Vanuatu

geographical environment

Vanuatu is located in the western South Pacific, between 13 to 23 degrees south latitude and 166 to 172 degrees east longitude, with a distance of approximately 850 kilometers from north to south. Located 1900 kilometers east of Brisbane, Australia, 800 kilometers west of Fiji, 230 kilometers north of New Caledonia, and 170 kilometers south of Solomon. Vanuatu belongs to the Melanesian Islands, consisting of 83 islands (of which 68 are inhabited), with the largest island, Santo Island (also known as Saint Espiritu Island), covering an area of 3956 square kilometers. The land area is 860000 square kilometers, including a land area of 12200 square kilometers and a water area of 848000 square kilometers.

Vanuatu belongs to the East 11 Time Zone, and local time is 3 hours earlier than Beijing time, without implementing daylight saving time.

Vanuatu is divided into six provinces and two cities: Torba, Samma, Panama, Malampa, Shefa and Tafia provinces, as well as Vila Port and Luganville cities.

Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu, is located on the island of Effat in Shefa Province (with an area of 980 square kilometers), 2445 kilometers east of Sydney, Australia, 1074 kilometers west of Suva, Fiji, and 555 kilometers north of New Caledonia. It has a population of approximately 55000 and is the political, cultural, commercial, aviation, and shipping center of Vanuatu.

Luganville, located on Santo Island in the Samma Province, has a population of approximately 30000 people and is the economic and transportation center of northern Vanuatu.

1. Natural resources

The original manganese mining in Vanuatu has been exhausted, but newly discovered resources include small amounts of manganese ore, iron ore, nickel, copper, and bauxite, as well as a large amount of white sulfur volcanic ash. Currently, there are no mining operations.

Vanuatu has a forest coverage rate of 75%, of which only 20% has commercial extraction value; The fishery resources are abundant, abundant in tuna.

2. Climate conditions

Vanuatu has a tropical marine climate with an average annual temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. The annual rainfall in the capital city of Vila Port is about 1700 millimeters, with humidity ranging from 70% to 83%. May to October is the dry season, or cool season, and the night is cool, which is the peak season for tourism; November to April of the following year is the rainy season, or hot season, also known as hurricane season. Hurricane is the largest natural disaster in Vanuatu. Vanuatu has superior climate conditions and abundant land resources, making it suitable for the development of agriculture.

3. Population distribution

The population of Vanuatu is approximately 292000 in 2018. Among them, the urban population accounts for about 22%, mainly concentrated in the cities of Port Villa and Luganville; The rural population accounts for approximately 78%. The urban population is mainly engaged in the service industry and small-scale processing industry, and most government employees are also concentrated in the city, making them a relatively high consumer group. Rural people engage in agriculture, animal husbandry, and fishing, providing sources of goods for exports and also providing agricultural and sideline products to cities.

Among the population of Vanuatu, Melanesians account for 98%, while the remaining 2% are French, British, Chinese, Vietnamese and Polynesian immigrants, as well as some nearby island people. 84% of people believe in Christianity. There are about 1000 local Chinese and overseas Chinese, mainly concentrated in Port Villa and the city of Luganville, mainly engaged in retail grocery industry, restaurants, and small hotels.

According to the latest data from the World Bank, the urban population growth rate in Vanuatu was 2.54% in 2017. The labor participation rate for those aged 15 and above is 70.52%. According to the latest data from the World Bank, the natural population growth rate of Vanuatu in 2018 was 2.5%, and the average life expectancy was 72 years; In 2018, approximately 1000 people immigrated to Vanuatu.