1998 Edition

Area

total: 18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area-comparative

slightly smaller than New Jersey

Climate

tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation

Coastline

1,129 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m

Environment-current issues

deforestation; soil erosion

Environment-international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geographic coordinates

18 00 S, 175 00 E

Geography-note

includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited

Irrigated land

10 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 10% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 10% forests and woodland: 65% other: 11% (1993 est.)

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 hazards

cyclonic storms can occur from November to January

Natural resources

timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential

Terrain

mostly mountains of volcanic origin

Age structure

0-14 years: 34% (male 139,713; female 134,220) 15-64 years: 63% (male 251,646; female 251,425) 65 years and over: 3% (male 12,051; female 13,556) (July 1998 est.)

Birth rate

22.92 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate

6.25 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

16.65 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Languages

English (official), Fijian, Hindustani

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 66.29 years male: 63.92 years female: 68.78 years (1998 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.6% male: 93.8% female: 89.3% (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun: Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian

Net migration rate

-3.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Population

802,611 (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate

1.28% (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 (1986)

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: 0.89 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.74 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

Constitution

10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990; another new constitution, which opens the way for a non-ethnic Fijian to become prime minister, was signed by the president on 25 July 1997 and will come into force no later than 28 July 1998

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji

Data code

FJ

Executive branch

chief of state: President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (acting president since 15 December 1993, president since 12 January 1994); First Vice President Ratu Sir Josaia TAIVAI'IA (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); Deputy Prime Minister Taufa VAKATALE (since 7 August 1997) 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 chiefly system elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA elected president; percent of Great Council of Chiefs vote-NA

FAX

[1] (202) 337-1996 consulate(s): New York Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Larry M. DINGER embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 314466

[679] 300081

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

Government type

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

Independence

10 October 1970 (from UK)

International organization participation

ACP, AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ratu Napolioni MASIREWA chancery: Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president 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), Ratu Finau MARA; General Electors' Association, David PICKERING 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

Legal system

based on British system

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (34 seats; 24 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 9 for Indians and others, and 1 for the island of Rotuma; members appointed by the president to serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (70 seats; 37 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 27 for ethnic Indians, and 6 for independents and others; members elected by popular vote on a communal basis to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives-last held 18-25 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999) election results: House of Representatives-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party - SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FAP 5, GVP 4, independents 2, ANC 1 note: when the new constitution comes into force, the composition of the legislative branch will change to the following: Senate-32 seats (14 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the prime minister, eight appointed by the leader of the opposition, and one appointed by the Council of Rotuma); House of Representatives-71 seats (23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, and there will be 25 open seats)

National capital

Suva

National holiday

Independence Day, 10 October (1970)

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

Agriculture-products

sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish catch 13,796 tons (1991)

Budget

revenues: $540.65 million expenditures: $742.65 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Currency

1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents

Debt-external

$333.8 million (1996 est.)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $14.35 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.); $3.5 million from New Zealand (FY95/96)

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 and a growing tourist industry are the major sources of foreign exchange. 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. Fiji's growth slowed in 1997 because the sugar industry suffered from low world prices and rent disputes between farmers and landowners.

Electricity-capacity

200,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita

705 kWh (1995)

Electricity-production

545 million kWh (1995)

Exchange rates

Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1-1.9064 (January 1998), 1.4437 (1997), 1.4033 (1996), 1.4063 (1995), 1.4641 (1994), 1.5418 (1993)

Exports

total value: $639 million (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: sugar 32%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber partners: EU 26%, Australia 15%, other Pacific island countries 11%, Japan 6%

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

GDP

purchasing power parity-$5.1 billion (1996 est.)

GDP-composition by sector

agriculture: 21% industry: 18% services: 61% (1995 est.)

GDP-per capita

purchasing power parity-$6,500 (1996 est.)

GDP-real growth rate

3% (1996)

Imports

total value: $947 million (c.i.f., 1996) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, consumer goods, chemicals partners: Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EU 6%, US 6%

Industrial production growth rate

2.9% (1995)

Industries

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

Inflation rate-consumer price index

3% (1997 est.)

Labor force

total: 235,000 by occupation: subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987)

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.)

Television broadcast stations

0

Televisions

12,000 (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate

6% (1997 est.)

Airports

24 (1997 est.) Airports-with paved runways: total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.) Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 17 (1997 est.)

Highways

total: 3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1996 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,800 GRT/18,034 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 2, oil tanker 1, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1997 est.)

Railways

total: 597 km; note-belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)

Waterways

203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges Ports and harbors: Labasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva

Military branches

Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes army, navy, and a small air wing)

Military expenditures-dollar figure

$32 million (1997)

Military expenditures-percent of GDP

5% (1997)

Military manpower-availability

males age 15-49: 214,475 (1998 est.) Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 118,181 (1998 est.)

Military manpower-military age

18 years of age

Military manpower-reaching military age annually

males: 9,180 (1998 est.)

Disputes-international

none