Fiji Country Facts

 

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs                                      
October 2007                                                                  
                                                                       
  Background Note: Fiji                                                       
                                                     
  Dancers from Viseisei village in Fiji                                       
  perform during a welcoming ceremony,                                        
  March 10, 2005. [© AP Images]                                               
                                                                       
  Fiji flag: light blue; U.K. flag in upper hoist-side quadrant; Fijian shield
  on the outer half.                                                          
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Republic of the Fiji Islands                                                
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 18,376 sq. km (7,056 sq. mi.).                                        
  Cities: Capital--Suva (pop. 167,000), Lautoka (pop. 30,000), Nadi.          
  Terrain: Mountainous or varied.                                             
  Climate: Tropical maritime.                                                 
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun--Fiji Islander; adjective--Fiji or Fijian.*               
  Population (2006 est.): 843,445.Age structure: 35.4% under 14; 3.1% over 65.
  Annual growth rate (2006 est.): 0.83%.                                      
  Ethnic groups: Indigenous Fijian 55%, Indo-Fijian 37%.                      
  Religion: Christian 52% (Methodist and Roman Catholic), Hindu 33%, Muslim 7%.
  Languages: English (official), Fijian, Hindi.                               
  Education: Literacy (2004)--93%.                                            
  Health (2004): Life expectancy--overall, 67.8 years, male 66 years; female  
  70. Infant mortality rate--16/1,000.                                        
  Work force: Agriculture--67%.                                               
                                                                       
  *The term "Fijian" has exclusively ethnic connotations and should not be used
  to describe any thing or person not of indigenous Fijian descent.           
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Parliamentary democracy (overthrown by military coup in December 2006).
  Independence (from U.K.): October 10, 1970.                                 
  Constitution: July 1997 (suspended May 2000, reaffirmed March 2001).        
  Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of     
  government), Cabinet. Legislative--bicameral parliament; upper house is     
  appointed, lower house is elected. Judicial--Supreme Court and supporting   
  hierarchy.                                                                  
  Major political parties: Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL), Fiji Labor  
  Party (FLP), United People's Party (UPP), National Federation Party (NFP).  
                                                                       
  Economy (all figures in U.S. dollars)                                       
  GDP (2006 est.): $2.9 billion.                                              
  GDP per capita (nominal): $3,420.                                           
  GDP composition by sector: Services 59.7%, industry 30.4%, agriculture 9.9%.
  Industry: Types--tourism, sugar, garments.                                  
  Trade: Exports--$487 million; sugar, garments, gold, fish, mineral water.   
  Major markets--Australia, U.S., U.K., Japan, New Zealand Imports--$1.9      
  billion; mineral products, machinery and transport equipment. Major         
  sources--Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, U.S. ($58.7 million).    
  Government external debt (2005 provisional): $94.3 million.                 
                                                                       
  GEOGRAPHY                                                                   
  Fiji is comprised of a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific lying 
  about 4,450 km. (2,775 mi.) southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km. (1,100 mi.) 
  north of New Zealand. Its 322 islands vary dramatically in size. The largest
  islands are Viti Levu, about the size of the "Big Island" of Hawaii, and    
  where the capital and 70% of the population are located, and Vanua Levu. Just
  over 100 of the smaller islands are inhabited. The larger islands contain   
  mountains as high as 1,200 meters (4,000 ft.) rising abruptly from the shore.
                                                                       
  Heavy rains--up to 304 cm. (120 in.) annually--fall on the windward         
  (southeastern) sides of the islands, covering these sections with dense     
  tropical forest. Lowlands on the western portions of each of the main islands
  are sheltered by the mountains and have a well-marked dry season favorable to
  crops such as sugarcane.                                                    
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  Most of Fiji's population lives on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in 
  smaller urban centers. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely populated due to
  its rough terrain.                                                          
                                                                       
  Indigenous Fijians are a mixture of Polynesian and Melanesian, resulting from
  the original migrations to the South Pacific many centuries ago. The        
  Indo-Fijian population grew rapidly from the 60,000 indentured laborers     
  brought from India between 1879 and 1916 to work in the sugarcane fields.   
  Thousands more Indians migrated voluntarily in the 1920s and 1930s and formed
  the core of Fiji's business class. Native Fijians live throughout the       
  country, while Indo-Fijians reside primarily near the urban centers and in  
  the cane-producing areas of the two main islands. Nearly all of indigenous  
  Fijians are Christian; more than three-quarters are Methodist. Approximately
  80% of Indo-Fijians are Hindu, 15% are Muslim, and around 6% are Christian. 
                                                                       
