U.S. Department of State Background Notes: Vanuatu, June 1996 Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Prepared and released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Pacific Island Affairs June 1996 Official Name: Republic of Vanuatu PROFILE Geography Area: Land--12,200 sq. km. (4,707 sq. mi.), includes more than 80 islands. Comparative area-- about the size of Connecticut. Cities: Capital--Port Vila (on the island of Efate), pop. 30,000 (1993). Other towns--Luganville (on the island of Espiritu Santo, also known as Santo). Terrain: Mostly mountains of volcanic origin, narrow coastal plains. Climate: Tropical. People Nationality: Noun and adjective: ni-Vanuatu. Population (1995 est.): About 168,400. Annual growth rate (1995 est.): 2.7%. Ethnic groups: 94% ni-Vanuatu; 4% European; 2% other Pacific Islanders, Asian Religion: Predominantly Christian. Languages: Bislama (Pidgin), English, French, over 100 tribal languages. Education: Years compulsory--6 primary; enrollment in primary is 94% with rapid fall-off to less than 20% in secondary and upper secondary. Adult Literacy Rate (1991): 70% Health: Infant mortality rate (1994)--69/1,000. Life expectancy (1994)- -64 yrs. Work force (66,290, 1989): Agriculture--75% Manufacturing--1.3% Construction--2% Trade, Restaurants, Hotels-- 4.1% Transport and Communication--1.6% Financial Services--1% Community, Social and Personal Services--11.9% Government Type: Parliamentary democracy. Independence: July 30, 1980. Constitution: July 30,1980. Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister. .(head of government). Legislative--unicameral (50-member parliament). Judicial--Supreme Court. Administrative subdivisions: 6 administrative districts. Political parties: Vanua'aku Pati, Union of Moderate Parties, .Melanesian Progressive Party, National United Party, People's Democratic Party, Tan Union Party, Nagriamel Party, Friend Melanesian Party. Suffrage: Universal over 18. National holiday: July 30 Flag: A yellow Y with a black border horizontally divides the flag into three parts. The open end is closest to the staff. Above this division is red, below is forest green. The triangle remaining is black with a yellow pig tusk curved around crossed palm fronds. Economy GDP (1993): $199 million. Per capita income (1993): $1,243. Real growth rate (1993): 3.8%. Avg. inflation rate (1993): 5.4%. Natural resources: Forests, agricultural land, marine resources. Agriculture: Products--copra, cocoa, coffee, cattle, timber. Industry: Types--copra production, beef processing, sawmilling, tourism, financial services. Trade (1994): Exports--$20.7 million: copra 37%, beef and veal 19%, cocoa 9%, shells 4%, timber 13%, other 18%. Major markets--EEC 33%, Japan 24%, Bangladesh 16%, Australia 8%, New Caledonia 6%, South Korea 3%. Imports--$85.1 million: machines and transport equipment 31%, food and animals 16%, basic manufactures 20%, misc. manufactured goods 12%, mineral fuels 7%, chemicals 7%, other 7%. Major suppliers--Australia 38%, New Zealand 13%, Japan 10%, France 7%, New Caledonia 6%, Hong Kong 6%, Fiji 5%. Official exchange rate (Sep. 1995): 115 vatu=US $1. Economic aid received (1994): $ 12.9 million (bilateral $9.7 million, multilateral $3.2 million) Membership in International Organizations UN and its specialized and related agencies, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF); South Pacific Commission; South Pacific Forum; Non-Aligned Movement; Commonwealth, Group of 77; Asian Development Bank (ADB). GEOGRAPHY Vanuatu is a 'Y' shaped archipelago that comprises 80 islands. It is located 2,172 kilometers (1,303 mi.) northeast of Sydney and 5,750 kilometers (3,450 mi.) southwest of Honolulu. Fiji lies to the east, New Caledonia to the south, and the Solomon Islands to the northwest, all within the area of the South Pacific called Melanesia. The two largest islands, Espiritu Santo (or Santo) and Malakula, account for nearly one-half of the total land area. They are volcanic, with sharp mountain peaks, plateaus, and lowlands. The last volcanic eruption was in 1945. The larger islands of the remaining half also are volcanic but are overlaid with limestone formations; the smaller ones are coral and limestone. Rainfall averages about 2,360 millimeters (94 in.) per year but can be as high as 4,000 millimeters (160 in.) in the northern islands. PEOPLE The population of Vanuatu is 94% indigenous Melanesian. About 30,000 live in the capital, Port Vila. Another 9,600 live in Luganville (or Santo Town) on Espiritu Santo. The remainder live in rural areas. Approximately 2,000 ni-Vanuatu live and work in New Caledonia. Although local pidgin, called Bislama, is the national language, English and French also are official languages. Indigenous Melanesians speak 105 local languages. Christianity has had a profound influence on ni-Vanuatu society, and an estimated 87% of the population is affiliated with a Christian denomination. The