Country Foundations

Vanuatu

Constitution in force since 1980, 8,425 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
58%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
80%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+21%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
55%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Right to life100%90%−10%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Freedom from torture100%71%−29%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%77%−23%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 0%, practiced 77%, gap +77%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…0%77%+77%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 33%, practiced 71%, gap +38%Right to a fair and public trial33%71%+38%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 66%, gap +66%Due process of law0%66%+66%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Freedom of expression100%81%−19%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 75%, gap +75%Freedom of the press0%75%+75%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Freedom of thought and conscience100%84%−16%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom of religion100%85%−15%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Academic freedom0%80%+80%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Freedom of assembly100%84%−16%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Freedom of association100%90%−10%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 90%, gap +90%Right to form and join trade unions0%90%+90%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 94%, gap +44%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%94%+44%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Right to privacy100%85%−15%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom of movement100%78%−22%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 0%, practiced 75%, gap +75%Right to own property0%75%+75%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Equality before the law100%90%−10%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 60%, gap +60%Right to education0%60%+60%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 65%, gap +65%Right to health care0%65%+65%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to shelter or housingno practice measure0%——Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Independent judiciary100%85%−15%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
05010019801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1980–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −29%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −23%
  • Freedom of movement −22%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) +77%
  • Due process of law +66%
  • Freedom of the press +75%
  • Academic freedom +80%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 2008
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)no action
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)no action
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1995
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 2011
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1993
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2008
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)signed only
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.