5 things about Vanuatu, whose citizenship fugitive Lalit Modi has taken

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Here are 5 things you need to know about Vanuatu.

1. 01

   Vanuatu is made up of 83 volcanic islands

   Comprising 83 fairly small volcanic islands, of which only 65 are inhabited, Vanuatu lies to the east of Australia and the north of New Zealand. Its northern- and southern-most islands lie 1,300 km apart — roughly the distance between Delhi and Kolkata as the crow flies.

   The country boasts a total land area of 12,199 sq km, about one and a half times that of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (8,249 sq km). Only 14 of Vanuatu’s islands have an area greater than 100 sq km. The largest, Espiritu Santo, boasts an area of 3,955 sq km or roughly 32% of the land area of Vanuatu.

   The country’s capital Port Vila lies on the island of Efate, the third largest in Vanuatu with an area of nearly 900 sq km. Port Vila is also the largest city in Vanuatu, with a population of 49,034 according to the 2020 Census. It is located 2,394 km east of Cairns, Australia.

2. 02

   Vanuatu has several active volcanoes

   Vanuatu has several active volcanoes, including ones that lie underwater. Volcanic activity is common, and poses an ever-present danger to the islands’ inhabitants.

   One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the world over the past 10,000 years occurred in circa 1,450 CE in Vanuatu, some 100 km north of Efate. Known as the Tombuk eruption, it destroyed the Kuwae island, and led to the formation of two smaller islands — Epi and Tongoa. Scientists link the eruption to a major spike of sulfates in the atmosphere, the evidence of which is recorded in the polar ice. The event is believed to have contributed to a period of global cooling.

   Yasur on the southern island of Tanna is one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world. It has been erupting continuously for as long as the past 800 years, sending plumes of ash and smoke in the sky, and periodically sending lava down its slope.

3. 03

   Vanuatu’s population is less than half of Noida

   According to its 2020 census, Vanuatu’s population that year was 300,019 — less than half the population of Noida (637,272) in 2011 (the last time India held its census exercise). The average annual population growth between 2009 and 2020 was 2.3%, and the population density in 2020 was 24 persons per sq km, almost half the estimated population density of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (46) in 2011.

   More than 93% of Ni-Vanuatu, as the people of Vanuatu are called, were Christians, according to the 2020 census. Protestants made up 75% of the population, with the Presbyterian Church being the largest religious denomination in the country (80,060 followers). The country has a homogenous population with 99% of its people being Ni-Vanuatu, a group of closely related melanasian ethnic groups.

   Bislama is the national language, while French and English are official languages.

4. 04

   Vanuatu was a once an Anglo-French condominium

   The islands were first inhabited some 3,000 years ago by people belonging to the Lapita culture of northern Philippines. Over time, however, the Lapita people lost their cultural unity, as communities evolved locally, separated by hundreds of kilometres of sea. (There is evidence of limited trade among Vanuatu islands as well as between Vanuatu and other South Pacific islands such as Fiji).

   Sailing for the Spanish crown, Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606 became the first European to arrive at Vanuatu’s shores. He stayed for about a month at Esperito Santo, during which he reported rather hostile interactions with its inhabitants.

   After this, Europeans — this time the French — did not return until 1768. The islands were extensively explored by British explorer James Cook in 1764, who called them New Hebrides, a name that stuck until 1980. By the 19th century, French and British settlers and missionaries started arriving. But for almost a century, neither country officially claimed these islands as colonies.

   In 1906, France and the UK agreed to administer the islands jointly creating a unique Anglo-French Condominium,with two separate governmental, legal, judicial and financial systems, but a joint court. The colonial era lasted till 1980, when New Hebrides became independent and was officially named Vanuatu.

5. 05

   As much as 30% of Vanuatu’s revenue comes from selling its citizenship

   Vanuatu’s economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population, the country’s official website stated.

   Coconut is farmed for copra — its dried white flesh from which oil is extracted. Kava, a plant of the pepper family used to make a commonly consumed beverage with sedative, anaesthetic, and mild euphoriant properties, is the other major crop. Some cocoa is grown and cattle are raised for export purposes.

   Other economic activities include fishing, which is mostly done at subsistence level, and tourism. The wreckage of SS President Coolidge, an American ocean liner that was sunk during World War II, attracts recreational divers from around the world.

   Over the past five decades, Vanuatu has emerged as a tax haven. It does not charge personal income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and wealth tax, and reporting norms are lax. Connected to this, Vanuatu also sells its citizenship for between $ 135,500 to $155,500 (Rs 1.18 crores to Rs 1.35 crores) in what is considered to be one of the most popular citizenship by investment schemes in the world. Offshore financial services and sale of citizenship accounts for a significant chunk of Vanuatu’s revenue — as much as 30%, the BBC reported in 2019.