Vanuatu Provinces

Vanuatu is a Y-shaped chain of volcanic islands in the south west Pacific, east of Australia and south of the Solomon Islands. The map is worth knowing on its own terms: the country is more than a thousand kilometres from end to end, and every province is a group of islands rather than one block of land.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: The northern islands and the southern islands
In the game: 6 provinces

Start

What you are looking at

The six provinces the country has today, which together cover every island it owns. The names are short because most of them are acronyms of the islands they hold, which is the quickest way to remember what is in each.

The chain runs from the Torres and Banks Islands in the far north to Tanna and Aneityum in the far south, with the large island of Espiritu Santo at the north end of the main group and Efate, home of the capital Port Vila, near the middle.

The groups are not an official classification. They are the northern and southern halves of the chain, three provinces each, and a way to learn the map a piece at a time.

How to place one

Start with the biggest island. Espiritu Santo, in the north west of the main group, is Sanma.
Walk south along the chain. Penama is the string of islands just east of Santo, Malampa lies below it around Malekula, and Shefa holds Efate and the islands around it.
Finish at both ends. Torba is the scatter of small islands off the top of the map, and Tafea sits alone in the far south, well clear of Shefa.

Every province, by group

The northern islands3 provinces: Penama, Sanma, Torba
The southern islands3 provinces: Malampa, Shefa, Tafea

Worked examples

Sanma

The big island

Sanma takes its name from Santo and Malo. Espiritu Santo is by far the largest island in the country, so the province is the easiest to find.

Tafea

The far south

Tafea is the name of its five islands in a row: Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango and Aniwa. It is the only province in the south east corner, with a wide stretch of open sea between it and Shefa.

Torba

The northern outliers

Torba is the Torres Islands and the Banks Islands, two small groups at the very top of the country, north of Espiritu Santo.

Frequently asked questions

How many provinces does Vanuatu have?

Six: Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea and Torba. Torba was split from Sanma in 1995, which is when the country reached six.

Where does each name come from?

Most are built from the islands they hold. Sanma is Santo and Malo, Penama is Pentecost, Ambae and Maewo, Malampa is Malekula, Ambrym and Paama, Shefa is the Shepherd Islands and Efate, Tafea is Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango and Aniwa, and Torba is the Torres and Banks Islands.