majority is Protestant; the Anglican Church, the Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church all have numerous adherents. HISTORY The prehistory of Vanuatu is obscure; archaeological evidence supports the commonly held theory that peoples speaking Austronesian languages first came to the islands some 4,000 years ago. Potsherds have been found dating back to 1300-1100 B.C. The first island in the Vanuatu group discovered by Europeans was Espiritu Santo, when in 1606 the Portuguese explorer, Pedro Fernandez De Quiros, spied what he thought was a southern continent. Europeans did not return until 1768, when Louis Antoine de Bougainville rediscovered the islands. In 1774, Captain Cook named the islands the New Hebrides, a name that lasted until independence. In 1825, trader Peter Dillon's discovery of sandalwood on the island of Erromango began a rush that ended in 1830 after a clash between immigrant Polynesian workers and indigenous Melanesians. During the 1860's, planters in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Samoa Islands, in need of laborers, encouraged a long-term indentured labor trade called "blackbirding." At the height of the labor trade, more than one-half the adult male population of several of the Islands worked abroad. It was at this time that missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant arrived on the islands. Settlers also came, looking for land on which to establish cotton plantations. When international cotton prices collapsed, they switched to coffee, cocoa, bananas, and, most successfully, coconuts. Initially, British subjects from Australia made up the majority, but the establishment of the Caledonian Company of the New Hebrides in 1882 soon tipped the balance in favor of French subjects. By the turn of the century, the French outnumbered the British two to one. The jumbling of French and British interests in the Islands brought petitions for one or another of the two powers to annex the territory. In 1906, however, France and the United Kingdom agreed to administer the islands jointly. Called the British-French Condominium, it was a unique form of government, with separate governmental systems that came together only in a joint court. Melanesians were barred from acquiring the citizenship of either power. Challenges to this form of Government began in the early 1940s. The arrival of Americans during World War II, with their informal demeanor and relative wealth, was instrumental in the rise of nationalism in the islands. The belief in a mythical messianic figure named John Frum was the basis for an indigenous cargo cult (a movement attempting to obtain industrial goods through magic) promising Melanesian deliverance. The first political party was established in the early 1970s and originally was called the New Hebrides National Party. One of the founders was Father Walter Lini, who later became Prime Minister. Renamed the Vanua'aku Pati in 1974, the party pushed for independence; in 1980, the Republic of Vanuatu was created. GOVERNMENT The Constitution created a republican political system headed by a president who has ceremonial powers only. Elected by a two-thirds majority in an electoral college consisting of members of Parliament and the presidents of Regional Councils; the President serves a five- year term. The President may be removed by the electoral college for gross misconduct or incapacity. The head of Government is the prime minister, who 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. Parliament is a 50-member unicameral house elected by all persons over 18 years old. Parliament normally sits for a four-year term unless dissolved by majority vote of a three-fourths quorum or 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. 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 law. The constitution also provides for the establishment of village or island courts presided over by chiefs to deal with questions of customary law. Principal Government Officials President--Jean Marie Leye Lenelcau Manatawai Prime Minister--Maxime Carlot Korman Deputy Prime Minister--Donal Kalpokas Vanuatu does not have an embassy in Washington. Its Mission to the United Nations is located at 866 U.N. Plaza, 4th Floor, Room 41, First Avenue and 48th Street, New York, NY 10017. Vanuatu Maritime Services, which provides information on ship registration in Vanuatu, is located at 120 Broadway, Suite 1743, New York, NY 10271. POLITICAL CONDITIONS Government and society in Vanuatu tend to divide along linguistic-- French and English--lines. Historically 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. One the eve of independence in 1980, Jimmy Stevens' Nagriamel, in alliance with private French interests, declared the island of Espiritu Santo independent of the new government. After negotiations failed, the U.K. and French colonial authorities dispatched a small joint military force which proved ineffective. Following