Torba (or ''TorBa'') is the northernmost and least populous

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of ...

. It consists of the

Banks Islands The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and inclu ...

and the Torres Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of "''TORres''" and "''BAnks''".

Population

The province has a population of 9,359 and an area of . Its capital is

Sola Sola is a municipality and a Seaside resort in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Solakrossen. Other villages include Tananger, H� ...

on Vanua Lava.

Islands

These are the main islands of Torba Province, excluding smaller and uninhabited islets. ;Banks Islands ;Torres Islands

Languages

The Torba province has seventeen languages, all Oceanic — from north to south: Hiw, Lo-Toga,

Lehali Lehali (previously known as ''Teqel'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 200 people, on the west coast of Ureparapara Island in Vanuatu.Löyöp,

Volow Volow (formerly known as ''Valuwa'' or ''Valuga'') is an Oceanic language variety which used to be spoken in the area of Aplow, in the eastern part of the island of Motalava, in Vanuatu. Name The name ''Volow'' is originally a placename: it ...

Mwotlap Mwotlap (pronounced ; formerly known as ''Motlav'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of Ra ...

Lemerig Lemerig is an Oceanic language spoken on Vanua Lava, in Vanuatu. Lemerig is no longer actively spoken. The 2 remaining speakers live on the northern coast of the island. The language has receded in favour of its neighbours Mwotlap and Ver ...

, Vera'a, Vurës, Mwesen, Mota, Nume, Dorig, Koro, Olrat, Lakon, Mwerlap. François ''et al.'' (2015). With 550 speakers per language on average (17 for 9,300 people), Torba is one of the linguistically densest areas of Vanuatu – itself the country with the highest density of languages per capita in the world.

References

Bibliography

* * . Provinces of Vanuatu States and territories established in 1994 {{Vanuatu-geo-stub