Vanuatu

Country profile

The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation consisting of 83 individual islands, which is spread with a population of over 299,800 people. It is a volcanic archipelago with several active volcanoes. The climate varies by latitude, from wet tropical in the northern islands to the dryer subtropical in the southern extremes of the archipelago. Vanuatu has extensive natural resources, including forests, uplands, corals, and atolls which provide habitats for unique biodiversity and supplement the livelihoods of the 80% of the population that reside in rural areas.

Disasters resulting from natural hazards are a significant contributor to issues of social deprivation and impede economic development in Vanuatu. Hazard impacts cost on average an estimated 6% of GDP every year. The nation is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its exposure to natural hazards, extensive low-lying coastal zone, development context, and precarious natural resource base. Vanuatu is exposed to hazards including droughts, floods, extreme temperatures, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, and cyclones.