independence, Vanuatu requested assistance from Papua New Guinea, whose forces, transported by Australian military aircraft, restored order on Santo. From then until late 1991, the Vanua'aku Pati (VP) and its predominantly English-speaking leadership controlled the Vanuatu Government, although an internal power struggle resulted in Donald Kalpokas taking over as Prime Minister from Walter Lini in 1991. In December 1991, Maxime Carlot Korman, leader of the Francophone Union of Moderate Parties, was elected Vanuatu's first Francophone prime minister. He formed a coalition government with Walter Lini's breakaway VP faction, now named National United Party (NUP). Carlot Korman survived an opposition vote of no confidence in December 1993. A major issue then, as now, is sustainable forestry. Carlot Korman suspended all licenses held by logging companies on the islands of Erromango and Santo. His government intended to renegotiate some licenses and cancel others as part of a strategy to limit the unsustainable logging of Vanuatu's forests. In 1993 and continuing into 1994, Carlot Korman's government was hit by a strike of public-sector employees, later supported by the Teachers Union. Many strikers lost their jobs. Few qualified replacements were found. Parliament instituted a program of "decentralization" in 1994 to improve the delivery of services to remote areas. The program restructured the previous eleven administrative districts into six districts. Following parliamentary elections on November 30, 1995, Carlot Korman was succeeded by Serge Vohor, a dissident UMP leader who formed a coalition with Lini's NUP. Vohor subsequently resigned and Carlot Korman won the prime ministership back in a February 1996 parliamentary vote with the support of MP's from his faction of the UMP and the Anglophone Unity Front (UF). The UF is a coalition of the VP and several smaller Anglophone parties headed by Donald Kalpokas, who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister. Government control over most media and occasionally strong pressures on the one independent newspaper, together with discrimination and violence against women, remain the major human rights problems. ECONOMY Vanuatu's economy is primarily agricultural; 80% of the population is engaged in agricultural activities that range from subsistence farming to smallholder farming of coconuts and other cash crops. Copra is by far the most important cash crop (making up over 35% of the country's exports), followed by timber, beef, and cocoa. In addition, the government has maintained Vanuatu's pre-independence status as a tax haven and international financial center. About 2,300 registered institutions offer a wide range of offshore banking, investment, legal, accounting, and insurance and trust-company services. Vanuatu has also opened an international shipping register in New York City. Although the gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 1% in 1987 due to the effects of a cyclone, the economy grew about 5% a year in 1989-91. A series of cyclones in early 1992 adversely affected export crops and tourism, and growth in 1992 was negligible. Another cyclone in early 1993 caused a further setback, but improved agriculture production later in the year, together with better export performance (primarily beef) and increased tourist arrivals, resulted in growth of almost 4% for the year. Copra, cocoa and beef account for over 60% of Vanuatu's total exports by value and agriculture accounts for approximately 20% of GDP. Manufacturing is Vanuatu's fastest- growing sector, having more than doubled from 3% to 7.3% of GDP between 1983 and 1990. Tourism is the most important source of foreign exchange of Vanuatu and expanded to contribute 25% of GDP as recently as 1990. That contribution declined to 16-17% in 1992-93. Government consumption accounted for about 26% of GDP in 1990 and forestry for 1%. Vanuatu is a small country, with few commodities produced for export. The result is a chronic trade deficit. Seventy-five percent of its exports are agricultural. In 1994, imports exceeded exports by a ration of over 4 to 1. In order of value, the leading exports in 1994 were copra, beef and veal, cocoa, timber and shells. Vanuatu's largest export is copra, which had an export value of more than $7 million in 1994. Copra is a volatile commodity with widely fluctuating prices. Moreover, Vanuatu's copra is of poor quality. The government has attempted to diversify the economy. However, the value of exported copra continues to exceed the sum of the two next most important export commodities, beef and timber. Vanuatu claims an exclusive economic zone of 680,000 square kilometers and possesses substantial marine resources. Currently only a limited number of ni-Vanuatu are involved in fishing, while foreign fleets exploit this potential. FOREIGN RELATIONS Vanuatu is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. The