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
PEOPLE
Population: 744,006 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)
Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 12 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 19 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 67 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Fijian(s); adjective--Fijian
Ethnic divisions: Indian 49%, Fijian 46%, European, other Pacific
Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5%
Religion: 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)
Language: English (official); Fijian; Hindustani
Literacy: 86% (male 90%, female 81%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1985 est.)
Organized labor: about 45,000 employees belong to some 46 trade
unions, which are organized along lines of work and ethnic origin (1983)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Fiji
Type: military coup leader Major General 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
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 NA
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 NA;
National Federation (primarily Indian), Siddiq KOYA;
Western United Front (Fijian), Ratu Osea GAVIDI;
Fiji Labor Party, Adi Kuini BAVADRA
Suffrage: none
Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 14 May 1987 (next to be
held July 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
Diplomatic representation: Charge d'Affaires Ratu Finau MARA;
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 or
314-069
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
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: $1.3 billion, per capita $1,693; real growth rate 3.5%
(1991 est.)
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 (1980-87), $732 million
Currency: Fijian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Fijian dollar
(F$) = 100 cents
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 644 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, belonging to the
government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation
Highways: 3,300 km total (1984)--390 km paved; 1,200 km
bituminous-surface treatment; 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: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 34,214
GRT/37,161 DWT; includes 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 container,
1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker
Civil air: 1 DC-3 and 1 light aircraft
Airports: 26 total, 24 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;
stations--7 AM, 1 FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Fiji Military Force (FMF; Army, Navy, Police)
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 190,120; 104,861 fit for
military service; 7,879 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $25.8 million, 2.5% of GDP (1988)
