Torba | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
 Torba in Vanuatu | |
| Country |  Vanuatu |
| Capital | Sola |
| Area | |
• Total | 882 km2 (341 sq mi) |
| Population (2020)[1] | |
• Total | 11,002 |
| • Density | 12.5/km2 (32.3/sq mi) |
Torba (or TorBa) is the northernmost and least populous province of Vanuatu.
It consists of the Banks Islands and the Torres Islands. It has an area of 882 square kilometres (341 square miles). Its capital is Sola on Vanua Lava.
The province's name is derived from the initial letters of TORres and BAnks.
Administrative divisions
Torba Province are subdivided into nine area councils, which are further subdivided into populated places (i.e.: villages, communities, etc.). These area councils are, in geographical order (from NW to SE):
- Torres Area Council
- Ureparapara Area Council
- Motalava Area Council
- East Vanualava Area Council
- West Vanualava Area Council
- Mota Area Council
- East Gaua Area Council
- West Gaua Area Council
- Merelava-Merig Area Council
Islands
These are the main islands of Torba Province, excluding smaller and uninhabited islets.
- Banks Islands
| Name | Population | Area in km2 |
|---|---|---|
| Gaua | 2,491 | 342 |
| Kwakéa | 26 | 1.2 |
| Merelava | 647 | 18 |
| Merig | 12 | 0.5 |
| Mota | 683 | 9.5 |
| Motalava | 1,451 | 24 |
| Ra | 189 | 0.5 |
| Ureparapara | 437 | 39 |
| Vanua Lava | 2,597 | 314 |
- Torres Islands
| Name | Population | Area in km2 |
|---|---|---|
| Hiw | 269 | 51 |
| Linua | 0 | 2.5 |
| Lo | 210 | 11.9 |
| Metoma | 13 | 3 |
| Tegua | 58 | 30.8 |
| Toga | 276 | 18.8 |
Population
The province had a population of 9,359 in 2009, 10,161 in 2016, and 11,002 in 2020.[2][3][1]
Languages
The Torba province has seventeen languages, which are all Oceanic.[4][5] From north to south, they are: Hiw, Lo-Toga, Lehali, Löyöp, Volow, Mwotlap, Lemerig, Vera'a, Vurës, Mwesen, Mota, Nume, Dorig, Koro, Olrat, Lakon, and Mwerlap.[6] With an average of 550 speakers per language, Torba is one of the most linguistically dense areas of Vanuatu, which is itself the country with the highest density of languages per capita in the world.
References
- ^ a b "Torba Province" (PDF). dla.gov.vu. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release" (PDF). Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
- ^ "Census & Surveys". Vanuatu National Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ François (2012).
- ^ List and map of the 17 languages of Torba province.
- ^ François et al. (2015).
Bibliography
- François, Alexandre (2012), "The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among northern Vanuatu languages" (PDF), International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012 (214): 85–110, doi:10.1515/ijsl-2012-0022, S2CID 145208588
- François, Alexandre; Franjieh, Michael; Lacrampe, Sébastien; Schnell, Stefan (2015), "The exceptional linguistic density of Vanuatu", in François, Alexandre; Lacrampe, Sébastien; Franjieh, Michael; Schnell, Stefan (eds.), The Languages of Vanuatu: Unity and Diversity, Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia, Canberra: Asia Pacific Linguistics Open Access, pp. 1–21, hdl:1885/14819, ISBN 9781922185235.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
13°45′S 167°30′E / 13.750°S 167.500°E
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