Vanuatu Fact File

Vanuatu Flag

The Pig's tusk and the Namele leaf represent Prosperity and Peace respectively. Yellow is a bright colour that is full of light, and it symbolises the light of Christ which shines over the whole of the Republic of Vanuatu. Vanuatu is a "Y" shaped archipelago and this is represented by the yellow "Y" shape on the flag. The significance of the colours in the flag is as follows:
Black: for Melanesia and the Melanesian race
Red: for unity through blood
Green: for agriculture, the basis of Vanuatu's economy
Yellow: for Christianity

Designer of the National Flag of the Republic of Vanuatu - Malon Kalontas

Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands lying between New Caledonia and Fiji in the South Pacific. Largest of the islands is Espiritu Santo (875 sq mi; 2,266 sq km); other larger islands include Efate, Malekula, Malo, Pentecost, and Tanna. The Capital city and centre of government are in Port Vila on the island of Efate

Currency:   vatu

Official Languages:   Bislama, English and French

Population(approx):   208,869

Area:   12,200 sq km

History

The islands of Vanuatu were first settled about 3,500 years ago by melanesian people from the Solomon Islands and PNG. The islands were sighted by Pedro Fernandes de Queiros of Portugal in 1606 and were charted by the British navigator James Cook in 1774, who named the archipelago New Hebrides after the Scottish islands.

From 1906 the archipelago was ruled by a condominium government, under joint British-French rule until they achieved independence on 30th July 1980, when the country was renamed Vanuatu.

The National Anthem