Environment - current issues:
a majority of the population does not have access to a potable and
reliable supply of water; deforestation
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands;
several of the islands have active volcanoes
People Vanuatu
Population:
199,414 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.8% (male 35,499; female 33,992)
15-64 years: 61.8% (male 63,021; female 60,149)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 3,605; female 3,148) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 21.9 years
male: 22 years
female: 21.8 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
1.61% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
24.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)