Fiji

From Imakoopedia

Fiji, sometimes called the Fiji Islands, is a country in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand and consists of an archipelago that includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited.

Fiji lies just east of 180 degrees longitude and the international date line, making Fiji time the slowest in the world.

Table of contents

1 Regions 2 Cities 2.1 Ports and harbors 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 4.1 Climate 4.2 Terrain 4.3 History 5 Get in 5.1 By plane 5.2 By boat 6 Get around 7 Talk 8 Buy 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Sleep 12 Learn 13 Work 14 Stay safe 15 Stay healthy 16 Respect 17 Contact 18 External links 19 External links 20 Geography 21 People 22 Government 23 Economy 24 Communications 25 Transportation 26 Military

Regions

• Viti Levu - the main and largest island
• Vanua Levu - the second largest and more northern island.

Administrative divisions 

4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western

Cities

• Suva - Capital

Ports and harbors

• Lambasa
• Lautoka
• Levuka
• Malau
• Savusavu
• Vuda

Other destinations

• Nadi - International Airport (pronuced Nan di).

Understand

Fiji has long been considered an attractive tourism destination.

Internal political events in the recent past resulted in a reduction in tourism. The Fiji tourism industry has responded by lowering prices and increasing promotion of the main resort areas that are far removed from the politics in and around the Capital, Suva.

Climate

Tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation. Tropical cyclonic storms (The South Pacific version of Hurricanes) can occur from November to January.

Terrain

Mostly mountains of volcanic origin

Highest point 

Tomanivi 1,324 m

History

Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century as a British colony.

Independence 

10 October 1970 (from UK)

National holiday 

Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970)

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).

Government type 

republic
note: military coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally declared Fiji a republic on 6 October 1987

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.

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

Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a coup in May of 2000, fronted by Melanesian Fijian George Speight, ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government with Melanesian Fijians in control. Ongoing political fallout hints that the May 2000 coup was merely a side show of an ongoing power struggle within the Melanesian Fijian leadership.

Get in

By plane

Nadi International Airport is Fiji's main international airport. Suva airport also has some international flights. From the USA the only direct flights are LAX to NAN or HNL to NAN.

By boat

Get around

Talk

Languages 

English (official), Fijian, Hindustani

English is spoken by most in Nandi and Suva. On the outer islands you may find people who have trouble with English. English is taught in grade school until then most children will speak Fijian or Hindustani.

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Learn

Work

Stay safe

Fiji is a relatively safe place. There is very little major crime at all. Most takes place in Suva and Nandi. Fijian culture encourages sharing and small things like shoes will be some times be "borrowed", often by speaking with the village chief it can be arranged to get things returned

Fiji operates a secret political blacklist of journalists and others in the media who may be considered politically undesirable visitors. Those who employment involves reporting controversial political activities should take extra care their visas are in order before visiting Fiji.

Stay healthy

Respect

Contact

External links

External links

• Bula Fiji (http://www.bulafiji.com/) -- Official visitor's bureau site

---

The rest of this article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real Imakoopedia country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and integrate it into the article above.

---

Geography

Geographic coordinates 

18 00 S, 175 00 E

Area 

total: 18,270 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 18,270 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly smaller than New Jersey

Coastline 

1,129 km

Maritime claims 

measured from claimed archipelagic 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

Natural resources 

timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower

Land use 

arable land: 10.95%
permanent crops: 4.65%
other: 84.4% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

30 sq km (1998 est.)

Environment - current issues 

deforestation; soil erosion

Environment - international agreements 

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

People

Population 

856,346 (July 2002 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)

Government

Country name 

conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
conventional short form: Fiji

Legal system 

based on British system

Judicial branch 

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts

Diplomatic representation in the US 

chief of mission: Ambassador Anare JALE
FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996
telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320
chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20007

Diplomatic representation from the US 

chief of mission: Ambassador David L. LYON
embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva
mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva
telephone: [679] 314466
FAX: [679] 300081

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

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 - 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 only 1% in 2001. The Fiji Visitor's Bureau expects visitor arrivals to reach pre-coup levels during 2002. The government's ability to manage its budget - which is expected to run a net deficit of 6% in 2002 - will depend upon a return of political stability and investor confidence.

Labor force - by occupation 

agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.)

Industries 

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

Agriculture - products 

sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish

Exports - commodities 

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

Imports - commodities 

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

Currency 

Fijian dollar (FJD)

Currency code 

FJD

Exchange rates 

Fijian dollars per US dollar - 2.2934 (January 2002), 2.2766 (2001), 2.1286 (2000), 1.9696 (1999), 1.9868 (1998), 1.4437 (1997)

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

80,901 (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

5,200 (1997)

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: 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)

Radios 

541,476 (1999)

Television broadcast stations 

1

Televisions 

88,110 (1999)

Internet country code 

.fj

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

2 (2000)

Internet users 

15,000 (2002)

Transportation

Railways 

total: 597 km
narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge
note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation (1995)

Highways 

total: 3,440 km
paved: 1,692 km
unpaved: 1,748 km (1996)

Waterways 

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

Airports 

27 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 18 (2002)

Military

Military branches 

Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), includes ground forces, naval division