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FIJI
OFFICIAL NAME
Republic of Fiji
CAPITAL CITY
Suva
Geography
Location:
Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Geographic coordinates:
18 00 S, 175 00 E
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total area:
18,270 sq km
land area:
18,270 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
1,129 km
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation
Terrain:
mostly mountains of volcanic origin
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Tomanivi 1,324 m
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%
Irrigated land:
10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Whaling
Geographic note:
includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited
People
Population:
782,381 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
35% (male 141,652; female 135,829)
15-64 years:
62% (male 240,621; female 240,620)
65 years and over:
3% (male 11,235; female 12,424) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.28% (1996 est.)
Birth rate:
23.37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate:
6.35 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate:
-4.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.9 male(s)/female
all ages:
1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
65.71 years
male:
63.39 years
female:
68.14 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.83 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Fijian(s)
adjective:
Fijian
Ethnic divisions:
Fijian 49%, Indian 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:
age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population:
91.6%
male:
93.8%
female:
89.3%
Government
Name of country:
conventional long form:
Republic of Fiji
conventional short form:
Fiji
Data code:
FJ
Type of government:
republic
note:
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)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 10 October (1970)
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 is scheduled to be complete by 1997
Legal system:
based on British system
Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (Acting President since 15 December 1993, President since 12 January 1994) was appointed for a five-year term by the Great Council of Chiefs; First Vice President Ratu Sir Josaia TAIVAIQIA (since 12 January 1994); Second Vice President Ratu Inoke TAKIVEIKATA (since 12 January 1994)
head of government:
Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June 1992) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Minister Timoci VESIKULA (since NA)
Presidential Council:
advises the president on matters of national importance
Great Council of Chiefs:
highest ranking members of the traditional chiefly system
cabinet:
Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament
Senate:
nonelective body, members are appointed by the president and serve five-year terms; seats - (34 total, 24 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 9 for Indians and others, and 1 for the island of Rotuma)
House of Representatives:
members serve five-year terms; elections last held 18-25 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); 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) SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FAP 5, GVP 4, independents 2, ANC 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Fijian Political Party (SVT - primarily Fijian), leader Maj. Gen. Sitivini RABUKA; National Federation Party (NFP; primarily Indian), Jai Ram REDDY; Fijian Nationalist Party (FNP), Sakeasi BUTADROKA; Fiji Labor Party (FLP), Mahendra CHAUDHRY; General Voters Party (GVP), Leo SMITH; Fiji Conservative Party (FCP), leader NA; Conservative Party of Fiji (CPF), leader NA; Fiji Indian Liberal Party, leader NA; Fiji Indian Congress Party, leader NA; Fiji Independent Labor (Muslim), leader NA; Four Corners Party, leader NA; Fijian Association Party (FAP), Josevata KAMIKAMICA; General Electors' Association, leader NA
note:
in early 1995, ethnic Fijian members of the All National Congress (ANC) merged with the Fijian Association (FA); the remaining members of the ANC have renamed their party the General Electors' Association
International organization participation:
ACP, AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Pita Kewa NACUVA
chancery:
Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone:
[1] (202) 337-8320
FAX:
[1] (202) 337-1996
consulate(s):
New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Don Lee GEVIRTZ
embassy:
31 Loftus Street, Suva
mailing address:
P. O. Box 218, Suva
telephone:
[679] 314466
FAX:
[679] 300081
Economy
Economic overview:
Fiji, richly endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and tourism are the major sources of foreign exchange. Industry contributes 17% to GDP; sugar processing makes up 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 and to the emigration of skilled workers. 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. Growth in 1994 of 5% was largely attributable to increased tourism and expansion in the manufacturing sector.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $4.7 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate:
2.2% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita:
$6,100 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture:
22%
industry:
17%
services:
61% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (1995)
Labor force:
235,000
by occupation:
subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987)
Unemployment rate:
5.4% (1992)
Budget:
revenues:
$495.6 million
expenditures:
$591.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)
Industries:
sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, clothing, lumber, small cottage industries
Industrial production growth rate:
0% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
200,000 kW
production:
480 million kWh
consumption per capita:
581 kWh (1993)
Agriculture:
sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish catch nearly 33,000 tons (1989)
Exports:
$571.8 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities:
sugar 40%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber
partners:
EC 26%, Australia 15%, Pacific Islands 11%, Japan 6%
Imports:
$864.3 million (c.i.f., 1995)
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.)
Economic aid:
recipient:
ODA, $NA
Currency:
1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.4347 (January 1996), 1.4063 (1995), 1.4641 (1994), 1.5418 (1993), 1.5030 (1992), 1.4756 (1991)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railways:
total:
597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation
narrow gauge:
597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total:
4,800 km
paved:
NA km
unpaved:
NA km
Waterways:
203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges
Ports:
Labasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva
Merchant marine:
total:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,267 GRT/17,884 DWT
ships by type:
chemical tanker 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total:
21
with paved runways over 3 047 m:
1
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m:
1
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m:
1
with paved runways under 914 m:
15
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m:
3 (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones:
60,017 (1987 est.)
Telephone system:
modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center
domestic:
NA
international:
access to important cable link between US and Canada and NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 7, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios:
NA
Television broadcast stations:
0
Televisions:
12,000 (1992 est.)
Defense
Branches:
Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes army, navy, and air elements)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49:
205,616
males fit for military service:
113,339
males reach military age (18) annually:
8,746 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $28 million, 2.5% of GDP (1995)
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