The population was 49,034 as of the2020 census.[1] This represented 16.3% of Vanuatu's total population in 2020.[2]
Located on the east coast of the island of Efate, Port Vila is the economic and commercial centre of Vanuatu. The mayor is Jenny Regenvanu of theLand and Justice Party, the first woman to hold the position, elected in August 2024. Her deputy wasMarie Louise Milne, of theGreen Confederation, until the seat was vacated in January 2025.[3][4]
Locally, the town is most commonly referred to simply as "Vila", whether in French orBislama[viˈla] or in English/ˈviːlə/VEE-lə (not like English "villa").[5][6][7]
The name of the area isEfil in the nativeSouth Efate language andIfira in neighbouringMele-Fila language.Vila is a variant of these names.Ifira is a small island in Vila Harbour where many traditional landowners reside.
Melanesian people have occupied the Port Vila area for thousands of years. In the autumn of 2004, an archaeological expedition known asTeouma discovered a burial site of 25 tombs containing three dozen skeletons of members of theLapita culture. Pieces of ceramics found at the site were dated to the 13th century BC.[8][9]
Efate Island was charted in 1774 byJames Cook, who named it Sandwich Island. Cook's expedition did not land but noted the presence of good harbours and land suitable for European settlement. In the late 19th century, when the islands were known as theNew Hebrides, the British initially had the dominant European presence. However, by the 1890s, the economic balance had begun favouring the French, who established large plantations. French citizen Ferdinand Chevillard began buying and clearing land around Port Vila to be converted into the largest French plantation on the island. Instead, it was converted into the municipality ofFranceville, which declared independence on 9 August 1889, though this only lasted until June of the following year.[citation needed]
After 1887, the territory was jointly administered by theFrench and theBritish. This was formalized in 1906 as an Anglo-FrenchCondominium. DuringWorld War II, Port Vila was an American and Australian airbase.[citation needed]
Port Vila has atropical climate, more specifically atropical rainforest climate, with noticeably wetter and drier months. As the trade winds are almost permanent and cyclones are not rare in Port Vila, the climate is not equatorial but maritime trade-wind tropical climate.[16] Rainfall averages about 2,338.9 millimetres or 92.08 inches per year, and the wettest month is March. The driest month is September. There are 153 wet days in an average year. The area also has south-easttrade winds. Temperatures do not vary much throughout the year, and the record high is 35.6 °C or 96.1 °F. The coolest month, July, has an average high of 27 °C or 80.6 °F, and an average low of 18 °C or 64.4 °F. The hottest month, February, has an average high of 31.2 °C or 88.2 °F and an average low of 23 °C or 73.4 °F. The record low for Port Vila is 8.5 °C or 47.3 °F.Humidity is often high.
Port Vila is Vanuatu's most importantharbour and the center of the country's trade. The international airport,Bauerfield International (VLI), is also located in the city.Air Vanuatu has its head office in Vanuatu House in Port Vila.[19]
Major industries in the city remain agriculture and fishing. Tourism is also becoming important, especially fromAustralia andNew Zealand. There were over 80,000 visitors in 1997.[20]
Vanuatu is atax haven, and offshore financing in Port Vila is an important part of the economy.
Vanuatu is still dependent onforeign aid, most of which comes from Australia and New Zealand, although in recent years, assistance has also come fromChina. One example was New Zealand paying to train doctors selected from the local community, then paying part of their wages during the first year after qualification. Australia has paid consultants to work inPort Vila Central Hospital.
35.7% of exports leave from Port Vila, and 86.9% of imports arrive in Port Vila.[citation needed]
The capital city's dailylingua franca isBislama, but English and French are also widely spoken.
Among Vanuatu's 100indigenous languages, many are spoken in the capital, as people from rural areas come to live in the city, either temporarily or permanently.
The capital of Vanuatu has various sights to offer. There are several memorials, e.g., opposite the Parliament, where two traditional totem poles and a monument representing a pig's tusk can be seen. The Presbyterian Church of Port Vila is an impressive and sightworthy building opposite theIndependence Park. A colourful wall painting can be seen on the administration building opposite the market hall. Another noteworthy wall painting is on the façade of the post office. The City Hall of Port Vila is an oblong and sightworthy building on a hill in the city centre.
Cityscape
Presbyterian Church
Wall painting opposite the market
Vanuatu Parliament
Memorial opposite the Parliament building
Market hall
Market
Post office. The building once marked the unofficial demarcation between the two sectors of Port Vila, the British Paddock to the south and the Quartier français to the north
The natural harbour as viewed from town looking out at sea with Iririki Island to the left
City Hall
Grand Hotel and Casino Vanuatu, the tallest building in the country
The Vanuatu Cultural Centre, hosting theVanuatu National Museum, is located at the Saralana Park in front of the National Parliament, close to the National Library and theMalvatumauri (Vanuatu National Council of Chiefs). This institution is an important place to preserve and promote the different aspects of the local culture. Traditional artifacts from several islands are on display in the museum. The centre also hosts the National Audiovisual Archives, the most critical fund of documents from the late 19th century until today.
