time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western
Independence:
10 October 1970 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970)
Constitution:
enacted 25 July 1997; effective 28 July 1998; note - it encourages multiculturalism and makes multiparty government mandatory
Legal system: