Fiji
GANG INFORMATION
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of the Fiji Islands
Geography
Area: 18,376 sq. km (7,056 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital--Suva (pop. 167,000), Lautoka (pop. 30,000), Nadi.
Terrain: Mountainous or varied.
Climate: Tropical maritime.
People
Nationality: Noun--Fiji Islander; adjective--Fiji or Fijian.*
Population (2004 est.): 880,874.
Age structure: 31.7% under 14; 4% over 65.
Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 1.41%.
Ethnic groups: Indigenous Fijian 54%, Indo-Fijian 40%.
Religion: Christian 52% (Methodist and Roman Catholic), Hindu
33%, Muslim 7%.
Languages: English (official), Fijian, Hindi.
Education: Literacy--93%.
Health: Life expectancy--male 66.74 years; female 71.79. Infant
mortality rate--12.99/1,000.
Work force: Agriculture--67%.
*The term "Fijian" has exclusively ethnic
connotations and should not be used to describe any thing or person
not of indigenous Fijian descent.
Government
Type: Parliamentary Democracy.
Independence (from U.K.): October 10, 1970.
Constitution: July 1997 (suspended May 2000, reaffirmed March
2001).
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister
(head of government), Cabinet. Legislative--bicameral parliament;
upper house is appointed, lower house is elected. Judicial--Supreme
Court and supporting hierarchy.
Major political parties: Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL),
Fiji Labor Party (FLP), Conservative Alliance Matanitu Vanua (CAMV),
National Federation Party (NFP).
Economy
GDP (2004): $2.9 billion.
GDP per capita (nominal): $3,436.
GDP per capita (purchasing power parity): $3,707.
GDP composition by sector: Services 59.7%, industry 30.4%, agriculture
9.9%.
Industry: Types--tourism, sugar, garments.
Trade: Exports--$618.8 million; sugar, garments, gold, fish, mineral
water. Major markets--Australia, New Zealand, Japan, U.S., U.K.
Imports--$721 million; basic manufactures, machinery and transport
equipment. Major sources--Australia, New Zealand, U.S. ($50.7
million).
External debt (2004): $112.8 million.
GEOGRAPHY
Fiji comprises a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific
lying about 4,450 km. (2,775 mi.) southwest of Honolulu and 1,770
km. (1,100 mi.) north of New Zealand. Its 322 islands range in
size from the large--Viti Levu (about the size of the "Big
Island" of Hawaii, and where Suva and 70% of the population
are located) and Vanua Levu--to much smaller islands, of which
just over 100 are inhabited. The larger islands contain mountains
as high as 1,200 meters (4,000 ft.) rising abruptly from the shore.
Heavy rains--up to 304 cm. (120 in.) annually--fall
on the windward (southeastern) side, covering these sections of
the islands with dense tropical forest. Lowlands on the western
portions of each of the main islands are sheltered by the mountains
and have a well-marked dry season favorable to crops such as sugarcane.
PEOPLE
Most of Fiji's population lives on the island coasts, either in
Suva or in smaller urban centers. The interior is sparsely populated
due to its rough terrain.
Indigenous Fijians are a mixture of Polynesian and
Melanesian, resulting from the original migrations to the South
Pacific many centuries ago. The Indo-Fijian population has grown
rapidly from the 60,000 indentured laborers brought from India
between 1879 and 1916 to work in the sugarcane fields. Thousands
more Indians migrated voluntarily in the 1920s and 1930s and formed
the core of Fiji's business class. The native Fijians live throughout
the country, while the Indo-Fijians reside primarily near the
urban centers and in the cane-producing areas of the two main
islands. Nearly all of the indigenous Fijians are Christian; more
than three-quarters are Methodist. Approximately 80% of the Indo-Fijians
are Hindu, 15% are Muslim, and most of the rest are Sikh, while
a few are Christian.
