Country Facts - Fiji

The People

Nationality

Fijian(s)

Ethnic Composition

Fijian (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture)	51%
Indian	44%
European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other	5%

(1998)

Religious Composition

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

Languages Spoken

English (official), Fijian, Hindustani

Education and Literacy

92.5 percent of the total population above the age of 15 is considered literate, with males at 90 percent, and females at 95 percent. (1999)

Labor Force

Total: 137,000 (1999)
By occupation:

Agriculture, including subsistence agriculture	70%
Other	30%

(2001)

Geography

Land Mass Total

7,054 sq mi (18,270 sq km)

Land

7,054 sq mi (18,270 sq km)

Water

0 sq mi (0 sq km)

Land Boundaries

0 mi (0 km) island

Coastline

701 mi (

1,129 km)

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: 656 ft (200 m) depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Note: Measured from claimed archipelagic baselines.

Climate/Weather

Tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation.

Terrain

Mostly mountains of volcanic origin.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Pacific Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Tomaniivi 4,343 ft (1,324 m)

Natural Resources

Timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower.

Land use

Arable land	11%
Permanent crops	5%
Other	84%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Cyclonic storms can occur from November to January.

Environment - current issues

Deforestation; soil erosion.

Geography Note

Fiji includes 332 islands, of which approximately 110 are inhabited.

Demographics

Population

856,346 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	32.5%	Male: 141,757	Female: 136,198
15-64 years:	63.8%	Male: 273,658	Female: 273,100
65 years and over:	3.7%	Male: 14,648	Female: 16,985

Growth Rate

1.41% (2002)

Life Expectancy

68.56 years (2002)
female: 71.11 years
male: 66.13 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$5,200 (2001)

Infant Mortality

13.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

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:	0.86 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.01 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-3.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Fiji, 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 a growing tourist industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment and uncertain property rights. The political turmoil in Fiji has had a severe impact with the economy shrinking by 2.8% in 2000 and growing by 3.7 percent in 2001. The Fiji Visitor's Bureau was pleased to see visitor arrivals to reach pre-coup levels during 2002. The government's ability to manage its budget - which ran a net deficit of 6 percent in 2002 - depends upon the continuance of political stability and investor confidence. GDP growth showed a slight drop in 2002 to 3.5 percent, but estimates for 2003 are an optimistic 4.7 percent, with continued improvement projected through 2005..

Unemployment

7.6% (1999)

Inflation Rate

3% (2000)

Industries

Tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries.

Exports

US$572 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports

US$833 million (c.i.f., 2000)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$4.4 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Australia 24.9%, US 20.8%, UK 14.4%, Japan 5.1%, other Pacific island countries 5.0%, NZ 3.6% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Australia 46.2%, NZ 13.1%, Singapore 6.6%, Japan 4.5%, Hong Kong 3.8%, US 3.2%, Taiwan 3.0% (2000)

Top Exports

Sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil

Top Imports

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

Debt - external

US$162.7 million (1999)

Economic aid

US$40.3 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to 4:30p.m.	Closed
Retail	Monday to Thursday 8a.m. to 5p.m. Fridays until 6p.m.	Saturday 8a.m. to 1p.m. Suva Handicraft on Stinson Parade until 5p.m. on Saturday.
Banks	Monday to Thursday 9:30a.m. to 3p.m. Fridays until 4p.m.	Closed
Government	8:30a.m. to 4:30p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
National Youth Day	March 7	March 7	March 7
Good Friday	April 20	April 11	March 25
Easter¹	April 21	April 12	March 27
Easter Monday	April 22	April 13	March 28
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)	May 14	May 2	April 21
Ratu Sir Lala Sukuma Day	Late May	Late May	Late May
Constitution Day	July 28	July 28	July 28
Fiji Day	October 10	October 10	October 10
Diwali Hindu Festival of Light²	November 4	November 4	November 4
Christmas Day³	December 25	December 25	December 25
Boxing Day	December 26	December 26	December 26

¹	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
²	Marks the beginning of the Hindu Year. Due to the complexity, and age of the Hindu calendar, it is impossible to calculate too far in advance.
³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press