There are a number of airports in Vanuatu. However, not all Vanuatu airports have regularly scheduled flights. We do not list the smallest Vanuatu airports, since there is no way to provide you flights from those airports. AirGorilla offers flights, hotels, and rental car reservations for Vanuatu.
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is a Melanesian island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is located some 1,750 km (1090 mi) east of Australia, 500 km (310 mi) north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji and south of the Solomon Islands.
Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. Europeans began to settle in the area in the late 18th century and in 1906 Britain and France officially claimed the country, jointly managing it through the British-French Condominium. An independence movement was established in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was created in 1980.
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands, of which two — Matthew and Hunter — are also claimed by the French overseas department of New Caledonia. Of all the 83 islands, 14 have surface areas of more than 100 square kilometres, from largest to smallest: Espiritu Santo (3956 sq km), Malakula (2041 sq km), Efate (900 sq km), Erromango (888 sq km), Ambrym, Tanna, Pentecote, Epi, Ambae or Aoba, Vanua Lava, Santa Maria, Maewo, Malo and Anatom or Aneityum.
Most of the islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin, and have a tropical or sub-tropical climate. The nation's largest towns are the capital Port Vila, which is situated on Efate, and Luganville, on Espiritu Santo. There are several active volcanoes in Vanuatu, including Lopevi as well as several underwater ones. Volcanic activity is common with an ever-present danger of a major eruption, the last of which occurred in 1945.
The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism (with about 50,000 visitors in 1997), are 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.
Most of the population is rural, though Port Vila and Luganville have populations in the tens of thousands. The inhabitants of Vanuatu, or Ni-Vanuatu, are in majority (98.5%) of Melanesian descent, with the remainder made up of a mix of Europeans, Asians and other Pacific islanders.
There are three official languages: English, French and Bislama. The latter is a pidgin language which essentially combines a typically Melanesian grammar with a mostly English vocabulary (with marginal influence from French, plus some vocabulary taken from certain indigenous languages). Bislama is the only language which can be understood and spoken by the whole population of Vanuatu, generally as a second language.
In addition, about 110 indigenous languages are still actively spoken in Vanuatu. The density of languages per capita is the highest of any nation in the world, with an average of only 2000 speakers per language. ()
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