| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
conventional short form: Fiji |
| Capital: |
Suva (Viti Levu) |
| 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 |
| Area: |
total: 18,270 sq km
land: 18,270 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than New Jersey |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
1,129 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added |
| Climate: |
tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation |
| Terrain: |
mostly mountains of volcanic origin |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic
note: military coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally declared Fiji a republic on 6 October 1987 |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western |
| Independence |
10 October 1970 (from UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) |
| Constitution: |
promulgated on 25 July 1990 and amended on 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the first time at the national level |
| Legal
System; |
based on British system |
| Suffrage |
21 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since 18 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 2000)
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 chief system
elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (34 seats; 24 appointed by the President on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the president, and one appointed by the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, one reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1 September and 19 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2006)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - FLP 26.5%, SDL 27.5%, NFP 1.2%, MV 4.2%, NLUP 1.3%, UGP .3%, independents 1.4%; seats by party - FLP 27, SDL 32, MV 6, NFP 1, NLUP 2, UGP 1, independents 2 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Bai Kei Viti Party or BKV [Ratu Tevita MOMOEDONU]; Conservative Alliance Party/Matanitu Vanua or MV [Ratu Rakuita VAKALALABURE]; Dodonu Ni Taukei Party or DNT [Fereti S. DEWA]; Fiji Democratic Party or FDP [Felipe BOLE] (a merger of the Christian Democrat Alliance or VLV [Poesci Waqalevu BUNE], Fijian Association Party or FAP [Adi Kuini SPEED], Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Felipe BOLE], and New Labor Unity Party or NLUP [Tupeni BABA]); Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDRHRY]; General Voters Party or GVP [leader NA] (became part of United General Party); Girmit Heritage Party or GHP [leader NA]; Justice and Freedom Party or AIM [leader NA]; Lio 'On Famor Rotuma Party or LFR [leader NA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Pramond RAE]; Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party or NVTLP [Saula TELAWA]; Party of National Unity or PANU [Meli BOGILEKA]; Party of the Truth or POTT [leader NA]; United Fiji Party/Sogosogo Duavata ni Lewenivanua or SDL [Laisenia QARASE]; United General Party or UGP [Millis Mick BEDDOES] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
893,354 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 31.4% (male 143,066/female 137,346)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 288,434/female 287,720)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 16,797/female 19,991) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 24.28 years
male: 23.84 years
female: 24.74 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian |
| Ethnic groups: |
Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.) |
| 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 |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
102,000 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
109,900 (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center
domestic: NA
international: country code - 679; access to important cable links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
NA |
| Internet country
code: |
.fj |
| Internet hosts: |
493 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
55,000 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 597 km
narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge
note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during harvest season (May to December) (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 3,440 km
paved: 1,692 km
unpaved: 1,748 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Malau, Savusavu, Suva, Vuda |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,372 GRT/7,453 DWT
by type: passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 1 (Australia 1) (2005) |
| Airports: |
28 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
