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Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues

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This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006

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| Introduction | Fiji | Top of Page

Background:

Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987, caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). The coups and a 1990 constitution that cemented native Melanesian control of Fiji, led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. A new constitution enacted in 1997 was more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a civilian-led coup in May 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE.

| Geography | Fiji | Top of Page

Location: | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Geographic coordinates: | 18 00 S, 175 00 E
Map references: | Oceania
Area: | total: 18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: | 0 km
Coastline: | 1,129 km
Maritime claims: | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added
Climate: | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: | mostly mountains of volcanic origin
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m
Natural resources: | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower
Land use: | arable land: 10.95% permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 30 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January
Environment - current issues: | deforestation; soil erosion
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | includes 332 islands; approximately 110 are inhabited

| People | Fiji | Top of Page

Population: | 905,949 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 31.1% (male 143,847/female 138,061) 15-64 years: 64.6% (male 293,072/female 292,312) 65 years and over: 4.3% (male 17,583/female 21,074) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 24.6 years male: 24.1 years female: 25 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 1.4% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 22.55 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | -2.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 12.3 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 69.82 years male: 67.32 years female: 72.45 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 2.73 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 600 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian
Ethnic groups: | Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.)
Religions: | Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu 38%, Muslim 8%, other 2% note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority
Languages: | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 est.)

| Government | Fiji | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji
Government type: | republic note: military coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally declared Fiji a republic on 6 October 1987
Capital: | Suva (Viti Levu)
Administrative divisions: | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western
Independence: | 10 October 1970 (from UK)
National holiday: | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970)
Constitution: | promulgated on 25 July 1990; amended on 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; effective 28 July 1998
Legal system: | based on British system
Suffrage: | 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since 18 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 2000)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament; note - there is also a Presidential Council that advises the president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of Chiefs, which consists of the highest ranking members of the traditional chief system
elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (34 seats; 24 appointed by the president on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs, 9 appointed by the president, and 1 appointed by the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, 3 reserved for other ethnic groups, 1 reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1 September and 19 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2006)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - SDL 27.5%, FLP 26.5%, MV 4.2%, NLUP 1.3%, NFP 1.2%, independents 1.4%, UGP .3%; seats by party - SDL 32, FLP 27, MV 6, NLUP 2, NFP 1, independents 2, UGP 1

Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts

Political parties and leaders:

Bai Kei Viti Party or BKV [Ratu Tevita MOMOEDONU]; Conservative Alliance Party/Matanitu Vanua or CAMV [Ratu Rakuita VAKALALABURE]; Dodonu Ni Taukei Party or DNT [Fereti S. DEWA]; Fiji Democratic Party or FDP [Felipe BOLE] (a merger of the Christian Democrat Alliance or VLV [Poesci Waqalevu BUNE], Fijian Association Party or FAP [Adi Kuini SPEED], Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Felipe BOLE], and New Labor Unity Party or NLUP [Tupeni BABA]); Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDHRY]; General Voters Party or GVP [leader NA] (became part of United General Party); Girmit Heritage Party or GHP [leader NA]; Justice and Freedom Party or AIM [leader NA]; Lio 'On Famor Rotuma Party or LFR [leader NA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Pramond RAE]; Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party or NVTLP [Saula TELAWA]; Party of National Unity or PANU [Meli BOGILEKA]; Party of the Truth or POTT [leader NA]; United Fiji Party/Sogosogo Duavata ni Lewenivanua or SDL [Laisenia QARASE]; United General Party or UGP [Millis Mick BEDDOES]

Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | ACP, AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affaires Larry Lui ERAVA chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Miles DINGER embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 331-4466 FAX: [679] 330-0081
Flag description: | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove

| Economy | Fiji | Top of Page

Economy - overview:

Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports, remittances from Fijians working abroad, and a growing tourist industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Fiji's sugar has special access to European Union markets, but will be harmed by the EU's decision to cut sugar subsidies. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity but is not efficient. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's ability to manage its budget. Yet, because of a tourist boom, short-run economic prospects are good, provided tensions do not again erupt between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians. Overseas remittances from Fijians working in Kuwait and Iraq have increased significantly.

GDP (purchasing power parity): | $5.409 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $1.944 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 2% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $6,100 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 16.6% industry: 22.4% services: 61% (2001 est.)
Labor force: | 137,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 7.6% (1999)
Population below poverty line: | 25.5% (1990-91)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 1.6% (2002 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $427.9 million expenditures: $531.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Agriculture - products: | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish
Industries: | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries
Industrial production growth rate: | NA%
Electricity - production: | 775.7 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - consumption: | 721.4 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 10,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Exports: | $862 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil
Exports - partners: | US 23.5%, Australia 18.6%, UK 12.3%, Samoa 6.3%, Japan 4% (2004)
Imports: | $1.235 billion c.i.f. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals
Imports - partners: | Australia 25.9%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 21.1% (2004)
Debt - external: | $188.1 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $40.3 million (1995)
Currency (code): | Fijian dollar (FJD)
Exchange rates: | Fijian dollars per US dollar - 1.691 (2005), 1.7331 (2004), 1.8958 (2003), 2.1869 (2002), 2.2766 (2001)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

| Communications | Fiji | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 102,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 109,900 (2003)

Telephone system:

general assessment: modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center
domestic: NA
international: country code - 679; access to important cable links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; 2 satellite earth stations - 2 INMARSAT (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations: | NA
Internet country code: | .fj
Internet hosts: | 1,722 (2005)
Internet users: | 61,000 (2004)

| Transportation | Fiji | Top of Page

Airports: | 28 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 18 (2005)
Railways: | total: 597 km narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during harvest season (May to December) (2003)
Roadways: | total: 3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1999)
Waterways: | 203 km note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004)
Merchant marine: | total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,867 GRT/8,432 DWT by type: passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Australia 1) (2005)
Ports and terminals: | Lambasa, Lautoka, Suva

| Military | Fiji | Top of Page

Military branches: | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF): Land Forces, Naval Division (2005)
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 215,104 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 163,960 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: | males: 9,266 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $36 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.2% (FY02)

| Transnational Issues | Fiji | Top of Page

Disputes - international: | none

This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006