Background: Fiji became independent in 1970 after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987 caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). A 1990 constitution favored native Melanesian control of Fiji but led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution more equitable. Fiji has been a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world.

Geographic coordinates: 18 00 S, 175 00 E

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 18,270 km²
Land: 18,270 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: 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

Climate: tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly mountains of volcanic origin

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m

Natural resources: timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential

Land use
Arable land: 10%
Permanent crops: 4%
Permanent pastures: 10%
Forests and woodland: 65%
Other: 11% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: cyclonic storms can occur from November to January

Geography
Note: includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited

Population: 802,611 (July 1998 est.)
Growth rate: 1.28% (1998 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Fijian(s)
Adjective: Fijian

Ethnic groups: Fijian 49%, Indian 46%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5%

Languages: English (official), Fijian, Hindustani

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)

Age structure
0-14 years: 34% (male 139,713; female 134,220)
15-64 years: 63% (male 251,646; female 251,425)
65 years and over: 3% (male 12,051; female 13,556) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.28% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 22.92 births/1000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 6.25 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.92 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 est.)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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: 0.89 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 16.65 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 66.29 years
Male: 63.92 years
Female: 68.78 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.74 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 91.6%
Male: 93.8%
Female: 89.3% (1995 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
Conventional short form: Fiji

Government type: 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; another new constitution, which opens the way for a non-ethnic Fijian to become prime minister, was signed by the president on 25 July 1997 and will come into force no later than 28 July 1998

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); First Vice President Ratu Sir Josaia TAIVAI'IA (since 12 January 1994); Second Vice President Ratu Inoke TAKIVEIKATA (since 12 January 1994): ead of
Government: Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June 1992); Deputy Prime Minister Taufa VAKATALE (since 7 August 1997)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament
Note: there is also a Presidential Council that advises the president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of Chiefs which consists of the highest ranking members of the traditional chiefly system
Elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA elected president; percent of Great Council of Chiefs vote_NA

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (34 seats; 24 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 9 for Indians and others, and 1 for the island of Rotuma; members appointed by the president to serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (70 seats; 37 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 27 for ethnic Indians, and 6 for independents and others; members elected by popular vote on a communal basis to serve five-year terms)
Elections: House of Representatives_last held 18-25 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999)
Election results: House of Representatives_percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party - SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FAP 5, GVP 4, independents 2, ANC 1
Note: when the new constitution comes into force, the composition of the legislative branch will change to the following:Senate_32 seats (14 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the prime minister, eight appointed by the leader of the opposition, and one appointed by the Council of Rotuma); House of Representatives_71 seats (23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, and there will be 25 open seats)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ratu Napolioni MASIREWA
In the us chancery: Suite 240, 2,233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 337-8,320
In the us fax: [1] (202) 337-1996
In the us consulates: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Larry M. DINGER
From the us embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva
From the us telephone: [679] 314,466
From the us fax: [679] 300,081

Flag description: 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, 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 are the major sources of foreign exchange. 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. Fiji's growth slowed in 1997 because the sugar industry suffered from low world prices and rent disputes between farmers and landowners.

Real gdp growth rate: 3% (1996)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $6,500 (1996 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 21%
Industry: 18%
Services: 61% (1995 est.)

Agriculture products: sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish catch 13,796 tons (1991)

Industries: sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, clothing, lumber, small cottage industries

Industrial production growth rate: 2.9% (1995)

Labor force
Total: 235,000
By occupation subsistenceagriculture: 67%
By occupation wageearners: 18%
By occupation salaryearners: 15% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 6% (1997 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $540.65 million
Expenditures: $742.65 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1997 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: total value:$639 million (f.o.b., 1996)
Commodoties: sugar 32%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber
Partners: EU 26%, Australia 15%, other Pacific island countries 11%, Japan 6%

Imports: total value:$947 million (c.i.f., 1996)
Commodoties: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, consumer goods, chemicals
Partners: Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EU 6%, US 6%

Debt external: $333.8 million (1996 est.)

Exchange rates: Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1: 1.9064 (January 1998), 1.4437 (1997), 1.4033 (1996), 1.4063 (1995), 1.4641 (1994), 1.5418 (1993)

Electricity
Capacity: 200,000 kW (1995)
Production: 545 million kWh (1995)
Consumption per capita: 705 kWh (1995)

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)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $32 million (1997)
Percent of gdp: 5% (1997)

Airports: 24 (1997 est.)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (1997 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 21
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 17 (1997 est.)

Railways
Total: 597 km; note_belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation
Narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)

Waterways: 203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges

Merchant marine
Total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,800 GRT/18,034 DWT
Ships by type: chemical tanker 2, oil tanker 1, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1997 est.)

Disputes international: none