mbassy
in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green
with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all
separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal
Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the
triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two
crossed namele leaves, all in yellow

@Vanuatu:Economy

Economy - overview: The economy is based primarily on subsistence or
small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the
population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with
about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy.
Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum
deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market.
Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is
hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports,
vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main
markets and between constituent islands. The most recent natural
disaster, a severe earthquake in November 1999 followed by a tsunami,
caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecote and left
thousands homeless.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $245 million (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,300 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 24%
industry: 13%
services: 63% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1998 est.)

Labor force: NA

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 32%, industry
3% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $94.4 million
expenditures: $99.8 million, including capital expenditures of $30.4
million (1996 est.)

Industries: food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production: 32 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 30 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams,
coconuts, fruits, vegetables;