Fiji

republicIndependence 10 October 1970 (from UK)

Fiji as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalSuva

LocationOceania, Melanesia, 2,500 km north of New Zealand in the South Pacific

Populationas each edition published it

764,382 people July 1994 est. · 759,567 in 1990

Population growth% a year

1.05% 1994 est. · 0.95% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 23.7 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 64.86 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.92 children per woman 1994 est. · 3.3 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

18.1 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 22 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$4,000 1993 est. · $1,900 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

1% 1993 est. · 3% in 1993

Geography

Oceania, Melanesia, 2,500 km north of New Zealand in the South Pacific | Ocean

25 fields

Coastline

1,129km

land boundaries: 0 kmMaritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

Irrigated land

10sq km

(1989 est.)

Location

Oceania, Melanesia, 2,500 km north of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean

Map references

Oceania, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

18,270 sq km

land area

18,270 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than New Jersey

continental shelf

200-m depth or to depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

Climate

tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation

Natural resources

timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential

arable land

permanent crops

meadows and pastures

forest and woodland

65%

other

19%

current issues

deforestation; soil erosion

natural hazards

cyclonic storms can occur from November to January

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

Note

includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited

People

22 fields

Population

764,382

(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 1.05% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth

24.18Death

6.5Net migration

-7.15

Religions

Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%)Hindu 38%Muslim 8%other 2%

Labor force

235,000

Literacy

15and over can read and write

age · (1985 est.)

Infant mortality rate

18.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

65.14 years

male

62.88 years

female

67.51 years (1994 est.)

noun

Fijian(s)

adjective

Fijian

Ethnic divisions

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

note

Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority (1986)

total population

86%

male

90%

female

81%

by occupation

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

Government

Republic

34 fields

Legislature, 70 seatsone dot, one seat

(70 total, with ethnic Fijians allocated 37 seats, ethnic Indians 27 seats, and independents and other 6 seats) number of seats by party SVT 31NFP 20FLP 7FA 5GVP 4independents 2ANC 1

conventional long form

Republic of Fiji

conventional short form

Fiji

note

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

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;
the 1990 Constitution is under review;
the review will be complete by 1997

chief of state

President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (since 12 January 1994);
First Vice President Ratu Sir Josaia TAIVAIQIA (since 12 January 1994);
Second Vice President Ratu Inoke TAKIVEIKATA (since 12 January 1994);
note - President GANILAU died on 15 December 1993 and Vice President MARA became acting president;
MARA was elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs on 12 January 1994

head of government

Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June 1992)

Great Council of Chiefs

(highest ranking members of the traditional chiefly system)

cabinet

Cabinet; appointed by prime minister from members of Parliament and responsible to Parliament

Legislative branch

the bicameral Parliament was dissolved following the coup of 14 May 1987

Senate

nonelective body containing 34 seats, 24 reserved for Melanesians, 9 for Indians and others, 1 for the island of Rotuma

House of Representatives

elections last held 18-25 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1997);
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 SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FA 5, GVP 4, independents 2, ANC 1

Fijian Political Party (SVT - primarily Fijian), leader Maj. Gen. Sitivini RABUKA; National Federation Party (NFP; primarily Indian), Jai Ram REDDY; Christian Fijian Nationalist Party (CFNP), Sakeasi BUTADROKA; Fiji Labor Party (FLP), Mahendra CHAUDHRY; 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; Fijian Association (FA), Josevata KAMIKAMICA

Member of

ACP, AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, PCA, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNOMUR, UNTAC, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

chief of mission

Ambassador Pita Kewa NACUVA

chancery

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

telephone

(202) 337-8320

FAX

(202) 337-1996

consulate(s)

New York

chief of mission

(vacant); Charge d'Affaires William ROPE

embassy

31 Loftus Street, Suva

mailing address

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

Economy

Fiji's economy is primarily agricultural, with a large subsistence | sector.

25 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$4,000

(1993 est.)

Real growth rate

(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 7.5% (1992 est.); accounts for 13% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

5.6%

(1993 est.)

Unemployment rate

5.9%

(1991 est.)

Overview

Fiji's economy is primarily agricultural, with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and tourism are the major sources of foreign exchange. Industry contributes 13% to GDP, with sugar processing accounting for 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. In 1992, growth was approximately 3%, based on growth in tourism and a lessening of labor-management disputes in the sugar and gold-mining sectors. In 1993, the government's budgeted growth rate of 3% was not achieved because of a decline in non-sugar agricultural output and damage from Cyclone Kina.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $3 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$455 million

expenditures

$546 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Exports

$417 million (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities

sugar 40%, clothing, processed fish, gold, lumber

partners

EC 26%, Australia 15%, Pacific Islands 11%, Japan 6%

Imports

$517 million (c.i.f., 1992 est)

commodities

machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, consumer goods, chemicals

partners

Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EC 6%, US 6%

External debt

$670 million (1994 est.)

capacity

215,000 kW

production

420 million kWh

consumption per capita

560 kWh (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for 23% of GDP;
principal cash crop is sugarcane;
coconuts, cassava, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas;
small livestock sector includes cattle, pigs, horses, and goats;
fish catch nearly 33,000 tons (1989)

recipient

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $815 million

Currency

1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.5239 (January 1994), 1.5418 (1993), 1.5030 (1992), 1.4756 (1991), 1.4809 (1990), 1.4833 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

14 fields

Networkskm

Railroads

644Inland waterways

203

Railroads: , belonging to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation · Inland waterways: ; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges

Railroads

644 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, belonging to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation

total

3,300 km

paved

1,590 km

unpaved

gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 1,290 km; unimproved earth 420 km (1984)

total

usable

with permanent-surface runways

with runways over 3,659 m

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications

modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities;
regional radio center;
important COMPAC cable link between US-Canada and NZ-Australia;
53,228 telephones (71 telephones per 1,000 persons);
broadcast stations - 7 AM, 1 FM, no TV;
1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; including a naval division, | police)

3 fields

Branches

Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; including a naval division, police)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 197,767;
fit for military service 109,026;
reach military age (18) annually 8,154 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $22.4 million, about 2% of GDP (FY91/92)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Fiji.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fiji/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →

Geography

total area

land area

comparative area

continental shelf

exclusive economic zone

territorial sea

arable land

permanent crops

meadows and pastures

forest and woodland

other

current issues

natural hazards

international agreements

People

total population

male

female

noun

adjective

note

total population

male

female

by occupation

Government

conventional long form

conventional short form

note

chief of state

head of government

cabinet

chief of mission

chancery

consulate(s)

chief of mission

embassy

mailing address

Economy

revenues

expenditures

commodities

partners

commodities

partners

capacity

production

consumption per capita

recipient

Communications

total

paved

unpaved

total

usable

with permanent-surface runways

with runways over 3,659 m

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Defense Forces

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