City Australia and Oceania
Port Vila
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu, an island country in the Pacific Ocean. It sits by a calm bay with green islands.
Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It lies at the head of Mele Bay on the southwest coast of the island of Efate, and Universalis calls it the country's economic heart. The 2020 census counted 49,528 people there.
Port Vila, at the head of Mele Bay on Efate's southwest coast, is Vanuatu's largest town, its economic heart and an active commercial port with a cosmopolitan population (Universalis). Census 2020: 49,528 (urban center, Vanuatu National Statistics Office).
Photo: Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Port Vila
Port Vila is a town on an island called Efate. Efate is part of Vanuatu, a country of many islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu.
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu, an island country in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Universalis says it nestles at the head of Mele Bay, on the southwest coast of the island of Efate, and is the largest town in the country and its economic heart.
The 2020 census counted 49,528 people in Port Vila, out of 300,019 in all of Vanuatu, so about one person in six lived in the capital.
Universalis: Port-Vila nestles at the head of Mele Bay on the southwest coast of Efate; the largest town of the country (about 40,000 inhabitants at the end of the 2000s) and its economic heart.
Vanuatu National Statistics Office via City Population: Port Vila urban center 10,601 (census 1979), 18,905 (1989), 29,356 (1999), 44,039 (2009), 51,437 (2016 'mini census'), 49,528 (2020); Vanuatu 300,019 (2020), so 16.5% lived in Port Vila.
- Country
- Vanuatu (capital)
- People in Port Vila (census 2020)
- 49,528
- Where
- at the head of Mele Bay, on the southwest coast of Efate (Universalis)
- Whole country (census 2020)
- 300,019 people
Lagoons and islands from the air
This picture was taken from an airplane. Look at the blue-green water, the little green islands and the white clouds!
Phillip Capper took this photo on 29 November 2006 from a plane flying from Port Vila to Auckland. Below are green hills, houses among the trees, and narrow inlets of blue and turquoise water. Small wooded islands sit in the bay, a large white ship sits on the water, and white clouds roll over the hills behind.
Universalis says Port Vila has an active commercial port.
Commons: Flickr photo by Phillip Capper ('Port Vila, Vanuatu, 29 Nov. 2006'), CC BY 2.0, reviewed by FlickreviewR in 2011; the photographer's description reads 'En route Port Vila to Auckland'.
In the picture: forested ground in front; a turquoise inlet; a grassy slope and houses among trees; a wider lagoon with small wooded islands and a large white ship; low cloud over the hills. The islands are not named by the photographer, so none is identified here.
- Photo
- Port Vila from a plane leaving for Auckland, 29 November 2006
- Iririki
- a small island 1.5 km south-southwest of the city's Wikidata point
- Port
- an active commercial port (Universalis)
A growing island capital
Port Vila has grown a lot. Long ago about 10,000 people lived there. Now about 50,000 do!
Port Vila has grown quickly. The census counted 10,601 people in 1979 and 29,356 in 1999. By 2020 there were 49,528, almost five times as many as in 1979.
Universalis says the town looks French, and its people come from many places: the Ni-Vanuatu, the islands' own people, live alongside British, French, Chinese and Vietnamese residents.
Census counts of the Port Vila urban center (Vanuatu National Statistics Office via City Population): 10,601 (1979), 18,905 (1989), 29,356 (1999), 44,039 (2009), 51,437 (2016 mini census), 49,528 (2020); 49,528 / 10,601 = 4.7.
Universalis: although the town is French in appearance, it has a cosmopolitan population, in which the native people, called Ni-Vanuatu, live alongside British, French, Chinese and Vietnamese people, among others. No opened source gives a founding year.
- Census 1979
- 10,601 people
- Census 2020
- 49,528 people
- People
- Ni-Vanuatu, the islands' own people, alongside British, French, Chinese and Vietnamese residents (Universalis)
Port, airport and islands
Ships come to Port Vila's port. Airplanes land at an airport close to town.
