East Asia & Pacific · Lower middle income

Vanuatu: the economy in numbers

Per person: $4,039, or $4,525 at purchasing power parity. Population: 335,169 (2025).

$1.35B+3.1%real GDP growth, 2025

GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #192 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +3.5%.

GDP per capita

$4,039

2025 · #145 of 204

GDP per capita, PPP

$4,525

2025 · #169 of 197

Inflation

0.7%

2025 · IMF forecast 2026: 2.8%

Government debt

36.2%

2025 · % of GDP, general government

Population

335K

2025 · #177 of 217

Unemployment

5.1%

2025 · ILO estimate

Life expectancy

71.7 years

2024

GDP

Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $529 million in 1979, $1.35 billion in 2025.

Current US dollars; “In 2025 dollars” removes US inflationSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

GDP per capita

In 2025 dollars: $4,684 per person in 1979, $4,039 in 2025.

GDP per capitaGDP per capita, PPP (international $)

PPP: purchasing power parity, international dollarsSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Real GDP growth

Average over 2016–2025: 2.4% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1980: 8 of 46.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Inflation

Consumer prices rose 2.03 times from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 26.8% in 1981.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Government debt, % of GDP

Highest since 1991: 46.4% of GDP in 2017. IMF forecast for 2031: 43.9%.

General government (IMF)Central government only (World Bank)

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Population

1960: 64,431 · 2025: 335,169.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Unemployment rate

1991: 8.0% · 2025: 5.1%.

% of the labor force, ILO modeled estimatesSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Life expectancy at birth

1960: 49.8 years · 2024: 71.7 years.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Exports of goods and services

1980: 31.0% · 2024: 25.3%.

