the world using the
Happy Planet Index.
Culture
Vanuatu culture retains a strong diversity
through local regional variations and
through foreign influence.
Vanuatu may be divided into three major
cultural regions.
In the north, wealth is established by
how much one can give away.
Pigs, particularly those with rounded tusks,
are considered a symbol of wealth
throughout Vanuatu.
In the centre, more traditional Melanesian
cultural systems dominate.
In the south, a system involving grants
of title with associated privileges
has developed.
Young men undergo various coming-of-age ceremonies
and rituals to initiate them into manhood,
usually including circumcision.
Languages
There are three official languages: English,
French, and Bislama.
Bislama is a pidgin language, and now a
creole in urban areas, which essentially
combines a typically Melanesian grammar
with a mostly English vocabulary.
It is the only language that can be
understood and spoken by the majority
of Vanuatu's population as a second language.
In addition 113 indigenous languages are
still actively spoken in Vanuatu.
The density of languages, per capita,
is the highest of any nation in the world
with an average of only 2000 speakers
per language.
All of these vernacular languages belong
to the Oceanic branch of the
Austronesian family.
Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion in
Vanuatu, consisting of several denominations.
The Church, adhered to by about
one third of the population, is the largest of them.
Roman Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian are the
common denominations.
Others are the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
the Church of Christ,
Neil Thomas Ministries (NTM),
as well as many other religious
sects and denominations.
Because of the modernities that the military
in World War II brought with them when they
came to the islands, several cargo
cults developed.
Many died out, but the
John Frum cult on
Tanna Island
is still large, and has adherents
in the parliament.
Also on Tanna is the Prince Philip Movement,
which reveres the United Kingdom's Prince Philip.
Villagers of the Yaohnanen tribe believed in an
ancient story about the pale-skinned son of a
mountain spirit venturing across the seas to
look for a powerful woman to marry.
Prince Philip, having visited the island with
his new wife Queen Elizabeth, fitted the
description exactly and is therefore revered
and even held as a god around the isle of Tanna.
Islam in Vanuatu is made up of about 200
converts and growing fast.
It was introduced by Hussein Nabanga who
converted to Islam while training to be
a Christian missionary.
Music
Traditional music (known in Bislama as
kastom singsing or kastom tanis) is
still thriving in the rural areas of Vanuatu.
Musical instruments consist mostly of idiophones:
drums of various shape and size, slit gongs, as
well as rattles, among others.
In various regions, aerophones, such as whistles
or bamboo flutes, are or used to be played;
membranophones and chordophones were also
found in some areas, but have fallen into
disuse during colonial times.
The large slit gongs which symbolize Vanuatu
belong to these traditional instruments; they
were most often used as musical drums to
accompany certain dances, but also sometimes
- though seldom - as a ritual means of
communication; although widespread throughout
Vanuatu, they are used vertically only in
central areas of the archipelago (mainly on Ambrym).
Traditional music is actually a very general cover
term encompassing a wide and complex variety of
musical genres known by every local community -
in a way very similar to the vague term classical
music of Western societies.
Another musical genre that has become widely popular
during the 20th century in all areas of Vanuatu,
is known as string band music.
It combines guitars, ukulele, and popular songs.
More recently the music of Vanuatu, as an industry,
grew rapidly in the 1990s and several bands have
forged a distinctive ni-Vanuatu identity.
Popular genres of modern commercial music, which
are currently being played in town include zouk
music and reggaeton.
Reggaeton, a variation of hip-hop rapped in Spanish,
played alongside its own distinctive beat,
is especially played in the local nightclubs of
Vanuatu with, mostly, an audience of
Westerners and tourists.
Sport
Sport varies depending on the gender of
those involved.
Volleyball is considered a 'girls' sport'
and males play Football.
Education
In Port Vila, and three other centres, are
locations of the University of the South
Pacific, an educational institution co-owned
by twelve Pacific countries.
The campus in Port Vila, known as the Emalus
Campus, houses the University's law school.
For more information about
Vanuatu see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This page was retrieved and condensed from
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanuatu)
see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, May 2008.
All text is available under the terms of the
GNU Free Documentation License
(see
Copyrights for details).
About Wikipedia
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This information was correct in May 2008. E. & O.E.
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