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Asia and Oceania
Vanuatu |
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Country information
Area: 12,336 sq kms
Population: 215,446 (2008 est)
Capital city: Port Vila
People: 98.7 percent of the population are of ni-vanuatu ethnicity. The remaining 1.3 percent of the resident population divides into different ethnic groups (part ni-vanuatu, other Melanesian, Polynesian, Micronesian, European, and Chinese).
Languages: There are over 130 different vernacular languages in use in Vanuatu but Bislama, which has similarities to the pidgin spoken in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, is the lingua franca of the archipelago. Bislama, English and French are the official languages, with the latter two as the principal languages of education.
Religions: Most Christian denominations are represented, with the Presbyterian church being the largest followed by the Anglican, Catholic and Seventh Day Adventist churches.
Currency: Vatu
Major political parties: Union of Moderate Paties (UMP), national United Party (NUP), Vanua'aku Party (VP), Vanuatu Republican Party (VRP), the Confederation of Greens (CG), John Frum group, People's Progressive Party (PPP), National Community Association (NCA).
Government: Vanuatu is a Republic with a democratically elected government. The Non-Executive State President is elected for a 5-year term by an Electoral College comprised of all the MPs (52) plus the Presidents of the six Provincial Councils. Vanuatu has a unicameral parliament of 52 MPs elected for 4-year terms by universal suffrage with an element of proportional representation. The government elects a Speaker from among its own ranks. Twenty-seven MPs are therefore required to form a government. The Prime Minister is usually, but not always, the leader of the largest parliamentary party.
Head of State: H.E. Kalkot Matas Kelekele
Prime Minister: Hon Edward Natapei
Foreign Minister: Hon Bakoa Kaltongga
Membership of international groups/organisations: United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Health
Low to moderate malaria risk -predominantly due to P. falciparum that exists throughout the year in the whole country.
Source: WHO - http://www.who.int/ith/countries/vut/en/.
