Vanuatu - Geography

Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational Issues

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.

Location

This entry identifies the country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
Location : Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates

This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the locations provided in the Geographic Names Server (GNS), maintained by the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency on behalf of the US Board on Geographic Names.
Geographic coordinates : 16 00 S, 167 00 E

Map references

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Map references : Oceania

Area

This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.
Area - total : 12,200 sq km
Area - land : 12,200 sq km
Area - water : 0 sq km
Area - note : includes more than 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited

Area - comparative

This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Area - comparative : slightly larger than Connecticut

Land boundaries

This entry contains the total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries. When available, official lengths published by national statistical agencies are used. Because surveying methods may differ, country border lengths reported by contiguous countries may differ.
Land boundaries : 0 km

Coastline

This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Coastline : 2,528 km

Maritime claims

This entry includes the following claims, the definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and definitive descriptions
Maritime claims - territorial sea : 12 nm
Maritime claims - contiguous zone : 24 nm
Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone : 200 nm
Maritime claims - continental shelf : 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate

This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
Climate : 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

Terrain

This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Terrain : mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

Elevation extremes

This entry includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
Elevation extremes - lowest point : Pacific Ocean 0 m
Elevation extremes - highest point : Tabwemasana 1,877 m

Natural resources

This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
Natural resources : manganese, hardwood forests, fish

Land use

This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area for three different types of land use
Land use - arable land : 1.64%
Land use - permanent crops : 6.97%
Land use - other : 91.39% (2005)

Irrigated land

This entry gives the number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
Irrigated land : NA

Natural hazards

This entry lists potential natural disasters.
Natural hazards : tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanic eruption on Aoba (Ambae) island began 27 November 2005, volcanism also causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis

Environment - current issues

This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry
Environment - current issues : most of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water; deforestation

Environment

Environment - international agreements - party to : Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94
Environment - international agreements - signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
Geography - note : a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes

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