Vanuatu's name derives from the word vanua ("land" or "home"), which occurs in several Austronesian languages, combined with the word tu, meaning "to stand" (from POc *tuqur). Together, the two words convey the independent

Vanuatu is a Y-shaped archipelago consisting of about 83 relatively small, geologically newer islands of volcanic origin (65 of them inhabited), with about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) between the most northern and southern islands. Two of these islands (

Politics
The Republic of Vanuatu is a parliamentary democracy with a written constitution, which declares that the "head of the Republic shall be known as the President and shall symbolise the unity of the nation." The powers of the

According to the 2009 census, Vanuatu has a population of 243,304. Males outnumber females; in 1999, according to the Vanuatu Statistics Office, there were 95,682 males and 90,996

Prehistory
The history of Vanuatu before European colonisation is mostly obscure because of the lack of written sources up to that point, and because only limited archaeological work has been conducted; Vanuatu's volatile geology and

The four mainstays of the economy are agriculture, tourism, offshore financial services, and raising cattle.
There is substantial fishing activity, although this industry

The estimated literacy rate of people aged 15–24 years is about 74% according to UNESCO figures. The rate of primary school enrolment rose from 74.5% in 1989 to 78.2% in 1999 and then