Some Indo-Fijians have been displaced by the expiration
of land leases in cane-producing areas and have moved into urban
centers in pursuit of jobs. Similarly, a number of indigenous
Fijians have moved into urban areas, especially Suva, in search
of a better life. Meanwhile, the Indo-Fijian population has declined
due to emigration and a declining birth rate. Indo-Fijians currently
constitute 40% of the total population, down from over 50% in
the 1940s. However, Indo-Fijians dominate the professions and
commerce.
HISTORY
Melanesian and Polynesian peoples settled the Fijian islands some
3,500 years ago. European traders and missionaries arrived in
the first half of the 19th century, and the resulting disruption
led to increasingly serious wars among the native Fijian confederacies.
One Ratu (chief), Cakobau, gained limited control over the western
islands by the 1850s, but the continuing unrest led him and a
convention of chiefs to cede Fiji unconditionally to the British
in 1874.
The pattern of colonialism in Fiji during the following
century was similar to that in many other British possessions:
the pacification of the countryside, the spread of plantation
agriculture, and the introduction of Indian indentured labor.
Many traditional institutions, including the system of communal
land ownership, were maintained.
Fiji soldiers fought alongside the Allies in the
Second World War, gaining a fine reputation in the tough Solomon
Islands campaign. The United States and other Allied countries
maintained military installations in Fiji during the war, but
Fiji itself never came under attack.
In April 1970, a constitutional conference in London
agreed that Fiji should become a fully sovereign and independent
nation within the Commonwealth. Fiji became independent on October
10, 1970. Post-independence politics came to be dominated by the
Alliance Party of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. The Indian-led opposition
won a majority of House seats in 1977, but failed to form a government
out of concern that indigenous Fijians would not accept Indo-Fijian
leadership. In April 1987, a coalition led by Dr. Timoci Bavadra,
an ethnic Fijian supported by the Indo-Fijian community, won the
general election and formed Fiji's first majority Indian government,
with Dr. Bavadra serving as Prime Minister. Less than a month
later, Dr. Bavadra was forcibly removed from power during a military
coup led by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka on May 14, 1987.
After a period of deadlocked negotiations, Rabuka
staged a second coup on September 25, 1987. The military government
revoked the constitution and declared Fiji a republic on October
10. This action, coupled with protests by the Government of India,
led to Fiji's expulsion from the Commonwealth of Nations and official
nonrecognition of the Rabuka regime from foreign governments,
including Australia and New Zealand. On December 6, Rabuka resigned
as head of state and Governor General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
was appointed the first President of the Fijian Republic. Mara
was reappointed Prime Minister, and Rabuka became Minister of
Home Affairs.
The new government drafted a new Constitution that
went into force in July 1990. Under its terms, majorities were
reserved for ethnic Fijians in both houses of the legislature.
Previously, in 1989, the government had released statistical information
showing that for the first time since 1946, ethnic Fijians were
a majority of the population. More than 12,000 Indo-Fijians and
other minorities had left the country in the 2 years following
the 1987 coups. After resigning from the military, Rabuka became
prime minister under the new constitution in 1993.
Tensions simmered in 1995-96 over the renewal of
land leases and political maneuvering surrounding the mandated
7-year review of the 1990 constitution. The Constitutional Review
Commission produced a draft constitution that expanded the size
of the legislature, lowered the proportion of seats reserved by
ethnic group, and reserved the presidency for ethnic Fijians,
but opened the position of prime minister to all races. Prime
Minister Rabuka and President Mara supported the proposal, while
the nationalist indigenous Fijian parties opposed it. The reformed
constitution was approved in July 1997. Fiji was readmitted to
the Commonwealth in October.
