Geography

Vanuatu comprises 82 islands (67 inhabited) spread over 800 miles, some 500 miles west of Fiji.  Mountainous and volcanic, the steeper interiors are covered with lush forest, while coconut plantations and other agricultural pursuits dominate the usually narrow coastal plains.  Vanuatu is perched directly on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and suffers frequent earthquakes and active volcanoes.

The climate varies from wet tropical in the north to subtropical in the south; on average, any given part of the country is devastated by a cyclone every 30 years.  The inhospitable terrain has largely spared Vanuatu from large-scale logging; the main scourge has been exotic flora and fauna introduced in the past century.

History

Vanuatu was first settled by Austronesians about 4,000 years ago.  These early Melanesians lived in small clan-based villages, supporting themselves by shifting cultivation, fishing and hunting.  Clans kept to themselves except during raids on neighbors, thus developing very different languages and customs.  Behavior was proscribed by kastom (tradition as relayed by elders).  Ancestors were worshipped and blood feuds, headhunting and cannibalism kept people on their toes.

Britain and France competed to colonize the islands, then joined forces to establish the New Hebrides in 1906 under a 'Condominium', or joint government (critics called it the 'Pandemonium', and it seems they had a point).

Independence came in 1980, over the covert resistance of the French; this led to political instability that dogged the country in its early years, although Vanuatu remained democratic.

People

The population is 183,000.  98% of the people are Melanesian, but there is tremendous cultural diversity.  With 105 native languages, no one with more than 5,000 speakers, Vanuatu has the highest density of languages per capita in the world.  90% also speak Bislama, the lingua franca combining English vocabulary with Melanesian grammar.  80% of the populace leads a rural subsistence lifestyle.

Vanuatu is home to some of the Pacific’s most diverse and traditional peoples.  Local social and religious kastom (custom) is a dominant force in society.  Most Ni-Vanuatu (as they call themselves) are Christian.  There is a very substantial minority who belong to the Jon Frum movement, a peculiar homegrown cult involving (it seems) a black US military person who appeared to islanders around World War II and promised the world, or heaven, or both.  But he has yet to deliver, and the movement seems to be fading.

The UN ranks Vanuatu in the 33rd percentile in terms of quality of life, based on life expectancy, educational achievement and adjusted real income.  This is comparable to its Melanesian neighbors.

Economy

Vanuatu is a middle-income country, with a GNP per capita of about $1,300.  The main resources are tourism, timber and fishing.

Foreign aid accounts for 18% of GNP, or $220 per capita.  This makes Vanuatu the most aid-dependent country in Melanesia.

Tourism is the fastest growing sector of the economy.  There were 52,000 arrivals in 1998.

Sources:  World Bank (1998 data), Dorling Kindersley World Reference Atlas, UNDP Human Development Report, Lonely Planet