% of GDPSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Data by year

Show the year-by-year table

Year	GDP	GDP per capita	Per capita, PPP	Real growth	Inflation	Gov. debt, % GDP	Population	Unemployment	Life expectancy	Exports, % GDP
2031				2.5%^f	2.3%^f	43.9%^f
2030				2.5%^f	2.3%^f	42.4%^f
2029				2.5%^f	2.3%^f	40.8%^f
2028				2.8%^f	2.5%^f	39.1%^f
2027				3.2%^f	3.5%^f	37.5%^f
2026				3.5%^f	2.8%^f	36.6%^f
2025	$1.35B	$4,039	$4,525	3.1%	0.7%	36.2%	335K	5.1%
2024	$1.3B	$3,960	$4,368	3.8%	1.1%	39.1%	328K	5.0%	71.7	25.3%
2023	$1.19B	$3,708	$4,202	5.8%	11.2%	39.2%	320K	5.0%	71.5	28.4%
2022	$1.15B	$3,680	$3,919	5.6%	6.7%	39.2%	313K	5.1%	71.3	15.4%
2021	$1.09B	$3,576	$3,546	−1.2%	2.3%	42.2%	306K	4.8%	70.0	7.9%
2020	$1.02B	$3,404	$3,512	−5.7%	5.3%	42.9%	299K	4.0%	70.4	13.7%
2019	$1.06B	$3,636	$3,762	3.3%	2.8%	39.8%	292K	5.4%	70.8	30.9%
2018	$1.03B	$3,626	$3,668	2.5%	2.3%	40.0%	285K	5.4%	70.6	37.9%
2017	$999M	$3,585	$3,583	4.2%	3.1%	46.4%	279K	5.2%	70.5	37.7%
2016	$909M	$3,340	$3,457	3.6%	0.8%	37.6%	272K	5.2%	70.4	38.1%
2015	$855M	$3,214	$3,379	3.5%	2.5%	32.2%	266K	5.2%	70.2	34.8%
2014	$879M	$3,378	$3,307	3.1%	0.8%	17.8%	260K	5.1%	70.0	43.2%
2013	$863M	$3,393	$3,224	0.5%	1.5%	16.4%	254K	5.0%	70.0	45.4%
2012	$748M	$3,005	$3,227	1.0%	1.3%	17.4%	249K	4.9%	69.9	51.3%
2011	$770M	$3,163	$3,206	3.1%	0.9%	19.3%	243K	4.8%	69.7	45.6%
2010	$671M	$2,815	$3,112	1.3%	2.8%	18.3%	238K	4.7%	69.6	48.7%
2009	$593M	$2,546	$3,108	3.0%	4.3%	19.1%	233K	4.6%	69.4	50.6%
2008	$591M	$2,604	$3,075	5.6%	4.8%	19.2%	227K	5.7%	69.3	46.5%
2007	$516M	$2,334	$2,930	2.9%	3.9%	17.6%	221K	6.9%	69.1	41.6%
2006	$439M	$2,035	$2,842	8.5%	2.0%	20.0%	216K	8.0%	69.1	41.3%
2005	$395M	$1,874	$2,604	5.3%	1.2%	23.8%	211K	8.1%	69.2	45.4%
2004	$365M	$1,774	$2,456	4.0%	1.4%	27.5%	206K	8.4%	69.0	45.6%
2003	$314M	$1,567	$2,357	4.3%	3.0%	34.6%	201K	8.7%	68.9	43.3%
2002	$263M	$1,341	$2,272	−5.2%	2.0%	35.1%	196K	8.6%	68.8	42.3%
2001	$258M	$1,350	$2,419	−3.4%	3.6%	33.5%	191K	8.4%	68.7	38.0%
2000	$272M	$1,460	$2,512	5.9%	2.5%	32.6%	186K	8.3%	68.6	39.2%
1999	$268M	$1,472	$2,373	0.3%	2.0%	27.7%	182K	8.3%	67.9	37.4%
1998	$262M	$1,471	$2,380	1.2%	3.3%	25.4%	178K	8.2%	68.4	42.3%
1997	$273M	$1,562	$2,376	4.9%	2.8%	20.7%	175K	8.2%	68.3	48.9%
1996	$261M	$1,529	$2,275	2.3%	0.9%	20.8%	171K	8.1%	68.2	43.1%
1995	$249M	$1,492	$2,232	1.0%	2.2%	21.8%	167K	8.1%	68.1	41.9%
1994	$234M	$1,431	$2,215	9.1%	2.3%	19.5%	163K	8.1%	68.0	42.5%
1993	$200M	$1,257	$2,036	0.7%	3.6%	18.3%	159K	8.3%	67.7	43.2%
1992	$209M	$1,344	$2,024	2.6%	4.1%	19.0%	156K	7.9%	67.4	42.8%
1991	$201M	$1,326	$1,977	3.1%	6.5%	14.4%	152K	8.0%	67.1	40.0%
1990	$169M	$1,141	$1,901	11.7%	4.8%		148K		66.7	44.2%
1989	$154M	$1,067		1.5%	7.7%		144K		66.0	35.1%
1988	$158M	$1,125		−1.7%	8.8%		141K		65.7	33.3%
1987	$139M	$1,017		−2.9%	16.0%		137K		64.4	33.6%
1986	$126M	$946		−0.2%	4.8%		134K		64.6	32.6%
1985	$132M	$1,012		1.0%	1.1%		130K		63.9	45.7%
1984	$144M	$1,137		9.6%	5.5%		127K		63.5	54.1%
1983	$117M	$947		3.0%	1.7%		124K		63.1	50.9%
1982	$115M	$946		2.0%	6.7%		121K		62.5	36.7%
1981	$114M	$962		4.4%	26.8%		118K		62.0	33.3%
1980	$121M	$1,048		−11.4%	11.2%		116K		61.3	31.0%
1979	$119M	$1,055			4.2%		113K		60.9
1978					6.4%		110K		59.9
1977					5.7%		107K		59.2
1976							103K		58.7
1975							100K		58.1
1974							97.3K		57.6
1973							94.4K		57.0
1972							91.6K		56.4
1971							88.9K		55.9
1970							86.3K		55.3
1969							83.8K		54.8
1968							81.3K		54.2
1967							78.9K		53.7
1966							76.6K		53.1
1965							74.4K		52.5
1964							72.2K		52.0
1963							70.2K		51.5
1962							68.2K		50.9
1961							66.3K		50.4
1960							64.4K		49.8

e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast.

Nearby economies in East Asia & Pacific

Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.

New Caledonia

$29,213 per person (2024)

Fiji

$6,642 per person (2025)

Solomon Islands

$2,086 per person (2025)

Tuvalu

$6,041 per person (2025)

Tonga

$6,547 per person (2025)

Nauru

$14,640 per person (2025)

Samoa

$5,873 per person (2025)

Kiribati

$2,559 per person (2025)

American Samoa · Australia · Brunei · Cambodia · China · Fiji · French Polynesia · Guam · Hong Kong · Indonesia · Japan · Kiribati · Laos · Macao · Malaysia · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nauru · New Caledonia · New Zealand · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau · Papua New Guinea · Philippines · Samoa · Singapore · Solomon Islands · South Korea · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu · Vietnam

Rankings

GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country

Data and methods

GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)