Vanuatu Population Pyramid 2016
Vanuatu in 2016
As of 2016, Vanuatu counted 272,087 inhabitants. A decade earlier, in 2006, the population was 215,924; it has grown by 26.0% since.
With a median age of 21.1 years, Vanuatu had a youth dependency ratio of 67.3 and an old-age dependency ratio of 6.7 per 100 people of working age. The pyramid is expansive: its wide base of young cohorts reflects high fertility and a rapidly growing population.
Data source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant) — last updated July 2024.
The fertility rate of Vanuatu was 3.60 births per woman in 2023, above the 2.1 needed to replace each generation.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
A child born there in 2023 could expect to live 71.5 years on average (73.9 years for girls, 69.4 for boys).
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
2,420 immigrants live in Vanuatu, 0.7% of the population.
| Australia | 677 |
| France | 565 |
| New Zealand | 331 |
| New Caledonia | 267 |
| Fiji | 239 |
15,135 people born in Vanuatu live in other countries.
| Australia | 10,208 |
| New Caledonia | 4,021 |
| South Africa | 230 |
| French Polynesia | 210 |
| Fiji | 190 |
Source: United Nations International Migrant Stock 2024.
| Country | Population | Median age | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanuatu | 272,087 | 21.1 | |
| New Caledonia | 283,423 | 32.2 | |
| Solomon Islands | 662,379 | 20.0 | |
| Fiji | 919,166 | 26.9 | |
| Papua New Guinea | 8,961,718 | 22.0 |