  Some Indo-Fijians have been displaced by the expiration of land leases in   
  cane-producing areas and have moved into urban centers in pursuit of jobs.  
  Similarly, a number of indigenous Fijians have moved into urban areas,      
  especially Suva, in search of a better life. Meanwhile, the Indo-Fijian     
  population has declined due to emigration and a declining birth rate.       
  Indo-Fijians currently constitute 37% of the total population, although they
  were the largest ethnic group from the 1940s until the late 1980s.          
  Indo-Fijians continue to dominate the professions and commerce, while ethnic
  Fijians dominate government and the military.                               
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  Melanesian and Polynesian peoples settled the Fijian islands some 3,500 years
  ago. European traders and missionaries arrived in the first half of the 19th
  century, and the resulting disruption led to increasingly serious wars among
  the native Fijian confederacies. One Ratu (chief), Cakobau, gained limited  
  control over the western islands by the 1850s, but the continuing unrest led
  him and a convention of chiefs to cede Fiji unconditionally to the British in
  1874.                                                                       
                                                                       
  The pattern of colonialism in Fiji during the following century was similar 
  to that in many other British possessions: the pacification of the          
  countryside, the spread of plantation agriculture, and the introduction of  
  Indian indentured labor. Many traditional institutions, including the system
  of communal land ownership, were maintained.                                
                                                                       
  Fiji soldiers fought alongside the Allies in the Second World War, gaining a
  fine reputation in the tough Solomon Islands campaign. The United States and
  other Allied countries maintained military installations in Fiji during the 
  war, but Fiji itself never came under attack.                               
                                                                       
  In April 1970, a constitutional conference in London agreed that Fiji should
  become a fully sovereign and independent nation within the Commonwealth. Fiji
  became independent on October 10, 1970. Post-independence politics came to be
  dominated by the Alliance Party of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. The Indian-led   
  opposition won a majority of House seats in 1977, but failed to form a      
  government out of concern that indigenous Fijians would not accept          
  Indo-Fijian leadership. In April 1987, a coalition led by Dr. Timoci Bavadra,
  an ethnic Fijian supported by the Indo-Fijian community, won the general    
  election and formed Fiji's first majority Indian government, with Dr. Bavadra
  serving as Prime Minister. Less than a month later, Dr. Bavadra was forcibly
  removed from power during a military coup led by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka on
  May 14, 1987.                                                               
                                                                       
  After a period of deadlocked negotiations, Rabuka staged a second coup on   
  September 25, 1987. The military government revoked the constitution and    
  declared Fiji a republic on October 10. This action, coupled with protests by
  the Government of India, led to Fiji's expulsion from the Commonwealth of   
  Nations and official non-recognition of the Rabuka regime from foreign      
  governments, including Australia and New Zealand. On December 6, 1987, Rabuka
  resigned as head of state and Governor General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau was  
  appointed the first President of the Fijian Republic. Mara was reappointed  
  Prime Minister, and Rabuka became Minister of Home Affairs.                 
                                                                       
  The new government drafted a new constitution that went into force in July  
  1990. Under its terms, majorities were reserved for ethnic Fijians in both  
  houses of the legislature. Previously, in 1989, the government had released 
  statistical information showing that for the first time since 1946, ethnic  
  Fijians were a majority of the population. More than 12,000 Indo-Fijians and
  other minorities had left the country in the 2 years following the 1987     
  coups. After resigning from the military, Rabuka became prime minister in   
  1993 after elections under the new constitution.                            
                                                                       
  Tensions simmered in 1995-96 over the renewal of land leases and political  
  maneuvering surrounding the mandated 7-year review of the 1990 constitution.
  The Constitutional Review Commission produced a draft constitution that     
  expanded the size of the legislature, lowered the proportion of seats       
  reserved by ethnic group, and reserved the presidency for ethnic Fijians, but
  opened the position of prime minister to all races. Prime Minister Rabuka and
  President Mara supported the proposal, while the nationalist indigenous     
  Fijian parties opposed it. The reformed constitution was approved in July   
  1997. Fiji was readmitted to the Commonwealth in October.                   
                                                                       
