Vanuatu Sets New CBI-Revenue Record for 2020 in 5th Consecutive Year of Growth

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Hermetically sealed borders notwithstanding, Vanuatu recorded CBI-revenues of US$132.6 million in 2020, constituting the government’s single-largest source of income for the year.

Despite a pandemic that has seen virtually all commercial flights to the country suspended and tourism reduced to almost zero since April last year, Vanuatu’s citizenship by investment programs are keeping government finances afloat.

The CBI-funds collected in 2020 exceeded those raised during 2019 by 25.8%, an even greater year-on-year expansion than the 20.3% growth observed from 2018 to 2019.

This marks the fifth consecutive year of revenue growth for the citizenship programs of Vanuatu, an admirable feat considering the concerns raised about the program throughout the year, some legitimate and others deliberately malicious.

CBI now Alpha and Omega

42% of all government revenue in 2020 came from the country’s two citizenship by investment programs, the DSP and the VCP, a new annual record (the previous record, from 2019, saw CBI-inflows reach 37% of government revenue).

By comparison, VAT-collections – the government’s largest source of tax-based revenue and second-largest source of revenue overall – amounted to just 18.9% of the total, excise tax and import/export duties together accounted for 17%, while 9% of the government’s income for the year came from foreign development partners.

For more detailed statistics on Vanuatu’s citizenship by investment programs, consult the IMI Data Center.