Total area:
18,270 km2
Land area:
18,270 km2
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
1,129 km
Maritime claims:
(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines)
Continental shelf:
200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:
mostly mountains of volcanic origin
Natural resources:
timber, fish, gold, copper; offshore oil potential
Land use:
arable land 8%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and pastures 3%; forest and
woodland 65%; other 19%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
subject to hurricanes from November to January; includes 332 islands of
which approximately 110 are inhabited
Note:
located 2,500 km north of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean
:Fiji People
Population:
749,946 (July 1992), growth rate 0.9% (1992)
Birth rate:
25 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-10 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
19 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
62 years male, 67 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
3.0 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Fijian(s); adjective - Fijian
Ethnic divisions:
Indian 49%, Fijian 46%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese,
and other 5%
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)
Languages:
English (official); Fijian; Hindustani
Literacy:
86% (male 90%, female 81%) age 15 and over can read and write (1985 est.)
Labor force:
235,000; subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15%
(1987)
Organized labor:
about 45,000 employees belong to some 46 trade unions, which are organized
along lines of work and ethnic origin (1983)
:Fiji Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Fiji
Type:
military coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally declared Fiji a
republic on 6 October 1987
Capital:
Suva
Administrative divisions:
4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western
Independence:
10 October 1970 (from UK)
Constitution:
10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new Constitution was proposed
on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990
Legal system:
based on British system
National holiday:
Independence Day, 10 October (1970)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Cabinet Great Councils of Chiefs (highest ranking
members of the traditional chiefly system)
Legislative branch:
the bicameral Parliament, consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower
house or House of Representatives, was dissolved following the coup of 14
May 1987; the Constitution of 23 September 1988 provides for a bicameral
Parliament
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu GANILAU (since 5 December 1987)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (since 5 December 1987); Deputy Prime
Minister Josefata KAMIKAMICA (since October 1991); note - Ratu Sir Kamisese
MARA served as prime minister from 10 October 1970 until the 5-11 April 1987
election; after a second coup led by Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA on 25
September 1987, Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA was reappointed as prime minister
Political parties and leaders:
Fijian Political Party (primarily Fijian), leader Maj. Gen. Sitivini RABUKA;
National Federation Party (NFP; primarily Indian), Siddiq KOYA; Christian
Fijian Nationalist Party (CFNP), Sakeasi BUTADROKA; Fiji Labor Party (FLP),
Jokapeci KOROI; All National Congress (ANC), Apisai TORA; General Voters
Party (GVP), Max OLSSON; Fiji Conservative Party (FCP), Isireli VUIBAU;
Conservative Party of Fiji (CPF), Jolale ULUDOLE and Viliame SAVU; Fiji
Indian Liberal Party, Swami MAHARAJ; Fiji Indian Congress Party, Ishwari
BAJPAI; Fiji Independent Labor (Muslim), leader NA; Four Corners Party,
David TULVANUAVOU
Suffrage:
none
Elections:
House of Representatives:
last held 14 May 1987 (next to be held 23-29 May 1992); 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) number of seats
by party NA
Member of:
ACP, AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
:Fiji Government
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Pita Kewa NACUVA; Chancery at Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone (202) 337-8320; there is a Fijian
Consulate in New York
US:
Ambassador Evelyn I. H. TEEGEN; Embassy at 31 Loftus Street, Suva (mailing
address is P. O. Box 218, Suva); telephone [679] 314-466; FAX [679] 300-081
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
:Fiji Economy
Overview:
Fiji's economy is primarily agricultural, with a large subsistence sector.
Sugar exports are a major source of foreign exchange, and sugar processing
accounts for one-third of industrial output. Industry, including sugar
milling, contributes 13% to GDP. Fiji traditionally had earned considerable
sums of hard currency from the 250,000 tourists who visited each year. In
1987, however, after two military coups, the economy went into decline. GDP
dropped by 7.8% in 1987 and by another 2.5% in 1988; political uncertainty
created a drop in tourism, and the worst drought of the century caused sugar
production to fall sharply. In contrast, sugar and tourism turned in strong
performances in 1989, and the economy rebounded vigorously. In 1990 the
economy received a setback from cyclone Sina, which cut sugar output by an
estimated 21%.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $1.3 billion, per capita $1,700; real growth rate
3.5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7.0% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
5.9% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $413 million; expenditures $464 million, including capital
expenditures of NA (1992 est.)
Exports:
$646 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
sugar 40%, gold, clothing, copra, processed fish, lumber
partners:
EC 31%, Australia 21%, Japan 8%, US 6%
Imports:
$840 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 32%, food 15%, petroleum products,
consumer goods, chemicals
partners:
Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EC 6%, US 6%
External debt:
$428 million (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 8.4% (1991 est.); accounts for 13% of GDP
Electricity:
215,000 kW capacity; 330 million kWh produced, 430 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, fishing, clothing, lumber, small
cottage industries
Agriculture:
accounts for 23% of GDP; principal cash crop is sugarcane; coconuts,
cassava, rice, sweet potatoes, and bananas; small livestock sector includes
cattle, pigs, horses, and goats
Economic aid:
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89),
$815 million
Currency:
Fijian dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.4855 (January 1992), 1.4756 (1991), 1.4809
(1990), 1.4833 (1989), 1.4303 (1988), 1.2439 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Fiji Communications