Factbook
Histoire de Vanuatu — Chronologie
Dates clés de l'histoire de Vanuatu, d'après le Factbook Magna et l'Encyclopédie universelle.
1600Around 1600, Melanesian Chief ROI MATA united some of the islands of modern-day Vanuatu under his rule.
1606In 1606, a Portuguese explorer was the first European to see Vanuatu's Banks Islands and Espiritu Santo, setting up a short-lived settlement on the latter.
1878With growing and overlapping interests in the islands, France and the UK agreed that the New Hebrides would be neutral in 1878 and established a joint naval commission in 1887.
1906In 1906, the two countries created the UK-France condominium to jointly administer the islands, with separate laws, police forces, currencies, and education and health systems.
1945In 1945, they withdrew and sold their equipment, leading to the rise of political and religious movements known as "cargo cults," such as the John Frum movement.
1974France eventually relented, and elections were held in 1974, with independence granted to the newly named Vanuatu in 1980 under English-speaking Prime Minister Walter LINI.
1980Independence: 30 July 1980 (from France and the UK).
2000Austronesian speakers from the Solomon Islands first settled Vanuatu around 2000 B.C.
2008Since 2008, prime ministers have been ousted more than a dozen times through no-confidence motions or temporary procedural issues.
2018Major urban areas: 53,000 PORT-VILA (capital) (2018) lower-middle income Pacific island economy; extremely reliant on subsistence agriculture and tourism; environmentally fragile; struggling post-pandemic and Tropical Cyclone Harold rebound; sizeable inflation; road infrastructure aid from Australia Inflation: 11.2% (2023 est.).
2020Languages: indigenous languages (more than 100) 82.6%, Bislama (official; creole) 14.5%, English (official) 2.1%, French (official) 0.8% (2020 est.) Religions: Protestant 39.9% (Presbyterian 27.2%, Seventh Day Adventist 14.8%, Anglican 12%, Churches of Christ 5%, Assemblies of God 4.9%, Neil Thomas Ministry/Inner Life Ministry 3.2%), Roman Catholic 12.1%, Apostolic 2.3%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.8%, customary beliefs (including Jon Frum Urban population: 26% of total population (2023).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 74.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 8.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 11.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 12.934 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning Agriculture: coconuts, oranges, yams, cabbages, taro, bananas, chillies/peppers, chestnuts, sweet potatoes, cassava (2023) Electricity access: 70% (2022 est.).