  The first legislative elections held under the new constitution took place in
  May 1999. Rabuka's coalition was defeated by the Fiji Labor Party (FLP),    
  which formed a coalition, led by Mahendra Chaudhry, with two small Fijian   
  parties. Chaudhry became Fiji's first Indo-Fijian prime minister. One year  
  later, in May 2000, Chaudhry and most other members of parliament were taken
  hostage in the House of Representatives by gunmen led by ethnic Fijian      
  nationalist George Speight. The standoff dragged on for 8 weeks--during which
  time Chaudhry was removed from office by the then-president due to his      
  incapacitation. The Republic of Fiji military forces convinced President Mara
  to resign and brokered a negotiated end to the situation. Speight was later 
  arrested when he violated the settlements' terms. In February 2002, Speight 
  was convicted of treason and is currently serving a life sentence.          
                                                                       
  In July 2000, former banker Laisenia Qarase was named interim prime minister
  and head of the interim civilian administration by the military and Great   
  Council of Chiefs. Ratu Josefa Iloilo was named President. The Supreme Court
  reaffirmed the validity of the constitution and ordered the Chaudhry        
  government returned to power in March 2001, after which the President       
  dissolved the Parliament elected in 2000 and appointed Qarase head of a     
  caretaker government until elections could be held in August. Qarase's newly
  formed Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) party won the elections. In May
  2006, the SDL was re-elected to a majority in the Parliament, Qarase        
  continued as Prime Minister and formed a multi-party cabinet, which included
  nine members of the FLP.                                                    
                                                                       
  In the lead-up to the May 2006 election and beginning again in September,   
  tensions grew between Commander of the Fiji Military Forces Commodore Frank 
  Bainimarama and the Qarase government. Bainimarama demanded the Qarase      
  government not pursue certain legislation and policies. On December 5, 2006 
  Bainimarama removed elected Prime Minister Qarase from his position and     
  dissolved Parliament in a military coup d'état. Bainimarama temporarily     
  assumed the powers of the President, stating that the President was unable to
  discharge his responsibilities. Qarase was exiled to an outer island. On    
  January 4, 2007, Bainimarama reinstated President Iloilo, who stated the    
  military was justified in its behavior and promised them amnesty. The       
  following day Iloilo appointed Bainimarama Prime Minister. Over the following
  weeks Bainimarama formed an "interim government" that included, among others,
  former Prime Minister Chaudhry and former Republic of Fiji Military Forces  
  heads Epeli Ganilau and Epeli Nailatikau.                                   
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT                                                                  
  Under the Fiji constitution, the president (head of state) is appointed for a
  5-year term by the Great Council of Chiefs, a traditional ethnic Fijian     
  leadership body. The president in turn appoints the prime minister (head of 
  government) and Cabinet from among the members of Parliament. Both houses of
  the legislature have some seats reserved by ethnicity. Other seats can be   
  filled by persons of any ethnic group. The House of Representatives is      
  elected; the Senate is appointed. Since the December 2006 coup, the         
  self-appointed interim government has ruled by decree.                      
                                                                       
  Fiji maintains an independent judiciary consisting of a Supreme Court, a    
  Court of Appeals, a High Court, and magistrate courts. All but one of the   
  five judges on the Supreme Court also is a serving judge in Australia or New
  Zealand.                                                                    
                                                                       
  There are four administrative divisions--central, eastern, northern and     
  western--each under the charge of a commissioner. Ethnic Fijians have their 
  own administration in which councils preside over a hierarchy of provinces, 
  districts, and villages. The councils deal with all matters affecting ethnic
  Fijians.                                                                    
                                                                       
  The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga) is made up of 55         
  hereditary chiefs, most of whom are nominated to the Council by their       
  respective provincial councils. It is established under the Fijian Affairs  
  Act and recognized by the constitution.                                     
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  Head of State (President)--Josefa Iloilo                                    
  Head of Government--Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama (deposed Prime      
  Minister Laisenia Qarase in December 2006 coup)                             
  Minister of Foreign Affairs--Kaliopate Tavola (deposed in December 2006 coup)
  Ambassador to the United States--vacant                                     
  Ambassador to the United Nations--Mason Smith                               
                                                                       
  Fiji maintains an embassy at 2000 M Street NW, Suite 710, Washington, DC    
  20036 (tel: 202-337-8320).                                                  
                                                                       
  POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                                        
  For 17 years after independence, Fiji was a parliamentary democracy. During 
  that time, political life was dominated by Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and the   
  Alliance Party, which combined the traditional Fijian chiefly system with   
  leading elements of the European, part-European, and Indian communities. The
  main parliamentary opposition, the National Federation Party, represented   
  mainly rural Indo-Fijians. Intercommunal relations were managed without     
  serious confrontation. However, when a cabinet with substantial ethnic Indian
  representation was installed after the April 1987 election, extremist       
  elements played on ethnic Fijian fears of domination by the Indo-Fijian     
  community resulting in a military coup d'etat.                              
                                                                       
  This began what many now refer to as the "coup cycle." The most recent coup 
  took place in December 2006, but has its roots in the previous 2000 coup and
  mutiny. Military commander Commodore Bainimarama helped resolve the 2000    
  crisis by imposing martial law. Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase led the      
  interim government that followed. Subsequently, Qarase was elected in 2001  
  and 2006, but pursued some policies favoring the indigenous Fijian community.
                                                                       
  One of the main issues of contention is land tenure. Indigenous Fijian      
  communities very closely identify themselves with their land. In 1909 the   
  land ownership pattern was frozen by the British and further sales          
  prohibited. Today, over 90% of the land is held by indigenous Fijians, under
  the collective ownership of the traditional Fijian clans. That land cannot be
  sold. Indo-Fijians produce more than 75% of the sugar crop but, in most     
  cases, must lease the land they work from its ethnic Fijian owners instead of
  being able to buy it outright.                                              
                                                                       
  In 2005 and 2006, tensions rose between Bainimarama and Qarase over         
  legislation proposed by the Qarase government concerning land ownership,    
  traditional non-public ownership of the foreshore, and the possible granting
  of immunity to some coup participants from 2000. Bainimarama began to make  
  demands and threats, and engaged in shows of military force to intimidate the
  Qarase government into backing away from the controversial policies. When the
  Qarase government did not accede to all military demands, on December 5,    
  2006, Bainimarama assumed the powers of the presidency, dismissed Parliament,
  and declared a temporary military government.                               
                                                                       
  Commodore Bainimarama's interim government has pursued what he terms a      
  "clean-up campaign" to root out what he considers to be large-scale         
  corruption in Fiji. A number of civil servants, including the Chief Justice,
  were summarily suspended or dismissed due to unidentified corruption        
  concerns. Many individuals who spoke out against the coup were taken to     
  military camps where they have been questioned and sometimes abused.        
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  Fiji is one of the more developed of the Pacific island economies, although 
  it remains a developing country with a large subsistence agriculture sector.
  For many years sugar and textile exports drove Fiji's economy. However,     
  neither industry is competing effectively in globalized markets. Fiji's sugar
  industry suffers from quality concerns, poor administration, and the phasing
  out of a preferential price agreement with the European Union beginning in  
  2006/2007. The European Union has promised a large amount of financial aid to
  assist the ailing sugar industry, but, post-coup, has clarified that the aid
  will only be forthcoming if Fiji cleans up its human rights situation and   
  moves quickly to democracy.                                                 
                                                                       
  In 2005, the textile industry in Fiji markedly declined following the end of
  the quota system under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the 
  full integration of textiles into WTO General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs.
  The income from garments plummeted by 43% in 2005 with the end of the ATC   
  quotas. Garments now account for approximately 12% of Fiji's exports and    
  sugar approximately 24%. Other important export crops include coconuts and  
  ginger, although production levels of both are declining. Fiji has extensive
  mahogany timber reserves, which are only now being exploited. Fishing is an 
  important export and local food source.                                     
                                                                       
  Gold is also exported. However, in December 2006, gold mining ceased when   
  Fiji's biggest mine, the Vatukuola Emperor gold mine, closed. The mine      
  changed ownership in March 2007, and there are some indications that it could
  be operational again before the end of 2007.                                
                                                                       
  The most important manufacturing activities are the processing of sugar and 
  fish. Since 2000 the export of still mineral water, mainly to the United    
  States, has expanded rapidly. By the end of 2006, water exports totaled     
  around U.S. $52 million per year, an increase of 28% over 2005 and an       
  increase of 775% since 2000.                                                
                                                                       
  Recent estimates for 2005 show a GDP growth rate of 1.7%. The estimate for  
  2007 is minus 2.5%.                                                         
                                                                       
