Social conditions
In 2008, Vanuatu had 1 doctor per 8,500 residents and 17 hospital beds per 10,000 residents. Visit AbbreviationFinder to see the definitions of VUT and acronym for Vanuatu. The medical density is among the lowest in the Pacific region, but the treatment options are well spread in different parts of the country, with health centers and simple rural hospitals as well as hospitals in Port Vila and Luganville. In 2011, healthcare costs corresponded to 4.1 percent of GDP.
During the 2000s, the rate of urbanization in the country has increased, which has caused sanitary problems in population-dense areas. Similarly, unemployment has increased as more and more people are looking for work in the capital. Check to see Vanuatu population.
The Constitution provides that all land should belong to the natives. Government permits are required for the sale of land to foreigners. The traditional chieftains still have some influence.
The shortage is large in educated, domestic labor, and foreigners dominate in the modern part of business.
Vanuatu Geopolitics
Vanuatu is an island state in the South Pacific Ocean. He is a member of leading organizations in the area: the Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) and the Pacific Community Secretariat (Spc). It was also the first South Pacific country with close ties to the United States to become a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. Vanuatu maintains relations with the former colonial powers, France and the United Kingdom, which in 1906 gave birth to a form of joint administration of the islands, giving them the name of New Hebrides. It has been independent since 1980 and is a parliamentary republic. Domestic politics has traditionally been characterized by a high level of fragmentation and instability. The elections for the renewal of the parliament (consisting of 52 seats) were no exception, held in October 2012 and won by Sato Kilman who, however, left the office of prime minister after less than a year. He was succeeded by two prime ministers: Moana Carcasses, leader of the Confederation of the Greens, and Joe Natuman, former foreign minister, who also remained in office for less than a year each. In June 2015, parliament re-elected Kilman as prime minister with a very narrow majority.
About 94% of the population is Melanesian (Ni-Vanuatu), 4% is French and 2% are of Vietnamese or Chinese descent, or come from nearby Pacific islands. The majority of Vanuatesi are Christian (31% are Presbyterian, 13% Anglican and 13% Catholic).
The Vanuatese economy is based on the primary sector and services. More than half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture and the agricultural sector, while accounting for only 28% of GDP, generates about three quarters of annual exports. The tourism sector is also significant, however it has been hit by the international economic crisis and has thus contributed to the reduction of the GDP growth rate.
During 2015, the cyclone Pam, which hit the archipelago in March, and the subsequent drought caused serious damage to the economy of the country which contracted by 2%. Finally, Vanuatu is an important offshore financial center and since 2003 it has been committed to collaborating with the OECD to improve transparency and the exchange of information in tax matters. The use of the country as a tax haven has also generated considerable tensions with Australia, whose police arrested Kilman’s secretary in April 2012 on charges of tax fraud.
The country is dependent on imports, mostly from China, South Korea and Singapore. It mainly exports basic products (the main one is dried coconut pulp, from which fats and oils are obtained), on which prices it ends up depending. The European Union (Eu) guarantees preferential treatment to its imports, as a member of the Acp Group, but the main partners remain Thailand and Japan.
An increase in foreign trade could derive from participation in the WTO, of which Vanuatu joined in 2012. The entry, however, could undermine some vested interests, threatened by the opening to international trade. Lastly, aid from abroad plays an important role in the national economy. The United Kingdom, Australia, France and New Zealand have traditionally been the main foreign donors, recently joined by the USA, the EU and China.