*Fiji, Geography

Location:
  Oceania, 2,500 km north of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean
Map references:
  Oceania, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  18,270 km2
 land area:
  18,270 km2
 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 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
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 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  subject to hurricanes from November to January; includes 332 islands of
  which approximately 110 are inhabited

*Fiji, People

Population:
  756,762 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  0.95% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  24.74 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  6.59 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -8.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  18.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  64.86 years
 male:
  62.62 years
 female:
  67.21 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2.98 children born/woman (1993 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 (1985)
 total population:
  86%
 male:
  90%
 female:
  81%
Labor force:
  235,000
 by occupation:
  subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987)

*Fiji, Government

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Fiji
 conventional short form:
  Fiji
Digraph:
  FJ
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)
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 currently still under review (February 1993)
Legal system:
  based on British system
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 10 October (1970)
Political parties and leaders:
  Fijian Political Party (SVT - 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 23-29 May 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); 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
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); Vice
  President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (since 14 April 1992); Vice President Ratu
  Sir Josaia TAIVAIQIA (since 14 April 1992)

*Fiji, Government

 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June 1992); Deputy Prime Minister
  Filipe BOLE (since 11 June 1992); Deputy Prime Minister Ratu Timoci VESIKULA
  (since 11 June 1993)
Member of:
  ACP, AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
  IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, PCA, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNOSOM, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Pita Kewa NACUVA
 chancery:
  Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
 telephone:
  (202) 337-8320
 consulate:
  New York
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Evelyn I. H. TEEGEN
 embassy:
  31 Loftus Street, Suva
 mailing address:
  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%. Sugar exports recovered in 1991-92.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.4 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  3% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $1,900 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  5% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  5.9% (1991 est.)
Budget:
  revenues $455 million; expenditures $546 million, including capital
  expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
  $435 million (f.o.b., 1991)
 commodities:
  sugar 40%, gold, clothing, copra, processed fish, lumber
 partners:
  EC 31%, Australia 21%, Japan 8%, US 6%
Imports:
  $553 million (c.i.f., 1991)
 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; 420 million kWh produced, 560 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
  sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, clothing, lumber, small cottage
  industries
Agriculture:
  accounts for 23% of GDP; principal cash crop is sugarcane; coconuts,
  cassava, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; small livestock sector includes
  cattle, pigs, horses, and goats; fish catch nearly 33,000 tons (1989)
Economic aid:
  Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89),
  $815 million
Currency:
  1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents

*Fiji, Economy

Exchange rates:
  Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.5809 (January 1993), 1.5029 (1992), 1.4756
  (1991), 1.4809 (1990), 1.4833 (1989), 1.4303 (1988)
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; 1,590 km paved; 1,290 km gravel, crushed stone, or
  stabilized soil surface; 420 unimproved earth (1984)
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 oil tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 cargo
Airports:
 total:
  25
 usable:
  22
 with permanent-surface runways:
  2
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  1
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  2
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 (71 telephones per 1,000 persons);
  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 age 15-49 194,634; fit for military service 107,304; reach military
  age (18) annually 7,834 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $22.4 million, about 2% of GDP (FY91/92)