Freedom of the Press - Vanuatu (2003)

Status: Free
Legal Environment: 2
Political Influences: 5
Economic Pressures: 14
Total Score: 21

Population: n/a
GNI/capita: n/a
Life Expectancy: 67
Religious Groups: Presbyterian (36.7 percent), Anglican (15 percent), Roman Catholic (15 percent), indigenous beliefs (7.6 percent), Seventh-Day Adventist (6.2 percent), Church of Christ (3.8 percent), other (15.7 percent)
Ethnic Groups: Melanesian (98 percent), other (2 percent)
Capital: Port Vila

The press is generally free, despite the previous government's controversial 2001 deportation of a leading newspaper publisher on the grounds that he had revealed state secrets in his reporting on alleged government corruption. The chief justice overturned the deportation within a week, and the journalist returned to Vanuatu and resumed his work. Though the government permits criticism of its policies on state-run broadcasting, individual politicians and their supporters occasionally verbally threaten the media. The government runs a weekly newspaper, two radio stations, and a television station that serves Port Vila, the capital. At least three private newspapers, one of them run by a political party, compete with the state media.