Port Vila was the location in August 1999 for the "2nd World Heritage Global Strategy Meeting for the Pacific Islands Region" held byUNESCO. One of the major topics related to Vanuatu and the Pacific region was the question of the suitability ofunderwater heritage for inscription on theWorld Heritage List.[24]
Port Vila is one location of theUniversity of the South Pacific, an educational institution co-owned by twelve Pacific countries. The Vanuatu campus is the only law school in the university and teaches languages.
Upper secondary (sixth form/senior high school) institutions include:
ThePort Vila Football League (PVFL) is the local men's football league in Port Vila. The league has three divisions: thePremier League (PVPL), theFirst Division (PVFD) and theSecond Division (PVSD). Teams from the city have also competed in theVFF Champions League (VFFCL), the national men's football league of Vanuatu, though teams from thePort Vila Football Federation (PVFF, the city's football federation) no longer compete and thus nowadays the only team from Greater Vanuatu in the league isIfira Black Bird. However, women's teams from Port Vila do compete in theVFF Women's Champions League (VFFWCL), the women's equivalent of the VFFCL that began in 2023.
The bulk of Vanuatu's footballing success has always been in Port Vila. Only two Vanuatuan teams, both from Port Vila, have reached the final of theOFC Men's Champions League (OFCMCL), withTafea FC having done so in2001 andAmicale FC having done so in2011 and2014, though neither club was successful. Indeed, Tafea FC is Vanuatu's most successful football club, with the club having won the PVPL 16 times including all of the first 15 seasons from1994 to2008–09, which to this day isthe world record for the most domestic league titles in a row.[27] The club would then go without a league title until2018–19, when the club won its first league title in 10 years. The club has also won the VFFCL (then the Vanuatu National Soccer League (VNSL)) four times.[28]
The municipality of Port Vila is divided into four wards and administered by a council of 14 members. The four wards are:
Malapoa-Tagabe: Western and far northern neighborhoods
Anabrou-Melcofe-Tassiriki: Northern and Eastern neighborhoods
Centre: Nambawan and Seaside neighborhoods
South: Nambatu, Nambatri, and Elluk neighborhoods
Malapoa-Tagabe and South are allotted three representatives each to the council, while Anabrou-Melcofe-Tassiriki and Centre have four.[29]
The municipality handles primary education, primary health care, regional planning, road maintenance and construction, trash collection, cemeteries, parks and open spaces, and tourism promotion.
There are alsoinformal settlements such as Blacksands, which are effectively Vila suburbs but outside the municipality. Living conditions in some of these neighbourhoods are deplorable. Lack of service provision and insecure land tenure are major problems.[30] Blacksands wassquatted in the 1960s.[31]
The most recent municipal council election was held in2022.
Initially a competitive city, Port Vila began to lean heavily to the UMP in the late 1980s, with the UMP having won the majority of votes in the city in1987 and a plurality in1991. In 1991, the centre-leftNational United Party (NUP) emerged as a third party, but were unsuccessful in overtaking the UMP and Vanua'aku. In1995, Vanua'aku regained the plurality of votes in Port Vila and won a majority of seats in the city.
After the late 1990s, MMP and Vanua'aku's vote shares began dropping and the vote forminor parties andindependents surged, a trend that only continued further into the 2000s. However, due toVanuatu's electoral system, Vanua'aku and the UMP continued to sometimes receive a plurality of seats in Port Vila. In2008, for the first time since the party was founded, the UMP won no seats in Port Vila after a record low vote share of just 7.90%.
By the 2010s and 2020s, the UMP vote had begun recovering despite Vanua'aku's vote continuing to drop (reaching a record low of 6.15% in2020), with the UMP regularly emerging as the party with the most seats in the city. In2025, UMP candidates won a combined total of 26.24% of the vote, the party's highest vote share in Port Vila since 1995.
Port Vila is served byBauerfield International Airport, with service on many passenger and cargo airlines, including several foreign ones.
In May 2024, state-ownedAir Vanuatu entered liquidation, resulting in short-term cancellations and schedule disruptions.[46][47] Capacity on routes to Australia was subsequently restored and expanded by other carriers, includingQantas (Brisbane–Port Vila from 1
^"Climatologie" by Pierre Estienne and Alain Godard, Éditions Armand Colin (ISBN2-200-31042-0), "CHAPITRE XVI 1. Les climats équatoriaux et subéquatoriaux 2. Les climats tropicaux 3. Les climats d'alizé 4. Les climats de montagne LES CLIMATS DE LA ZONE INTERTROPICALE : LES VARIÉTÉS", pages 314, 315 and 322.
^"Kalo, the magician for surprise package Vanuatu". fifa.com. Archived fromthe original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved16 December 2017.The No10 is a student and, like the other 20 members of the Vanuatu squad, he is not a professional footballer, but he is still the only player among his compatriots with experience of playing in the OFC Champions League. Centre-back Jason Thomas is the only other player to have represented his country – an island with fewer than 300,000 inhabitants – at senior level. Most of the population earn a living through horticulture, and some of the players also help out their families with the work.
^"Global Club Football Report 2017"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 29 June 2017. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 25 February 2018. Retrieved15 March 2018.None of the top-tier domestic competitions in Oceania is fully professional.
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