2000 Edition

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). A 1990 constitution favored native Melanesian control of Fiji, but led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian. Fiji has been a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world.

Area

land

18,270 sq km

total

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

highest point

Tomanivi 1,324 m

lowest point

Pacific Ocean 0 m

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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 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%

forests and woodland

65%

other

11% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

4%

permanent pastures

10%

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, hydropower

Terrain

mostly mountains of volcanic origin

Age structure

0-14 years: 33% (male 141,779; female 136,212) 15-64 years: 63% (male 263,127; female 262,686) 65 years and over: 4% (male 13,405; female 15,285) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

23.48 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

5.78 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate

14.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

English (official), Fijian, Hindustani

Life expectancy at birth

female

70.45 years (2000 est.)

male

65.54 years

total population

67.94 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

89.3% (1995 est.)

male

93.8%

total population

91.6%

Nationality

adjective

Fijian

noun

Fijian(s)

Net migration rate

-3.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

832,494 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.41% (2000 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: 0.88 male(s)/female

total population

1.01 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.89 children born/woman (2000 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; amended 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the first time at the national level

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of the Fiji Islands

conventional short form

Fiji

Data code

FJ

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Osman SIDDIQUE

embassy

31 Loftus Street, Suva

mailing address

P. O. Box 218, Suva

telephone

314466

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

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

chief of mission

Ambassador "Ratu" Napolioni MASIREWA

telephone

(202) 337-8320

Executive branch

cabinet

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

chief of state

President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (acting president since 15 December 1993, president since 12 January 1994); Vice President Ratu Josefa Iloilo ULUIVUDA (since 18 January 1999)

election results

Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA elected president; percent of Great Council of Chiefs vote - NA

elections

president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president

head of government

Prime Minister Mahendra CHAUDHRY (since 18 May 1999); Deputy Prime Ministers Tupeni BABA (since NA 1999) and Adi Kuini Vuikaba SPEED (since NA 1999)

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

FAX

(202) 337-1996

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, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president

Legal system

based on British system

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of the 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) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, one reserved for the Rotuman constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open; members serve five-year terms)

election results

House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Fiji Labor Party 37, others 34

elections

House of Representatives - last held 11 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004)

National holiday

Independence Day, 10 October (1970)

Political parties and leaders

Christian Fellowship Party (Veitokani ni Lewenivanua Vakarisito Party) or VLV (primarily Methodist Fijian) ; Conservative Party of Fiji or CPF ; Fiji Conservative Party or FCP ; Fiji Independent Labor (Muslim) ; Fiji Indian Congress Party ; Fiji Indian Liberal Party ; Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDHRY]; Fijian Association Party or FAP ; Fijian Nationalist Party or FNP ; Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) ; Four Corners Party ; General Electors' Association ; General Voters Party or GVP ; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) ; National Unity Party [Apisai TORA]

note

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

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish

Budget

expenditures

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

revenues

$540.65 million

Currency

1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents

Debt - external

$213 million (1997)

Economic aid - recipient

$40.3 million (1995)

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 300,000 tourists visit each year, including thousands of Americans following the start of regularly scheduled non-stop air service from Los Angeles. Fiji's growth slowed in 1997 because the sugar industry suffered from low world prices and rent disputes between farmers and landowners. Drought in 1998 further damaged the sugar industry, but its recovery in 1999 contributed to robust GDP growth. Long-term problems include low investment and uncertain property rights.

Electricity - consumption

512 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

550 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

20%

hydro

80%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.9654 (January 2000), 1.9696 (1999), 1.9868 (1998), 1.4437 (1997), 1.4033 (1996), 1.4063 (1995)

Exports

$393 million (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports - commodities

sugar 32%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber

Exports - partners

Australia 34%, UK 18%, other Pacific island countries 11%, US 11%, NZ 5%, Japan 5% (1997)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

16.5%

industry

25.5%

services

58% (1998 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $7,300 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

7.8% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$612 million (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports - commodities

machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals

Imports - partners

Australia 45%, NZ 15%, Japan 7%, US 5%, Singapore 4% (1997)

Industrial production growth rate

2.9% (1995)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

0% (1999 est.)

Labor force

235,000

Labor force - by occupation

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

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

6% (1997 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

2 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

500,000 (1997)

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 links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Telephones - main lines in use

65,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

4,300 (1998)

Television broadcast stations

NA

Televisions

21,000 (1997)

Airports

25 (1999 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 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 17 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

1,692 km

total

3,440 km

unpaved

1,748 km (1996 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

chemical tanker 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off 1, specialized tanker 1 (1999 est.)

total

6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,870 GRT/14,787 DWT

Ports and harbors

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

Military branches

Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes ground and naval forces)

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$24 million (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.1% (FY98)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 223,496 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 123,051 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

9,426 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

none

FINLAND