:Fiji Geography

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

Railroads:
    644 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, belonging to the government-owned Fiji
    Sugar Corporation
Highways:
    3,300 km total (1984) - 1,590 km paved; 1,290 km gravel, crushed stone, or
    stabilized soil surface; 420 unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
    203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges
Ports:
    Lambasa, Lautoka, Savusavu, Suva
Merchant marine:
    7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 40,072 GRT/47,187 DWT; includes 2
    roll-on/roll-off, 2 container, 1 petroleum tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1
    cargo
Civil air:
    1 DC-3 and 1 light aircraft
Airports:
    25 total, 22 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
    over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 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 New
    Zealand-Australia; 53,228 telephones; broadcast stations - 7 AM, 1 FM, no
    TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

:Fiji Defense Forces

Branches:
    Fiji Military Force (FMF; including a naval division, Police)
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 192,056; 105,898 fit for military service; 7,564 reach military
    age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $22.4 million, 1.7% of GDP (FY 91)