The Republic of Vanuatu has the world's highest linguistic density per capita.See François et al. (2015:8–9); and also Crowley (2000:50); François (2012:86). Despite being a country with a population of less than 300,000,The estimate is 298,333 for July 2020 (source: "Vanuatu", CIA World Factbook). Vanuatu is home to 138 indigenous Oceanic languages.François et al. (2015).

The country's three official languages are of foreign origin: English, French, and Bislama, an English-based creole language.Constitution of Vanuatu Article 3

Additional languages are also spoken as a result of recent migrations (e.g. Samoan, Hakka Chinese, Mandarin Chinese).

The linguistic situation in Vanuatu Indigenous languages There are over one hundred local languages spread over the archipelago (listed below), all of them belonging to the Austronesian family of languages.

Vanuatu is the country with the highest density of languages per capita in the world: it currently shows an average of about 1,760 speakers for each indigenous language, and went through a historical low of 565; only Papua New Guinea comes close. Some of these languages are very endangered, with only a handful of speakers, and indeed several have become extinct in recent times. Generally however, despite the low numbers for most of the indigenous languages, they are not considered especially vulnerable to extinction.

Bislama

Bislama, a creole language derived from English, similar to Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea and other nearby creoles, is the first language of many urban ni-Vanuatu, that is, the residents of Port Vila and Luganville; it is the most common second language elsewhere in the Vanuatu islands.

In recent years, the use of Bislama as a first language has considerably encroached on indigenous languages, whose use in the population has receded from 73.1 to 63.2 percent between 1999 and 2009.François (2012:104).

Out of the three official languages, Bislama is the most spoken in Vanuatu, followed by English, and lastly French.

English and French From the times when Vanuatu was a British-French condominium, there is still an unofficial separation line between regions where English or French are taught at school. According to Ethnologue, English is the first language of 6,000 people (2% of the population) and it is spoken as a second language by 120,000 people (40%).Vanuatu in French is the first language of 1,800 people (1%) and is spoken as a second language by 87,000 people (29%).

The majority of the country's population (63.2% in 2009) speak an indigenous language as their first language, with Bislama as a second language. English and French are generally spoken as third languages, in spite of their official status.

List of Vanuatu's indigenous languages

Vanuatu is home to more than a hundred indigenous languages: a recent count lists 138.See François et al. (2015). Among them, three became extinct in recent decades. Many are named after the island they are spoken on, though some of the larger islands have several different languages. Espiritu Santo and Malakula are linguistically the most diverse, with about two dozen languages each.

Some language names refer to networks of dialects rather than unified languages. Uripiv, for example, is a dialect continuum spoken across several islands in Malampa Province. In such cases, the decision as to how many languages should be counted is notoriously difficult, and sometimes the object of controversy. The number of 112 listed below may differ from other counts proposed in the literature, depending partly on these difficulties.Thus while Tryon (1976) lists 113 separate languages, Lynch & Crowley (2001), using different criteria, propose a lower figure of 88 languages, many of which are dialect continua. See the discussion in François et al. (2015:4–7).

All indigenous languages of Vanuatu are Oceanic. Three are Polynesian languages of the Futunic group: Emae, Mele-Fila and Futuna-Aniwa. The remaining languages belong to these three groups of the Southern Oceanic branch of Oceanic: North Vanuatu Central Vanuatu South Vanuatu

Ethnologue Below is the Ethnologue's list of most of the indigenous languages of Vanuatu, which are still spoken or were until recently.This table lists 112 languages. See François et al. (2015:18–21) for a list of 138 items. It provides links to an OLAC list of media resources on the language.The bibliographical references that underlie this table can be found with each individual language entry.

Tip: Click on the column title to change the sort order.

