officially Republic of Vanuatu
Island country, South Pacific Ocean.
It consists of a chain of 12 principal and 60 smaller islands. Area: 4,707 sq mi (12,190 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 207,000. Capital: Espíritu Santo , Malekula, Efate, Ambrim, Erromango, Tanna, Epi, Aneityum, and Maéwo and the Pentecost Islands. The larger islands are volcanic in origin and mountainous; there are several active volcanoes. Some of them, especially Efate and Malekula, have good harbours. The highest point is Mount Tabwémasana (6,165 ft [1,879 m]) on Espíritu Santo. The developing free-market economy is based mainly on agriculture, cattle raising, and fishing. Tourism is increasingly important. Vanuatu is a republic with a single legislative house; its head of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. The islands were inhabited for at least 3,000 years by Melanesian peoples before being discovered in 1606 by the Portuguese. They were rediscovered by French navigator Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768, then explored by English mariner Capt. {{link=Cook, James">James Cook in 1744 and named New Hebrides. Sandalwood merchants and European missionaries arrived in the mid-19th century; they were followed by British and French cotton planters. Control of the group was sought by both the French and British, who agreed in 1906 to form a condominium government. During World War II a major Allied naval base was on Espíritu Santo; Vanuatu escaped Japanese invasion. New Hebrides became the independent Republic of Vanuatu in 1980. Much housing was ravaged by a hurricane in 1987.