Fiji

agricultural land:

23.3%;

• arable land 9%;
• permanent crops 4.7%;
• permanent pasture 9.6%

forest:

55.7%

other:

21% (2011 est.)

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Fijian(s)

adjective:

Fijian

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Fiji

conventional short form:

Fiji

local long form:

Republic of Fiji/Matanitu ko Viti

local short form:

Fiji/Viti

etymology:

the Fijians called their home Viti, but the neighboring Tongans called it Fisi, and in the Anglicized spelling of the Tongan pronunciation - promulgated by explorer Captain James COOK - the designation became Fiji

name:

Suva (on Viti Levu)

geographic coordinates:

18 08 S, 178 25 E

time difference:

UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins first Sunday in November; ends second Sunday in January

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Fiji

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Jioji Konousi KONROTE (since 12 November 2015)

head of government:

Prime Minister Voreqe "Frank" BAINIMARAMA (since 22 September 2014)

cabinet:

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

elections/appointments:

• president elected by Parliament for a 3-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 12 October 2015 (next to be held in 2018);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Jioji Konousi KONROTE elected president; Parliament vote - Jioji Konousi KONROTE (Fiji First) 31, Ratu Epeli GANILAU (opposition) 14

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, all justices of the Court of Appeal, and judges appointed specifically as Supreme Court judges);
• Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, all puisne judges of the High Court, and judges specifically appointed to the Court of Appeal);
• High Court (chaired by the chief justice and includes a minimum of 10 puisne judges; High Court organized into civil, criminal, family, employment, and tax divisions)

judge selection and term of office:

• chief justice appointed by the president of Fiji on the advice of the prime minister following consultation with the parliamentary leader of the opposition;
• judges of the Supreme Court, the president of the Court of Appeal, the justices of the Court of Appeal, and puisne judges of the High Court appointed by the president of Fiji upon the nomination of the Judicial Service Commission after consulting with the cabinet minister and the committee of the House of Representatives responsible for the administration of justice;
• the chief justice, Supreme Court judges and justices of Appeal generally required to retire at age 70 but may be waived for one or more sessions of the court;
• puisne judges appointed for not less than 4 years nor more than 7 years with mandatory retirement at age 65

subordinate courts:

Magistrates' Court (organized into civil, criminal, juvenile, and small claims divisions)

• FijiFirst [Frank BAINIMARAMA]
• Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDHRY]
• Fiji United Freedon Party or FUFP [Jagath KARUNARATNE]
• National Federation Party or NFP [Biman PRASAD] (primarily Indian)
• Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Lynda TABUYA]
• Social Democratic Liberal Party or SODELPA [Sitiveni RABUKA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Solo MARA (since 28 January 2016)

chancery:

2000 M Street NW, Suite 710, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 466-8320

FAX:

[1] (202) 466-8325

chief of mission:

Ambassador Judith CEFKIN (since 3 February 2015); note - also accredited to Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu

embassy:

158 Princes Rd, Tamavua

mailing address:

P. O. Box 218, Suva

telephone:

[679] 331-4466

FAX:

[679] 330-8685

• 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 blue symbolizes the Pacific ocean and the Union Jack reflects the links with Great Britain;
• the shield - taken from Fiji's coat of arms - depicts a yellow lion, holding a coconut pod between its paws, above a white field quartered by the cross of Saint George;
• the four quarters depict stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, a banana bunch, and a white dove of peace

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

agriculture:

70%

industry and services:

30% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

34.9% (2009 est.)

general assessment:

• modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities;
• regional radio communications center;
• subject to occasional devastating cyclones

domestic:

• telephone or radio telephone links to almost all inhabited islands;
• most towns and large villages have automatic telephone exchanges and direct dialing;
• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 110 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 679;
• access to important cable links between US and Canada, as well as between NZ and Australia;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean) (2016)

• Fiji TV, a publicly traded company, operates a free-to-air channel, as well as Sky Fiji and Sky Pacific multi-channel pay-TV services;
• state-owned commercial company, Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, Ltd, operates 6 radio stations - 2 public broadcasters and 4 commercial broadcasters with multiple repeaters;
• 5 radio stations with repeaters operated by Communications Fiji, Ltd;
• transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2009)

number of registered air carriers:

2; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 12

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,336,976

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

83,686,504 mt-km (2015)

total:

597 km

narrow gauge:

597 km 0.600-m gauge

note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during the harvest season, which runs from May to December (2008)

country comparison to the world: 110

total:

3,440 km

paved:

1,686 km

unpaved:

1,754 km (2011)

country comparison to the world: 162

total:

11

by type:

passenger 4, passenger/cargo 4, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2

foreign-owned:

2 (Australia 2) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 108