Lalit Modi buys Vanuatu citizenship: Where is it and other key facts about the island country

Fugitive businessman Lalit Modi has acquired the citizenship of Vanuatu and applied to surrender his Indian passport, the Indian government said on Friday.

Vanuatu has a popular citizenship by investment scheme, which allows wealthy individuals to effectively buy its passport.
But where is Vanuatu located? Let's understand that along with other key facts about the country.

Location
Vanuatu -- meaning "Our Land Forever" in local languages -- comprises 83 volcanic islands, 65 of which are inhabited. It is located in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and the north of New Zealand. The national capital Port Vila lies on the island of Efate, the third-largest in Vanuatu. The country has a total land area of 12,199 square kilometers -- lesser than that of Nagaland.

People and culture
As of 2020, Vanuatu's population was 3,00,019 -- even less than the population of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
More than 93% of people in Vanuatu identified as Christian, as per the 2020 census. Bislama is the national language and also an official language while English and French are official languages.
Roughly 75% of the country's population lives in rural areas.

Economy and revenue
The primary economic activity in Vanuatu is subsistence or small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population, according to official data.
Interestingly, Vanuatu does not charge its citizens personal income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and wealth tax.
The island country is known for its citizenship scheme, which it sells for around USD 135,000 (or Rs 1.17 crore) per applicant.