1996 Edition

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

Location

18 00 S, 175 00 E -- Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly smaller than New Jersey

land area

18,270 sq km

total area

18,270 sq km

Climate

tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation

Coastline

1,129 km

Environment

current issues

deforestation; soil erosion

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Whaling

natural hazards

cyclonic storms can occur from November to January

Geographic coordinates

18 00 S, 175 00 E

Geographic note

includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

10 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land

8%

forest and woodland

65%

meadows and pastures

3%

other

19%

permanent crops

5%

Location

Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Map references

Oceania

Maritime claims

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

continental shelf

200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural resources

timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential

Terrain

mostly mountains of volcanic origin

highest point

Tomanivi 1,324 m

lowest point

Pacific Ocean 0 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 35% (male 141,652; female 135,829) 15-64 years: 62% (male 240,621; female 240,620) 65 years and over: 3% (male 11,235; female 12,424) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

23.37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

6.35 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Fijian 49%, Indian 46%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5%

Infant mortality rate

17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

English (official), Fijian, Hindustani

Life expectancy at birth

female

68.14 years (1996 est.)

male

63.39 years

total population

65.71 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

female

89.3%

male

93.8%

total population

91.6%

Nationality

adjective

Fijian

noun

Fijian(s)

Net migration rate

-4.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

782,381 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

1.28% (1996 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 (1986)

Sex ratio

all ages

1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

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: 0.9 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

2.83 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Administrative divisions

4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western

Capital

Suva

Constitution

10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new Constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990; the 1990 Constitution is under review; the review is scheduled to be complete by 1997

Data code

FJ

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

chief of mission

Ambassador Pita Kewa NACUVA

telephone

[1] (202) 337-8320

Executive branch

chief of state

President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (Acting President since 15 December 1993, President since 12 January 1994) was appointed for a five-year term by the Great Council of Chiefs; First Vice President Ratu Sir Josaia TAIVAIQIA (since 12 January 1994); Second Vice President Ratu Inoke TAKIVEIKATA (since 12 January 1994)

head of government

Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June 1992) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Minister Timoci VESIKULA (since NA)

FAX

[1] (202) 337-1996

[679] 300081

consulate(s)

New York

Flag

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

Great Council of Chiefs

highest ranking members of the traditional chiefly system

cabinet

Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament

House of Representatives

members serve five-year terms; elections last held 18-25 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (70 total, with ethnic Fijians allocated 37 seats, ethnic Indians 27 seats, and independents and other 6 seats) SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FAP 5, GVP 4, independents 2, ANC 1

Independence

10 October 1970 (from UK)

International organization participation

ACP, AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on British system

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament

Name of country

conventional long form

Republic of Fiji

conventional short form

Fiji

National holiday

Independence Day, 10 October (1970)

Political parties and leaders

Fijian Political Party (SVT - primarily Fijian), leader Maj. Gen. Sitivini RABUKA; National Federation Party (NFP; primarily Indian), Jai Ram REDDY; Fijian Nationalist Party (FNP), Sakeasi BUTADROKA; Fiji Labor Party (FLP), Mahendra CHAUDHRY; General Voters Party (GVP), Leo SMITH; Fiji Conservative Party (FCP), leader NA; Conservative Party of Fiji (CPF), leader NA; Fiji Indian Liberal Party, leader NA; Fiji Indian Congress Party, leader NA; Fiji Independent Labor (Muslim), leader NA; Four Corners Party, leader NA; Fijian Association Party (FAP), Josevata KAMIKAMICA; General Electors' Association, leader NA

note

in early 1995, ethnic Fijian members of the All National Congress (ANC) merged with the Fijian Association (FA); the remaining members of the ANC have renamed their party the General Electors' Association

Presidential Council

advises the president on matters of national importance

Senate

nonelective body, members are appointed by the president and serve five-year terms; seats - (34 total, 24 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 9 for Indians and others, and 1 for the island of Rotuma)

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

Type of government

republic

note

military coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally declared Fiji a republic on 6 October 1987

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador Don Lee GEVIRTZ

embassy

31 Loftus Street, Suva

mailing address

P. O. Box 218, Suva

telephone

[679] 314466

Agriculture

sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish catch nearly 33,000 tons (1989)

Budget

expenditures

$591.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)

revenues

$495.6 million

Currency

1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

recipient

ODA, $NA

Economic overview

Fiji, richly 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 and tourism are the major sources of foreign exchange. Industry contributes 17% to GDP; sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Roughly 250,000 tourists visit each year. Political uncertainty and drought, however, contribute to substantial fluctuations in earnings from tourism and sugar and to the emigration of skilled workers. In 1992, growth was approximately 3%, based on growth in tourism and a lessening of labor-management disputes in the sugar and gold-mining sectors. In 1993, the government's budgeted growth rate of 3% was not achieved because of a decline in non-sugar agricultural output and damage from Cyclone Kina. Growth in 1994 of 5% was largely attributable to increased tourism and expansion in the manufacturing sector.

Electricity

capacity

200,000 kW

consumption per capita

581 kWh (1993)

production

480 million kWh

Exchange rates

Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.4347 (January 1996), 1.4063 (1995), 1.4641 (1994), 1.5418 (1993), 1.5030 (1992), 1.4756 (1991)

Exports

$571.8 million (f.o.b., 1995)

commodities

sugar 40%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber

partners

EC 26%, Australia 15%, Pacific Islands 11%, Japan 6%

External debt

$670 million (1994 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $4.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

22%

industry

17%

services

61% (1994)

GDP per capita

$6,100 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

2.2% (1995 est.)

Imports

$864.3 million (c.i.f., 1995)

commodities

machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, consumer goods, chemicals

partners

Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EC 6%, US 6%

Industrial production growth rate

0% (1993 est.)

Industries

sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, clothing, lumber, small cottage industries

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2% (1995)

Labor force

235,000

by occupation

subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987)

Unemployment rate

5.4% (1992)

Branches

Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes army, navy, and air elements)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $28 million, 2.5% of GDP (1995)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

205,616

males fit for military service

113,339

males reach military age (18) annually

8,746 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 7, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios

NA

Telephone system

modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center

domestic

NA

international

access to important cable link between US and Canada and NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Telephones

60,017 (1987 est.)

Televisions

12,000 (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

21

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

1

with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m

1

with paved runways over 3 047 m

1

with paved runways under 914 m

15

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

3 (1995 est.)

Highways

paved

NA km

total

4,800 km

unpaved

NA km

Merchant marine

ships by type

chemical tanker 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)

total

5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,267 GRT/17,884 DWT

Ports

Labasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva

Railways

narrow gauge

597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)

total

597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation

Waterways

203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges