Forgotten World (229): Vanuata
Vanuatu – a string of more than 80 Pacific islands once known as the New Hebrides – achieved independence from France and Britain in 1980. Most of the islands are inhabited and the total population is almost 250,000.
Vanuatu is mountainous and much of it is covered with tropical rain forests. Like most of the area, it is prone to earthquakes and tidal waves. Most of the people live in rural areas and practice subsistence agriculture.
Vanuatu has been spared the unrest which has befallen neighbouring countries such as the Solomon Islands and Fiji, although the largest island, Espiritu Santo, experienced a brief insurrection in 1980