Leaders:
Chief of State—President Frederick TIMAKATA (since 30 January 1989);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Father Walter Hadye LINI (since 30 July 1980); Deputy Prime Minister (vacant)
Political parties and leaders: National Party (Vanua'aku Pati),
Walter Lini; Union of Moderate Parties, Maxine Carlot;
Melanesian Progressive Party, Barak Sope
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: Parliament—last held 30 November 1987 (next to be held NA); byelections were held NA December 1988 to fill vacancies resulting from the expulsion of opposition members for boycotting sessions; results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(46 total) National Party 26, Union of Moderate Parties 19, independent 1
Member of: ACP, ADB, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC,
IMF, ITU, NAM, SPF, UN, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Vanuatu does not have a mission in
Washington;
US—the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green (bottom) with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow
- Economy Overview: The economy is based primarily on subsistence farming that provides a living for about 80% of the population. Fishing and tourism are the other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light-industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties.
GDP: $120 million, per capita $820; real growth rate 0.7% (1987 est.)