  In recent years, growth in Fiji has been largely driven by a strong tourism 
  industry. Tourism has expanded rapidly since the early 1980s and is the     
  leading economic activity in the islands. Approximately 550,000 people      
  visited Fiji in 2005. However, the December 2006 coup caused a major drop-off
  in tourist arrivals. The tourism industry responded by introducing cut-rate 
  packages, but even with the discounts there were only 25,000 tourist arrivals
  in January 2007 as compared to 40,000 in January 2006. The economic downturn
  has caused thousands to lose their jobs, especially casual or seasonal      
  workers in the tourist industry.                                            
                                                                       
  About one-third of Fiji's visitors come from Australia, with large          
  contingents also coming from New Zealand, the United States, the United     
  Kingdom, and Japan. In 2005, more than 70,000, or around 13%, of the tourists
  were American, a number that has steadily increased since the start of      
  regularly scheduled nonstop air service from Los Angeles. In 2004, Fiji's   
  gross earnings from tourism were about $418 million, an amount double the   
  revenue from its two largest goods exports (sugar and garments). Gross      
  earnings from tourism continue to be Fiji's major source of foreign currency.
                                                                       
  Fiji runs a persistently large trade deficit, F$1.94 billion (U.S. $1.17    
  billion) for 2006, although tourism revenues yield a services surplus.      
  Australia accounts for between 25% and 35% of Fiji's foods trade, with New  
  Zealand, Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan varying
  year-by-year between 5% and 20% each. Since the 1960s, Fiji has had a high  
  rate of emigration, particularly of Indo-Fijians in search of better economic
  opportunities. This has been particularly true of persons with education and
  skills. The economic and political uncertainties following the coups have   
  added to the outward flow by persons of all ethnic groups. In recent years, 
  indigenous Fijians also have begun to emigrate in large numbers, often to   
  seek employment as home health care workers. Remittances from overseas      
  workers, often undocumented, are second only to tourism as a source of      
  foreign exchange earnings. Fiji is also attempting to brand itself as a     
  potential movie-filming site and has been the location of a small number of 
  feature films.                                                              
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  Fiji has traditionally had close relations with its major trading partners  
  Australia and New Zealand. Currently, a number of countries including       
  Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have placed targeted sanctions
  on the illegal interim government. Fiji has pursued closer relations with a 
  number of Asian countries, including the People's Republic of China and     
  India.                                                                      
                                                                       
  Since independence, Fiji has been a leader in the South Pacific region. Fiji
  hosts the secretariat of the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum, as well as a  
  number of other prestigious regional organizations. In 2002, Fiji hosted the
  Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Summit with more than 80 countries      
  represented. During the ACP Summit, the Nadi Declaration was adopted        
  regarding economic cooperation with the European Union. In July 2003, Fiji  
  hosted the South Pacific Games, a prestigious event that went far beyond    
  athletics and symbolized the country's return to normalcy. In September 2005,
  Fiji hosted the 51st Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference. Fiji
  became the 127th member of the United Nations on October 13, 1970, and      
  participates actively in the organization. Fiji's contributions to UN       
  peacekeeping are unique for a nation of its size. It maintains about 600    
  soldiers and police overseas in UN peacekeeping missions, with MFO Sinai in 
  the Middle East, East Timor, and Iraq. Fiji also has a number of private    
  citizens working in Iraq and Kuwait, mostly in security services.           
                                                                       
  U.S.-FIJI RELATIONS                                                         
  Relations between the elected government of Fiji and the United States were 
  excellent. The United States has not recognized the interim government      
  established by the illegal December 5, 2006 coup. Fiji maintains an embassy 
  in Washington DC, as well as a Permanent Mission in New York at the United  
  Nations. Although the United States provides relatively little direct       
  bilateral development assistance, it contributes as a major member of a     
  number of multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank and the  
  Secretariat of the Pacific Community. The U.S. Peace Corps, temporarily     
  withdrawn from Fiji in 1998, resumed its program in Fiji in late 2003.      
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Embassy Officials                                            
  Ambassador--Larry M. Dinger                                                 
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Ted A. Mann                                        
  Political/Economic/Commercial Affairs--Brian J. Siler                       
  Consul--Debra J. Towry                                                      
  Management Officer--Ila S. Jurisson                                         
  Regional Environmental Officer--Joseph P. Murphy                            
  Regional Security Officer--Jim T. Suor                                      
  The U.S. Embassy in Fiji is located at 31 Loftus Street, Suva; tel:         
  679-331-4466, fax: 679-330-0081. The mailing address is U.S. Embassy, P.O.  
  Box 218, Suva, Fiji.                                                        
                                                                       
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