Country or area · Melanesia · Oceania · UN WPP 2024

Vanuatu population

Vanuatu population now

344,376

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 339,394–354,126.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 320,408

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 342,562; 95% range, 31 Dec: 339,394–354,126
Median age: 21.4
Aged 65+: 4.5%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 100 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

VUT · 1950–2100 · in brief

Vanuatu in numbers

In mid-2023 there were 320,408 people in Vanuatu: the 182nd-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and less than 0.01% of the world's people. That is 6.2 times its 1950 population of 51,542.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 875 thousand. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 387 thousand to 2.2 million.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 18.7 in 1950 and 21.1 in 2023; the projection has 37.0 in 2100. 4.2% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 17.1% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Its place in the world by population: 182nd in 2023, 176th in 2050, 164th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Martinique in 2026, Guadeloupe in 2030 and the Bahamas in 2036. It is overtaken by Mayotte in 2025.

Population, mid-2023: 320,408
Rank by population, 2023: 182 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: less than 0.01%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +2.35% · +7,362 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 26
Land area, 2023: 12,190 km²
Births, 2023: 8,988
Deaths, 2023: 1,629
Net migration, 2023: 0
Children per woman, 2023: 3.60
Median age, 2023: 21.1 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 71.5 years
In a city, 2025: 17 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 51,542
Projected, mid-2050: 534,388
Projected, mid-2100: 875,478

VUT · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections0500 k1 m1.5 m2 m2.5 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Each column is the population on 1 January of one year; the paper rules cut it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Vanuatu, 1950–2100