The first legislative elections held under the new
constitution took place in May 1999. Rabuka's coalition was defeated
by the Fiji Labor Party, which formed a coalition, led by Mahendra
Chaudhry, with two small Fijian parties. Chaudhry became Fiji's
first Indo-Fijian prime minister. One year later, in May 2000,
Chaudhry and most other members of parliament were taken hostage
in the House of Representatives by gunmen led by ethnic Fijian
nationalist George Speight. The standoff dragged on for 8 weeks--during
which time Chaudhry was removed from office by the then-president
due to his incapacitation. The Republic of Fiji military forces
then seized power and brokered a negotiated end to the situation.
Speight was later arrested when he violated its terms. In February
2002, Speight was convicted of treason and is currently serving
a life sentence.
Former banker Laisenia Qarase was named interim
prime minister and head of the interim civilian administration
by the military and Great Council of Chiefs in July. The Supreme
Court reaffirmed the validity of the Constitution and ordered
the Chaudhry government returned to power in March 2001, after
which the President dissolved the Parliament elected in 2000 and
appointed Qarase head of a caretaker government until elections
could be held in August. Qarase's newly formed Soqosoqo Duavata
ni Lewenivanua (SDL) party won the elections. The SDL declined
to include the largely Indo-Fijian Fiji Labor Party (FLP) in the
Cabinet on a legal technicality. The 1997 Constitution states
that any party receiving 10% or more of the seats in Parliament
must be given an opportunity to be represented in the Cabinet
in proportion to its numbers in the House of Representatives.
In 2004, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional provision
and instructed the Prime Minister to offer cabinet seats to the
FLP. Subsequent negotiations between the two sides regarding the
cabinet portfolios proved unsuccessful until November 26, 2004,
when Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, of the ruling SDL party,
and Mahendra Chaudhry, of the opposition FLP, agreed not to pursue
further the dispute over the composition of the cabinet.
GOVERNMENT
The president (head of state) is appointed for a 5-year term by
the Great Council of Chiefs, a traditional ethnic Fijian leadership
body. The president in turn appoints the prime minister (head
of government) and Cabinet from among the members of Parliament.
Both houses of the legislature have some seats reserved by ethnicity.
Other seats can be filled by persons of any ethnic group. The
Senate is appointed; the House of Representatives is elected.
Fiji maintains an independent judiciary consisting
of a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeals, a High Court, and magistrate
courts. The judiciary remained independent through the coups and
the consequent absence of an elected government. All but one of
the five judges on the Supreme Court also is a serving judge in
Australia or New Zealand.
There are four administrative divisions--central,
eastern, northern and western--each under the charge of a commissioner.
Ethnic Fijians have their own administration in which councils
preside over a hierarchy of provinces, districts, and villages.
The councils deal with all matters affecting ethnic Fijians.
The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga)
is made up of 55 hereditary chiefs, most of whom are nominated
to the Council by their respective provincial councils. It is
established under the Fijian Affairs Act and recognized by the
constitution.
Principal Government Officials
Head of State (President)--Josefa Iloilo
Head of Government (Prime Minister)--Laisenia Qarase
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Kaliopate Tavola
Ambassador to the United States--Jesoni Vitusagavulu
Ambassador to the United Nations--Isikia Savua
Fiji maintains an embassy at Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel: 202-337-8320).
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
For 17 years after independence, Fiji was a parliamentary democracy.
During that time, political life was dominated by Ratu Sir Kamisese
Mara and the Alliance Party, which combined the traditional Fijian
chiefly system with leading elements of the European, part-European,
and Indian communities. The main parliamentary opposition, the
National Federation Party, represented mainly rural Indo-Fijians.
Intercommunal relations were managed without serious confrontation.
However, when Dr. Bavadra's coalition democratically installed
a cabinet with substantial ethnic Indian representation after
the April 1987 election, extremist elements played on ethnic Fijian
fears of domination by the Indo-Fijian community. The racial situation
took a turn for the worse from which it is only now recovering.
Three coups, two discarded Constitutions, and political and economic
uncertainty have been the result.
One of the main issues of contention is land tenure.
