| Tanna is an island of Vanuatu. It is 40 km (25 mi) long and 19 km (12 mi) wide, with a total area of 550 km² (212 sq mi). Its highest point is the 1,084 m (3,556 ft) summit of Mount Tukosmera. It is the most populated island in Tafea province, with a population of about 20,000, and one of the more populous islands in the country. Isangel, the provincial administrative capital, is on the west coast near the island's largest town of Lénakel. Mount Yasur is the most accessible active volcano in the world, located on the southeast coast.
Tanna is populated almost entirely by Melanesians and they follow a more traditional lifestyle than many other islands. Some of the villages are known as kastom villages, where modern inventions are restricted, the inhabitants wear penis sheaths (Bislama: nambas) and grass skirts, and the children do not go to public schools. According to anthropologist Joël Bonnemaison, who has studied the Tannese extensively, their resistance to change is due to their traditional worldview and how they "perceive, internalise, and account for the dual concepts of space and time."
The island is the centre of the Jon Frum cargo cult, which worships an American World War II soldier as their god. Yaohnanen is the centre of the Prince Philip movement, which worships Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and prince consort of the United Kingdom.
There are five languages spoken on Tanna: North Tanna in the northwest, Lénakel in the west-central area near Lénakel, Southwest Tanna in the southwest, Whitesands in the northeast near Whitesands, and Kwamera in the southeast. These are generally grouped into the Tanna languages family, which is a subgroup of the South Vanuatu languages, an Austronesian language branch. According to Ethnologue, each is spoken by a few thousand, and Lénakel, with 6,500 speakers, is one of the languages of Vanuatu with the most speakers. Most people on Tanna also speak Bislama, which is one of Vanuatu's three official languages (together with English and French).
The island is one of the most fertile in Vanuatu and produces kava, coffee, coconut, copra, and other fruits and vegetables. Recently, tourism has become more important, as tourists are attracted to the volcano and traditional culture. To help preserve the integrity of culture as a tourism asset, only local people are permitted to act as guides. There are many accommodations available on the island. There is an airport at White Grass on the western coast.
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