Vanuatu Population
Vanuatu had an estimated population of 335,169 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 177th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.00% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.23% a year.
Vanuatu at a glance
How Vanuatu's population is changing
Vanuatu's population is growing fast: +2.23% a year, which works out to about +7,475 people per year, or +20 a day. Births (27.7 per 1,000) and deaths (5.0 per 1,000) alone would give +2.26% a year; net migration removes about 52 people a year (−0.02%). Roughly one in every 24,511 people on Earth lives in Vanuatu.
Population of Vanuatu since 1960
In 1960, Vanuatu had 64,431 people. By 2025 that was 335,169 — 5.2× larger. The fastest growth came between 1968 and 1978, when the population rose by 35%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 64,431 | — |
| 1970 | 86,266 | +33.9% |
| 1980 | 115,660 | +34.1% |
| 1990 | 148,063 | +28.0% |
| 2000 | 186,281 | +25.8% |
| 2010 | 238,248 | +27.9% |
| 2020 | 298,858 | +25.4% |
| 2025 | 335,169 | +12.1% |
Vanuatu from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Vanuatu at about 27,791 people in 1800; the UN estimates 335,180 in 2025 (12× 1800) and projects 875,476 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 161% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 27,791 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 37,268 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 59,840 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 51,557 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 186,290 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 335,180 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 534,391 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 728,697 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 875,476 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Vanuatu
2 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 335,169. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Port-Vila | 35,901 | GeoNames settlement | 10.71% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 2 | Luganville | 13,397 | GeoNames settlement | 4.00% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Vanuatu compares
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Vanuatu | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #175 |  Bahamas | 403,033 | +20% | compare → |
| #176 |  Iceland | 392,404 | +17% | compare → |
| #178 |  New Caledonia | 295,333 | −12% | compare → |
| #179 |  Barbados | 282,623 | −16% | compare → |
Compare Vanuatu with any country →
Same region (East Asia & Pacific): China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand.
Explore around Vanuatu
Nearest countries
Vanuatu has no land border. Closest by distance:
- New Caledonia 295,333 · 1.1× smaller · compare
Fiji 933,154 · 2.8× the population · compare
Solomon Islands 838,645 · 2.5× the population · compare
Tuvalu 9,492 · 35.3× smaller · compare
In its region
Vanuatu is the 24th most populous of the 37 economies in East Asia & Pacific, holding 0.0% of the region's 2,367,527,180 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Port-Vila, Luganville — all Vanuatu's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Vanuatu when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.