government simultaneously established diplomatic relations with the United States and the former Soviet Union in July 1986. Vanuatu maintains relations with more than 65 countries, including Russia, the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and Vietnam. However, only Australia, the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, the People's Republic of China, and the European Community maintain embassies, high commissions, or missions in Port Vila. The government's main concern has been to bolster the economy. In keeping with its need for financial assistance, Vanuatu has joined the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique. The government encourages private enterprise, foreign investment, and producer cooperatives. Like other developing countries, Vanuatu is particularly interested in enterprises that add value to local primary products and that provide employment. In less lucrative sectors, the government sets up its own production companies or enters joint ventures with foreign investors. Since 1980, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, and New Zealand have provided the bulk of Vanuatu's development aid. A number of other countries, including Japan, Canada, Germany, and various multilateral organizations, such as the Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific, the U.N. Development Program, the Asian Development Bank, the European Economic Community, and the Commonwealth Development Corporation also provide developmental aid. The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Japan also send volunteers. Vanuatu retains strong economic and cultural ties to Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and France. Australia has provided the bulk of Vanuatu's military assistance, training its paramilitary Mobile Force and also providing patrol boats to patrol Vanuatu's waters. U.S.-VANUATU RELATIONS The United States and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations in 1986. Between 1977 and 1987, Vanuatu received just under $3 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including projects focusing on assisting the transition to indigenous plantation management. In June 1994, the regional USAID office located in Suva, Fiji was closed due to U.S. government budgetary cutbacks. However, the United States remains a major financial contributor to international and regional organizations that assist Vanuatu, including the World Bank, UNICEF, WHO and the U.N. Fund for Population Activities. In 1989, the United States concluded a Peace Corps agreement with Vanuatu. The Peace Corps has met with a warm welcome there and currently has about 20 volunteers in-country. Units of the United States Army first participated in training exercises with the Vanuatu Mobile Force in September 1994 on the island of Efate and the two nations now hold annual bilateral military exercises. Principal U.S. Officials Ambassador--currently vacant (resident in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) The mailing address of the U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea is P.O. Box 1492, Port Moresby (Tel: 675-321-1455; fax: 675-321-3423). TRAVEL NOTES Customs: Passports are required, but visas are not required for stays up to 30 days. Inquire at the British Embassy or nearest consulate for special requirements. Climate and clothing: Lightweight casual clothing is worn year round. Cyclone season is January through April. Telecommunications: There are two AM radio stations and 3,000 telephones. There is one satellite ground station--Pacific Ocean Intelsaat. Vanuatu is 11 hours ahead of Greenwich mean time (12 during daylight savings time). Transportation: Vanuatu has 1,027 kilometers (616 mi.) of highways and three minor ports (Port Vila, Luganville, Palikoulo). Visitors sailing to any of the islands must obtain permission in Port Vila. There are flights scheduled from New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Singapore. Timetables change frequently; check with a travel agent for the most current flights. FURTHER INFORMATION These titles are provided as a general indication of the material published on this country. The Department of State does not endorse unofficial publications. Beasant, John. The Santo Rebellion: An Imperial Reckoning. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984. Oceania, A Regional Study. Washington, D.C.: The American University, 1984. 2d ed. Trumbull, Robert. Tin Roofs and Palm Trees. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1977. Worsley Peter. The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of 'Cargo' Cults in Melanesia. 1968. =========================================== DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S WORLD WIDE WEB SITE The most current Background Notes information can be found on the Department of State's World Wide Web site at http://www.state.gov =========================================== (###)