1 Sep 2010

Vanuatu census shows urban growth of 3.5 percent

6:06 pm on 1 September 2010

The results of Vanuatu's 2009 census show growth by an average of 2.3 percent since the last population survey in 1999.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Management and National Census, who's just launched the census results, says Vanuatu's 2009 population stands at more than 243-thousand people.

Sela Molisa says in the past decade the urban population's grown by 42 percent or an average of 3.5 percent a year.

Mr Molisa says a decrease in the number of people per household - from 5.1 in 1999 to 4.8 last year - reflects the impact of literacy and education.

He says the results show that Vanuatu will continue to face challenges of population growth in both urban and rural centres.