Fiji

§1. Fiji Introduction

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.

§2. Fiji Geography

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 km²
  land: 18,270 km²
  water: 0 km²

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 km² (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

§3. Fiji People

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.)

§4. Fiji Government

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

§5. Fiji Economy

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 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (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

§6. Fiji Communications

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)

§7. Fiji Transportation

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

§8. Fiji Military

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)

§9. Fiji Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none


<Factbook 2006>