Language OLAC Other names Speakers % of totalpopulation Region Family Notes Akei tsr Tasiriki 650 0.2404Espiritu Santo NCV Amblong alm 300 0.1109Espiritu Santo NCV Anejom̃ aty Aneityum 900 0.3328Aneityum SV Aore aor Extinct 0.0000Espiritu Santo, Aore NCV Apma app 2.8846Pentecost NCV Araki akr 8 0.0030Araki NCV Moribund Aulua aul 750 0.2774Malekula NCV Avava tmb Katbol 700 0.2589Malekula NCV Axamb ahb Ahamb 750 0.2774Malekula NCV Baetora btr 0.4919Maewo NCV Baki bki Burumba, Paki 350 0.1294Epi NCV Bierebo bnk Bonkovia-yevali 800 0.2959Epi NCV Bieria brj Bieri, Vovo, Wowo 70 0.0259Epi NCV Endangered Burmbar vrt Banan Bay, Vartavo 900 0.3328Malekula NCV Butmas-Tur bnr Ati 520 0.1923Espiritu Santo NCV Central Maewo mwo 0.5177Maewo NCV Daakie ptv Port-Vato 0.4808Ambrym NCV Daakaka bpa Baiap, South Ambrym 0.4438Ambrym NCV Dixon Reef dix 50 0.0185Malekula NCV Shifting Dorig wwo Wetamut 300 0.1109Banks Islands (Gaua) NCV Emae mmw 400 0.1479Shepherd Islands (Emae) Polynesian Eton etn 500 0.1849Efate NCV Fortsenal frt Kiai 450 0.1664Espiritu Santo NCV Futuna-Aniwa fut West Futuna 0.5547Futuna, Aniwa Polynesian Hano lml Raga 2.4038Pentecost NCV Hiw hiw Hiu 280 0.1035Torres Islands (Hiw) NCV Ifo iff Extinct 0.0000Erromango SV Kwamera tnk 1.2944Tanna SV Koro krf 250 0.0925Banks Islands (Gaua) NCV Lamenu lmu Lamen, Varmali 850 0.3143Epi, Lamen NCV Lakon lkn Lakona; Vurē 800 0.2959Banks Islands (Gaua) NCV Lamap psw Port Sandwich 0.4438Malekula NCV Larevat lrv Laravat 680 0.2515Malekula NCV Lehali tql 200 0.0740Banks Islands (Ureparapara) NCV Lelepa lpa Havannah Harbour 400 0.1479Lelepa, Efate NCV Lemerig lrz Sasar 2 0.0007Banks Islands (Vanua Lava) NCV Moribund Lenakel tnl 4.2529Tanna SV Letemboi nms Small Nambas 800 0.2959Malekula NCV Lewo lww Varsu 0.8136Epi NCV Lonwolwol crc West Ambrym 0.4438Ambrym NCV Lorediakarkar lnn 850 0.3143Espiritu Santo NCV Lo-Toga lht Loh, Toga 580 0.2145Torres Islands (Lo, Toga, Tegua) NCV Löyöp urr Lehalurup 240 0.0888Banks Islands (Ureparapara) NCV Mae mme Dirak 0.3698Malekula NCV Maii mmm 180 0.0666Epi NCV Malfaxal mlx Na'ahai 600 0.2219Malekula NCV Malua Bay mll Middle Nambas 500 0.1849Malekula NCV Maragus mrs 15 0.0055Malekula NCV Maskelynes klv 0.4068Malekula, Maskelynes Islands NCV Mav̈ea mkv Mavea, Mafea 34 0.0126Mav̈ea NCV Mele-Fila mxe Ifira-Mele 1.2944Efate, Mele, Ifira Polynesian Merei lmb 400 0.1479Espiritu Santo NCV Morouas mrp 150 0.0555Espiritu Santo NCV Mota mtt 750 0.2774Banks Islands (Mota) NCV Mpotovoro mvt 430 0.1590Malekula NCV Mwerlap mrm Merlav 0.4068Banks Islands (Merelava) NCV Mwesen