It is composed of over 80 islands, of which around 65 are inhabited. It has 2,528 kilometres (1,571mi) of coastline and a total surface area of 12,189km2 (4,706sqmi). Due to the spread-out islands, it has the 39th largest exclusive economic zone of 663,251km2 (256,083sqmi)[citation needed] (200 nautical miles[1]).
Geology and terrain
A beach on EfateA stream on Efate
The island arc of Vanuatu occur at the boundary of the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates. The oceanic crust of the latter is pushing eastwards under the former, which leads to volcanic activity and earthquakes, and some parts of the islands are being raised up to 2cm (0.79in) per year, exposing raised coral reefs.[2]
Between 1903 and 1905, one of the first major geological works of the region was produced by Australian geologist Sir Douglas Mawson.[3] After spending from April to September 1903 exploring the islands with W.T. Quaife, Mawson produced a report which included the first geological maps of the island of Efate and of the south-west part of Santo.[2] Mawson's detailed report, "The Geology of the New Hebrides", was published in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales in December 1905.[4] Mawson made reference to previous geological and geographical observations made by Commodore Goodenough and local missionaries, as well as English, French, and German workers on the islands. He described the raised coral reefs on the island of Santo and included cross-section drawings of the reefs and Steep Gully in at Havannah Harbour on Efate. He also sailed past and made mention of all of the other islands, and described seeing volcanic activity and experiencing earthquakes. He was unable to land on Tanna and see Yasur first-hand, but derived notes from a local missionary about it.[2] He also took photographs of geological features as well as taking extensive notes on the expedition, which are held in the Polar Collection of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide.[2]
Vanuatu is a parliamentary republic. In 2024 the population of Vanuatu was around 318,007, of whom 99% are Ni-Vanuatu people, with more females than males. The median ages is 24.6 years. There are over 100 indigenous languages; the official ones are the creole English-based language Bislama, English, and French.[1]
Around 26% of the population is urbanised, with most of these living in two cities, Port Vila on Efate (population 53,000) and Luganville on Espiritu Santo. The literacy rate in 2024 was estimated at 88%.[1]
The islands' natural resources include manganese, hardwood forests, and fish.[1]As of 2022[update], 1.6% of its land area was arable, with agricultural land comprising 15.3% of land use. Around 10.3% of that was devoted to permanent crops. Forests cover around 36.3% of the islands.[1] Crops include coconuts, oranges, yams, cabbages, taro, bananas, chillies, chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and cassava.[1]
Closely tied to the Law of the Sea, Vanuatu lays maritime claim to 24 nautical miles (nm) of contiguous zone, 12nm of territorial sea, and 200nm of continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.[1]
Climate
Vanuatu has a tropical climate, more specifically a tropical rainforest climate (Af in the Köppen climate classification), with noticeably wetter and drier months and hot, humid conditions year-round. As the southeast trade winds are almost permanent and tropical cyclones are not rare in Port Vila and Vanuatu, the climate is not equatorial but a maritime trade-wind tropical climate.[5] Rainfall is moderate from December to April.[1]
In March 2015, Cyclone Pam was one of the worst cyclones to ever hit Vanuatu,[6][7][8] and had been described as a worst-case scenario for the country,[9] with the estimated cost of damage being in the hundreds of millions.[10]
↑ "Climatologie" by Pierre Estienne and Alain Godard, Éditions Armand Colin ( ISBN2-200-31042-0), "CHAPITRE XVI 1. Les climats équatoriaux et subéquatoriaux 2. Les climats tropicaux 3. Les climats d'alizé 4. Les climats de montagne LES CLIMATS DE LA ZONE INTERTROPICALE: LES VARIÉTÉS", pages 314, 315 and 322.
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