Vanuatu: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	51,124		2,145	1,151	7.04	43.9
1951	estimate	51,959		2,211	1,234	7.03	42.2
1952	estimate	52,761		2,282	1,116	7.03	45.3
1953	estimate	53,762		2,357	1,109	7.03	45.8
1954	estimate	54,837		2,437	1,098	7.04	46.5
1955	estimate	56,007		2,513	1,088	7.03	47.1
1956	estimate	57,258		2,582	1,081	7.00	47.7
1957	estimate	58,592		2,647	1,075	6.95	48.2
1958	estimate	60,160		2,718	1,070	6.90	48.8
1959	estimate	61,803		2,787	1,065	6.84	49.3
1960	estimate	63,536		2,857	1,060	6.78	49.8
1961	estimate	65,326		2,927	1,055	6.73	50.4
1962	estimate	67,203		2,996	1,049	6.67	50.9
1963	estimate	69,144		3,068	1,043	6.62	51.5
1964	estimate	71,173		3,138	1,040	6.57	52.0
1965	estimate	73,266		3,213	1,033	6.52	52.5
1966	estimate	75,449		3,306	1,027	6.51	53.1
1967	estimate	77,730		3,406	1,022	6.51	53.7
1968	estimate	80,111		3,486	1,016	6.46	54.2
1969	estimate	82,517		3,565	1,036	6.41	54.8
1970	estimate	84,994		3,647	1,050	6.35	55.3
1971	estimate	87,539		3,741	1,056	6.29	55.9
1972	estimate	90,184		3,837	1,061	6.23	56.4
1973	estimate	92,940		3,928	1,053	6.15	57.0
1974	estimate	95,783		4,012	1,044	6.06	57.6
1975	estimate	98,736		4,106	1,032	5.98	58.1
1976	estimate	101,801		4,194	1,020	5.88	58.7
1977	estimate	104,976		4,290	1,006	5.81	59.3
1978	estimate	108,260		4,418	991	5.77	59.9
1979	estimate	111,666		4,552	962	5.73	60.9
1980	estimate	114,415		4,661	1,277	5.69	61.3
1981	estimate	116,906		4,828	1,236	5.65	62.0
1982	estimate	119,591		4,980	1,201	5.60	62.5
1983	estimate	122,480		5,114	1,170	5.55	63.1
1984	estimate	125,516		5,234	1,146	5.49	63.5
1985	estimate	128,701		5,346	1,126	5.43	63.9
1986	estimate	132,010		5,450	1,090	5.38	64.6
1987	estimate	135,429		5,540	1,113	5.33	64.4
1988	estimate	138,945		5,619	1,043	5.27	65.7
1989	estimate	142,566		5,690	1,035	5.21	66.0
1990	estimate	146,220		5,770	1,009	5.17	66.7
1991	estimate	149,905		5,850	991	5.13	67.1
1992	estimate	153,682		5,921	980	5.09	67.4
1993	estimate	157,535		5,944	971	5.02	67.7
1994	estimate	161,391		5,936	963	4.94	68.0
1995	estimate	165,236		5,908	963	4.85	68.1
1996	estimate	169,039		5,864	967	4.75	68.2
1997	estimate	172,784		5,822	969	4.66	68.3
1998	estimate	176,468		5,844	977	4.60	68.4
1999	estimate	180,158		5,898	1,027	4.56	67.9
2000	estimate	183,938		6,019	994	4.54	68.6
2001	estimate	188,624		6,166	1,023	4.50	68.7
2002	estimate	193,438		6,230	1,049	4.38	68.8
2003	estimate	198,288		6,334	1,077	4.29	68.9
2004	estimate	203,204		6,461	1,108	4.21	69.0
2005	estimate	208,218		6,583	1,129	4.13	69.2
2006	estimate	213,302		6,774	1,168	4.10	69.1
2007	estimate	218,545		7,048	1,206	4.12	69.1
2008	estimate	224,007		7,373	1,234	4.16	69.3
2009	estimate	229,785		7,628	1,266	4.16	69.4
2010	estimate	235,676		7,850	1,303	4.13	69.6
2011	estimate	240,819		8,057	1,342	4.09	69.7
2012	estimate	246,128		8,256	1,379	4.06	69.9
2013	estimate	251,639		8,458	1,422	4.04	70.0
2014	estimate	257,325		8,610	1,467	4.00	70.0
2015	estimate	263,154		8,725	1,505	3.95	70.2
2016	estimate	269,048		8,844	1,529	3.92	70.4
2017	estimate	275,125		8,935	1,565	3.88	70.5
2018	estimate	281,889		8,965	1,586	3.83	70.6
2019	estimate	288,628		8,969	1,604	3.79	70.8
2020	estimate	295,341		8,948	1,715	3.74	70.4
2021	estimate	302,376		8,972	1,773	3.70	70.0
2022	estimate	309,361		8,976	1,617	3.65	71.3
2023	estimate	316,732		8,988	1,629	3.60	71.5
2024	estimate	324,085		9,063	1,645	3.57	71.7
2025	projection	331,470	329,482–333,862	9,119	1,664	3.53	71.8
2026	projection	338,868	334,437–343,759	9,193	1,689	3.50	72.0
2027	projection	346,260	339,394–354,126	9,269	1,716	3.46	72.2
2028	projection	353,675	344,592–363,979	9,359	1,746	3.42	72.4
2029	projection	361,132	349,576–374,394	9,465	1,782	3.39	72.5
2030	projection	368,642	354,625–385,302	9,587	1,820	3.35	72.7
2031	projection	376,215	359,334–396,230	9,714	1,860	3.32	72.9
2032	projection	383,831	363,629–407,451	9,844	1,902	3.28	73.0
2033	projection	391,485	367,448–418,774	9,986	1,946	3.25	73.2
2034	projection	399,263	371,655–429,965	10,130	1,994	3.21	73.3
2035	projection	407,109	375,296–441,944	10,284	2,041	3.18	73.5