Port Vila is the country's business center, with an active commercial port, Universalis says. Vanuatu's international airport is nearby, about 3.8 kilometers north of the city's center point on Wikidata.
The town also has plants that prepare meat and fish, markets and shopping districts. The photo on this page was taken from a plane on its way from Port Vila to Auckland, the photographer says.
Universalis: Port-Vila is the economic heart of Vanuatu, with an active commercial port, hospitals, hotels, markets and shopping districts, a stadium, a cultural center, a teacher-training institute, a campus of the University of the South Pacific and several meat and fish processing plants; Vanuatu's international airport lies near the town.
Wikidata (from the city point Q37806): the international airport (Q811239) 3.81 km N; Iririki island (Q4203232) 1.50 km SSW.
- Port
- an active commercial port (Universalis)
- International airport
- Vanuatu's international airport lies near Port Vila (Universalis); 3.8 km north of the city point (Wikidata)
- Factories
- meat and fish processing plants (Universalis)
Warm and wet, rainiest early in the year
Port Vila is warm all year. It rains the most from January to March.
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages for Port Vila for 1961 to 1990, the average daily high is 30.3 °C in January and 25.9 °C in July.
Port Vila is wet: about 2,222 millimeters of rain fall in a year. March is the wettest month, with 330.4 millimeters, and September the driest, with 87.2. January, February and March together bring more than 900 millimeters.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Port Vila (17.73° S, 168.32° E; Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department), 1961–1990: mean daily maximum 25.9 °C (July) to 30.3 °C (January); mean daily minimum 19.3 °C (August) to 23.6 °C (February). Rainfall sums to 2,222.1 mm; January to March bring 937.0 mm (42%); March (330.4 mm) is the wettest month and September (87.2 mm) the driest. The monthly rain-day counts add up to 193.
- Average daily highs (WMO, Port Vila, 1961–1990)
- 25.9 °C (July) to 30.3 °C (January)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- 19.3 °C (August) to 23.6 °C (February)
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 2,222 mm
Markets, a museum and a university
Port Vila has markets, shops, a museum and a university. Students come to learn there.
Universalis lists what Port Vila has: hospitals, hotels, markets and shopping districts, a stadium, a cultural center, a college that trains teachers and a campus of the University of the South Pacific.
The National Museum of Vanuatu is in Port Vila too, about 1.3 kilometers south of the city's center point on Wikidata.
Universalis: hospitals, hotels, markets and shopping districts, a stadium, a cultural center, a teacher-training institute, a University of the South Pacific campus and meat and fish processing plants; a cosmopolitan population of Ni-Vanuatu, British, French, Chinese and Vietnamese people.
Wikidata: National Museum of Vanuatu (Q1835708), museum in Port Vila, 1.33 km S of the city point.
- University
- a campus of the University of the South Pacific (Universalis)
- Town life
- markets, shopping districts, a stadium and a cultural center (Universalis)
- National Museum of Vanuatu
- a museum in Port Vila (Wikidata)
Port Vila on the map
Find Australia on the globe. Look to its right, across the sea, for a chain of small islands. That is Vanuatu, and Port Vila is there.
Port Vila lies at about 17.7° south and 168.3° east, on the southwest coast of Efate, one of the islands of Vanuatu in the southwest Pacific Ocean.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the National Museum of Vanuatu is about 1.3 kilometers south, Iririki island about 1.5 kilometers south-southwest and the international airport about 3.8 kilometers north.
Port Vila lies at about 17.73° S and 168.32° E (Wikidata point Q37806; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 0.01 km away). From the Wikidata point: National Museum of Vanuatu 1.33 km S; Iririki 1.50 km SSW; international airport 3.81 km N. The WMO station point (17.73° S, 168.32° E) is 0.51 km NE of the Wikidata point.