msn Mosina 10 0.0037Banks Islands (Vanua Lava) NCV Mwotlap mlv Motlav 0.7766Banks Islands (Motalava) NCV Nahavaq sns South West Bay 700 0.2589Malekula NCV Nakanamanga llp 3.5133Efate, Shepherd Islands (Nguna, Tongoa) NCV Namakura nmk Makura 1.3868Efate, Shepherd Islands (Tongoa, Tongariki) NCV Naman lzl Litzlitz 15 0.0055Malekula NCV Narango nrg 160 0.0592Espiritu Santo NCV Nasarian nvh 5 0.0018Malekula NCV Navut nsw 520 0.1923Espiritu Santo NCV Nese 160 0.0592Malekula NCV Neverver lgk Lingarak 0.4623Malekula NCV Ninde mwi Labo 0.4068Malekula NCV Nisvai – Vetbon 0.0518Malekula NCV Unesco Nokuku nkk 160 0.0592Espiritu Santo NCV North Tanna tnn 1.8491Tanna SV North Ambrym mmg 1.9416Ambrym NCV Northeast Ambae omb Lolovoli; Aoba 1.8491Ambae NCV Nume tgs Tarasag 0.2589Banks Islands (Gaua) NCV Olrat olr Extinct 0.0000Banks Islands (Gaua) NCV Paama paa Paamese 2.2189Paama NCV Piamatsina ptr 150 0.0555Espiritu Santo NCV Polonombauk plb 220 0.0814Espiritu Santo NCV Repanbitip rpn 90 0.0333Malekula NCV Rerep pgk Pangkumu, Tisman 380 0.1405Malekula NCV Roria rga Mores 75 0.0277Espiritu Santo NCV Saa sax Sa 0.9245Pentecost NCV Sakao sku Hog Harbour, N'kep 1.4793Espiritu Santo, Sakao NCV Shark Bay ssv 450 0.1664Espiritu Santo, Litaro NCV Sie erg Se, Erromanga 0.7027Erromango SV Ske ske Seke 300 0.1109Pentecost NCV South Efate erk Erakor, Nafsan 2.2189Efate NCV Southeast Ambrym tvk 1.3683Ambrym NCV Southwest Tanna nwi 1.8491Tanna SV Sowa sww Extinct 0.0000Pentecost NCV Sungwadia mrb Marino; North Maewo 0.1849Maewo NCV Tamambo mla Malo; Tamabo 1.4793Malo NCV Tambotalo tls 50 0.0185Espiritu Santo NCV Tangoa tgp 800 0.2959Tangoa NCV Tasmate tmt 150 0.0555Espiritu Santo NCV Tiale mnl 400 0.1479Espiritu Santo NCV Tolomako tlm 900 0.3328Espiritu Santo NCV Tutuba tmi 500 0.1849Espiritu Santo, Tutuba NCV Unua onu Onua 520 0.1923Malekula NCV Ura uur 6 0.0022Erromango SV Uripiv-Wala-Rano-Atchin upv Uripiv 3.3284Malekula NCV Valpei vlp 300 0.1109Espiritu Santo NCV Vao vao 0.7027Vao, Malekula NCV V'ënen Taut nmb Big Nambas 1.2389Malekula NCV Vera'a vra Vatrata 500 0.1849Banks Islands (Vanua Lava) NCV Vinmavis vnm Neve'ei 500 0.1849Malekula NCV Volow mlv Valuwa Extinct 0.0000Banks Islands (Mota Lava) NCV Vunapu vnp 380 0.1405Espiritu Santo NCV Vurës msn Vureas, Mosina 0.7396Banks Islands (Vanua Lava) NCV Wailapa wlr 100 0.0370Espiritu Santo NCV West Ambae nnd Duidui 3.2174Ambae NCV Whitesands tnp 2.7736Tanna SV Wusi wsi 300 0.1109Espiritu Santo NCV

François et al. (2015) The following list of 138 Vanuatu languages is from François et al. (2015:18–21).