2036	projection	415,017	378,986–453,818	10,427	2,089	3.15	73.7
2037	projection	423,007	382,635–465,941	10,580	2,138	3.13	73.8
2038	projection	431,077	386,692–479,900	10,726	2,185	3.10	74.0
2039	projection	439,228	390,369–492,730	10,857	2,235	3.08	74.1
2040	projection	447,403	393,869–506,270	10,980	2,288	3.05	74.3
2041	projection	455,622	397,912–520,232	11,086	2,338	3.03	74.4
2042	projection	463,858	401,620–534,600	11,174	2,389	3.00	74.6
2043	projection	472,162	405,039–548,743	11,247	2,439	2.97	74.7
2044	projection	480,460	408,455–564,645	11,300	2,488	2.94	74.9
2045	projection	488,825	411,112–579,497	11,369	2,538	2.92	75.1
2046	projection	497,154	414,118–594,029	11,431	2,589	2.90	75.2
2047	projection	505,498	416,513–609,872	11,475	2,641	2.88	75.4
2048	projection	513,758	419,746–624,292	11,508	2,692	2.85	75.5
2049	projection	522,029	421,819–641,245	11,528	2,744	2.83	75.7
2050	projection	530,264	423,813–657,590	11,551	2,798	2.81	75.8
2051	projection	538,512	425,788–675,050	11,589	2,855	2.79	76.0
2052	projection	546,662	428,524–693,681	11,629	2,910	2.77	76.1
2053	projection	554,793	430,582–711,145	11,659	2,967	2.75	76.3
2054	projection	562,923	432,335–728,999	11,699	3,022	2.73	76.4
2055	projection	571,003	434,286–746,518	11,747	3,080	2.71	76.6
2056	projection	579,062	437,312–765,637	11,787	3,141	2.69	76.8
2057	projection	587,028	438,039–785,641	11,822	3,201	2.67	76.9
2058	projection	594,992	440,724–806,271	11,858	3,263	2.65	77.1
2059	projection	602,933	442,239–827,345	11,901	3,327	2.63	77.2
2060	projection	610,836	444,284–845,681	11,951	3,395	2.61	77.4
2061	projection	618,681	446,601–866,294	12,004	3,462	2.60	77.5
2062	projection	626,463	446,430–887,641	12,049	3,533	2.58	77.7
2063	projection	634,306	447,210–908,775	12,090	3,601	2.56	77.8
2064	projection	642,151	447,082–933,642	12,145	3,675	2.54	78.0
2065	projection	649,985	446,486–956,267	12,194	3,752	2.53	78.1
2066	projection	657,755	447,485–979,720	12,233	3,831	2.51	78.3
2067	projection	665,493	0.5–1.0 million	12,271	3,912	2.49	78.4
2068	projection	673,158	0.5–1.0 million	12,311	3,993	2.48	78.6
2069	projection	680,751	0.4–1.1 million	12,349	4,074	2.47	78.7
2070	projection	688,283	0.4–1.1 million	12,374	4,154	2.45	78.9
2071	projection	695,779	0.4–1.1 million	12,404	4,235	2.44	79.0
2072	projection	703,249	0.4–1.1 million	12,415	4,319	2.43	79.2
2073	projection	710,653	0.4–1.2 million	12,417	4,403	2.41	79.3
2074	projection	717,965	0.4–1.2 million	12,400	4,482	2.39	79.5
2075	projection	725,144	0.4–1.2 million	12,400	4,562	2.38	79.6
2076	projection	732,242	0.4–1.2 million	12,397	4,641	2.37	79.7
2077	projection	739,258	0.4–1.3 million	12,389	4,719	2.36	79.9
2078	projection	746,138	0.4–1.3 million	12,370	4,797	2.34	80.0
2079	projection	753,015	0.4–1.3 million	12,349	4,871	2.33	80.2
2080	projection	759,755	0.4–1.4 million	12,342	4,943	2.32	80.3
2081	projection	766,361	0.4–1.4 million	12,325	5,014	2.31	80.4
2082	projection	772,889	0.4–1.4 million	12,329	5,088	2.30	80.6
2083	projection	779,317	0.4–1.5 million	12,311	5,162	2.29	80.7
2084	projection	785,692	0.4–1.5 million	12,301	5,236	2.28	80.9
2085	projection	792,008	0.4–1.6 million	12,301	5,317	2.27	81.0
2086	projection	798,211	0.4–1.6 million	12,290	5,396	2.26	81.1
2087	projection	804,225	0.4–1.6 million	12,281	5,475	2.25	81.3
2088	projection	810,184	0.4–1.6 million	12,246	5,556	2.23	81.4
2089	projection	816,037	0.4–1.7 million	12,229	5,647	2.23	81.5
2090	projection	821,745	0.4–1.7 million	12,204	5,736	2.21	81.7
2091	projection	827,382	0.4–1.7 million	12,183	5,830	2.20	81.8
2092	projection	832,904	0.4–1.8 million	12,171	5,921	2.19	81.9
2093	projection	838,358	0.4–1.8 million	12,149	6,018	2.18	82.1
2094	projection	843,767	0.4–1.9 million	12,129	6,114	2.17	82.2
2095	projection	849,041	0.4–1.9 million	12,105	6,216	2.16	82.4
2096	projection	854,169	0.4–2.0 million	12,093	6,326	2.16	82.5
2097	projection	859,086	0.4–2.0 million	12,053	6,432	2.15	82.6
2098	projection	863,956	0.4–2.1 million	12,033	6,539	2.14	82.8
2099	projection	868,676	0.4–2.1 million	12,006	6,642	2.13	82.9
2100	projection	873,271	0.4–2.2 million	11,966	6,754	2.12	83.0