- Latitude
- about 17.7° south
- Longitude
- about 168.3° east
- Island
- Efate, in the southwest Pacific Ocean (Universalis)
Amazing facts
-
Port Vila has almost five times as many people as it did in 1979.
The census counted 10,601 people in Port Vila in 1979 and 49,528 in 2020.
Vanuatu National Statistics Office: 10,601 (1979) to 49,528 (2020), a factor of 4.7.
-
People from many countries live together in Port Vila.
Universalis says Ni-Vanuatu, the islands' own people, live in Port Vila alongside British, French, Chinese and Vietnamese residents.
Universalis: a cosmopolitan population in which the Ni-Vanuatu live alongside British, French, Chinese and Vietnamese people, among others.
-
In March, more than 300 millimeters of rain falls in Port Vila.
In the WMO table, March is Port Vila's wettest month, with 330.4 millimeters of rain.
WMO table for Port Vila (1961–1990): March 330.4 mm, February 311.8 mm, January 295.8 mm; September 87.2 mm.
-
Port Vila has a university campus where students learn.
Port Vila has a campus of the University of the South Pacific, Universalis says.
Universalis: a campus of the University of the South Pacific and a teacher-training institute.
Words to know
- lagoon
- a stretch of shallow, calm sea water partly closed off by land or reefs
- bay
- a part of the sea that curves into the land
- capital
- the city where a country's government is based
- cosmopolitan
- with people from many different countries and cultures
- campus
- the grounds and buildings of a university or college
- census
- an official count of all the people in a place
Discovery challenge
-
Port Vila is the capital of which country?
Port Vila is the capital of which island country?
Universalis calls Port Vila the economic heart of which Pacific state?
- Vanuatu
- Fiji
- Samoa
Show the answer
Vanuatu
Vanuatu!
Vanuatu.
Vanuatu.
-
On which island is Port Vila?
Port Vila lies on the southwest coast of which island?
Mele Bay, at whose head Port Vila nestles, is on which island?
- Efate
- Tahiti
- Java
Show the answer
Efate
Efate!
Efate.
Efate.
-
Where was the photo of Port Vila taken from?
The photographer took the photo of Port Vila from where?
The photographer's description 'En route Port Vila to Auckland' means the photo was taken from what?
- An airplane
- A boat
- A tall tower
Show the answer
An airplane
An airplane!
An airplane.
An airplane on its way to Auckland.
-
About how many people lived in Port Vila in 2020?
How many people did the 2020 census count in Port Vila?
What was Port Vila's census population on 16 November 2020?
- 49,528
- 4,952
- 495,280
Show the answer
49,528
About 50,000!
49,528.
49,528.
-
Which month is the rainiest in Port Vila?
In the WMO table, which month is Port Vila's wettest?
WMO table for Port Vila (1961–1990): which month has the highest rainfall, 330.4 mm?
- March
- September
- July
Show the answer
March
March!
March.
March (330.4 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Port Vila on the island of Efate in Vanuatu.
- Describe how a small island capital grew between 1979 and 2020.
- Explain why a port and an airport matter to an island country.
- Read a tropical climate table with a rainy season early in the year.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think so many people moved to Port Vila between 1979 and 2020?
- What would be different about living in a country made of many islands?
- What can people from many countries learn from each other in one town?
Try at home or in class
- Growth chart: plot Port Vila's census counts from 1979 to 2020 on a line graph.
- Island map: draw a bay with a town at its head, a small island and an airport, then add a scale.
- Rain math: add January, February and March rainfall. Is it more or less than half of the year's 2,222 mm?
Key vocabulary: lagoon, bay, capital, cosmopolitan, campus, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Port-Vila , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Vanuatu: Provinces and Urban Centers , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Vanuatu National Statistics Office
- Port Vila: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Port Vila, Vanuatu, 29 Nov. 2006 - Flickr - PhillipC.jpg (Phillip Capper) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.