Vanuatu
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : Republic of Vanuatu
Country name - conventional short form : Vanuatu
Country name - local long form : Ripablik blong Vanuatu
Country name - local short form : Vanuatu
Country name - former : New Hebrides
Government type : parliamentary republic
Capital - name : Port-Vila (on Efate)
Capital - time difference : UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 30 July (1980)
Population : 215,446 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
Nationality - adjective : Ni-Vanuatu
Languages : local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
Currency (code) : vatu (VUV)
Currency code : VUV
Vanuatu is located Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia. The climate is tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April. The terrain is mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980, when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted.
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