Show the numbers: Vanuatu, mid-2026, by single year of age

Vanuatu: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	4,671	4,376
1	4,625	4,334
2	4,585	4,296
3	4,558	4,270
4	4,548	4,262
5	4,531	4,247
6	4,518	4,235
7	4,501	4,224
8	4,470	4,202
9	4,427	4,169
10	4,361	4,115
11	4,286	4,048
12	4,200	3,967
13	4,092	3,863
14	3,974	3,748
15	3,854	3,633
16	3,726	3,512
17	3,574	3,375
18	3,397	3,214
19	3,218	3,052
20	3,066	2,921
21	2,939	2,816
22	2,814	2,718
23	2,689	2,630
24	2,588	2,580
25	2,494	2,547
26	2,402	2,514
27	2,342	2,508
28	2,320	2,522
29	2,332	2,556
30	2,370	2,601
31	2,404	2,634
32	2,418	2,646
33	2,402	2,629
34	2,351	2,582
35	2,280	2,512
36	2,216	2,438
37	2,166	2,368
38	2,125	2,298
39	2,085	2,225
40	2,033	2,142
41	1,959	2,049
42	1,872	1,954
43	1,777	1,862
44	1,686	1,774
45	1,594	1,685
46	1,502	1,599
47	1,119	1,124
48	936	806
49	1,316	1,084
50	1,539	1,250
51	1,519	1,245
52	1,474	1,224
53	1,406	1,185
54	1,323	1,140
55	1,232	1,088
56	1,144	1,034
57	1,066	982
58	998	927
59	958	901
60	937	901
61	891	887
62	834	862
63	779	833
64	725	802
65	676	769
66	630	734
67	586	700
68	546	662
69	508	623
70	474	583
71	442	543
72	412	496
73	378	441
74	343	386
75	308	334
76	278	290
77	258	251
78	230	209
79	197	171
80	170	144
81	146	120
82	126	99
83	108	81
84	92	67
85	78	56
86	64	45
87	52	37
88	42	30
89	34	26
90	26	22
91	20	18
92	16	15
93	12	12
94	10	10
95	8	9
96	6	8
97	5	6
98	3	5
99	2	3
100+	2	4

VUT · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Vanuatu, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

VUT · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Vanuatu

In Vanuatu the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 183,172 of them.

100 aged 15–64

68 children

7 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: the strip runs 1950 to 2100. Coloured years are the ones with under 50 dependants for every 100 people aged 15–64; grey years are the rest, and a hatched year has not happened yet.

How every country compares

VUT · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Vanuatu, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Vanuatu loses 73 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 5–9, at 20 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 2 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

Its best and worst years between 1950 and 2023: a gain of 3 (1976), and a loss of 1,413 (2010).

In 2024, 3,315 people living in Vanuatu had been born in another country, 1 of every 100 people there, against 2 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

VUT · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Vanuatu

Of every 100 babies born in Vanuatu in 2023, 11 had a mother under 20, 75 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 14 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 11 under 20 and 14 aged 35 or older.

1950
11 · 75 · 14

2023
11 · 75 · 14

2050 · projected
11 · 76 · 13

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 8,988
Average age when women have a baby: 28.1 years; 29.5 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 66; 96 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Vanuatu by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	6	13	24	36	43	18
15–19	238	466	782	981	1,281	835
20–24	652	1,231	1,543	2,560	3,444	2,854
25–29	553	1,061	1,568	2,386	3,040	3,477
30–34	392	744	1,104	1,807	2,278	2,950
35–39	217	419	732	922	1,124	1,426
40–44	74	144	221	268	312	377
45–49	12	27	44	26	28	28
50–54	1	1	1	2	1	1
All babies	2,145	4,106	6,019	8,988	11,551	11,966

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

VUT · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Vanuatu

In Vanuatu, WHO puts the healthy years a newborn could expect in 2021 at 58.7 (95% range 58.0–59.4), out of 66.3 in all. The years in less than full health come to 7.6, below the world's 9.5: shorter lives leave fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

60.7 in full health, 9.1 not: 69.8 years

Men

57.0 in full health, 6.4 not: 63.4 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 60.7 healthy years of 69.8. Men: 57.0 of 63.4. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 59.4.

VUT · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Vanuatu

At the end of 2025, Vanuatu was hosting 7 people who had crossed a border into it, fewer than 1 in every 10,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad7
Vanuatu nationals abroad974

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: count the squares — 20 people each, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Vanuatu living in another country, wherever they are. An outlined square means fewer people than one square stands for.

In 2025, 7 people asked for asylum in Vanuatu for the first time; 292 people from Vanuatu asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from Vanuatu whose claims were decided that year, 1 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

VUT · of every 100 people

How people live in Vanuatu

Of every 100 people in Vanuatu in 2025, 17 lived in a city, 13 in a town or suburb and 70 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

34.5 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

VUT · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Vanuatu went in school

Of every 100 adults in Vanuatu in 2020, 15 never went to school and 19 finished upper secondary or went further.

15 never went to school 21 some primary 28 finished primary 17 finished lower secondary 15 finished upper secondary 4 studied after school

Among women, 9.8 of every 100 aged 25–29 never went to school, against 25.6 of every 100 aged 60–64; among men, 10.8 against 17.1.

Its people aged 15 to 64 are projected to be most numerous in 2080; the ones who finished upper secondary are still growing in 2100.

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every hundredth adult aged 25 or over, from least schooling on the left to most on the right. Counted by the Wittgenstein Centre for 2020.

How far the world's people went in school

VUT · cities · 2025

Cities in Vanuatu

Vanuatu had 1 city in 2025, home to 57,723 people.

Port Vila57,723

How to read this: the one city here in 2025, drawn on a single scale so the bars can be compared. Each is a built-up area on the UN's rule rather than a city government's patch.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Vanuatu are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.