Indigenous Fijian communities very closely identify themselves
with their land. In 1909 the land ownership pattern was frozen
by the British and further sales prohibited. Today, 83% of the
land is held by indigenous Fijians, under the collective ownership
of the traditional Fijian clans. Indo-Fijians produce more than
75% of the sugar crop but, in most cases, must lease the land
they work from its ethnic Fijian owners instead of being able
to buy it outright.
The long-term leases provided for under the 1976
Agricultural Landlord and Tenants Act (ALTA) began to expire in
the late 1990s, and some indigenous landowners have declined to
renew the leases of their land to others. Thousands of displaced
Indo-Fijians have moved to urban centers to look for jobs, and
35% of the land has been taken out of production. The continued
impasse over ALTA is adversely affecting the sugar industry. The
Indo-Fijian parties' major voting bloc is made up of sugarcane
farmers, and the farmers' main tool of influence has been their
ability to galvanize widespread boycotts of the sugar industry,
with the potential of crippling the economy.
Prime Minister Qarase and FLP leader (and former
Prime Minister) Mahendra Chaudhry have resumed dialogue on critical
issues affecting the country, including the ALTA. Mounting pressure
from nearly every sector of the community is forcing these leaders
to put aside their personal differences and work for the betterment
of the country.
The next parliamentary election is due in 2006,
although the government could call an election at any time before
then.
ECONOMY
Fiji is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies,
although it remains a developing country with a large subsistence
agriculture sector. The effects of the Asian financial crisis
contributed to substantial drops in GDP in 1997 and 1998, with
a return to positive growth in 1999 aided by a 20% devaluation
of the Fijian dollar. According to the Asian Development Bank,
the economy contracted by 4.7% in 2000, but recovered quickly
and grew by about 4% a year, every year since. Recent estimates
for 2004 show an economic growth rate of 3.5%. The Government
of Fiji reported that growth was driven by a recovery in the tourism
industry as well as by improved performance in mining, the harvesting
and processing of mahogany, and fresh fish exports.
Tourism has expanded rapidly since the early 1980s
and is the leading economic activity in the islands. Approximately
445,000 people visited Fiji in 2004. About one-third came from
Australia, with large contingents also coming from New Zealand,
the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. More than 70,000
of the tourists were American, a number that has steadily increased
since the start of regularly scheduled nonstop air service from
Los Angeles. In 2004, Fiji's gross earnings from tourism were
about $430 million, an amount double the revenue from its two
largest goods exports (sugar and garments). Gross earnings from
tourism continue to be Fiji's major source of foreign currency.
Fiji runs a persistently large trade deficit, although
its tourism revenue yields a services surplus. Australia accounts
for between 35% and 45% of Fiji's trade, with New Zealand, the
United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan varying year-by-year
between 5% and 15% each. Fiji's two largest exports are sugar
and garments, with each accounting for about one-quarter of export
revenue in 2004--roughly $145 million each. The potential collapse
of Fiji's sugar industry, due to quality concerns, poor administration,
and the phasing out of a preferential price agreement with the
European Union possibly beginning in 2005, also poses a major
threat to Fiji's already uncertain economic well-being. The Fijian
garment industry has developed rapidly since the introduction
of tax exemptions in 1988. The industry's output has increased
nearly ten-fold since that time, but the lower labor costs of
Chinese competitors, the softening of a trade preference agreement
with Australia, and elimination of quota restrictions imposed
on competing nations by the U.S., have resulted in closures of
most garment factories in the country.
Other important export crops include coconuts and
ginger, although production levels of both are declining. Fiji
has extensive mahogany timber reserves, which are only now being
exploited. Fishing is an important export and local food source.
Gold and silver are also exported. The most important manufacturing
activities are the processing of sugar and fish. Since 2000 the
export of still mineral water, mainly to the United States, has
expanded rapidly. By mid-2004, it was more than $35 million per
year.
Since the 1960s, Fiji has had a high rate of emigration,
particularly of Indo-Fijians in search of better economic opportunities.
This has been particularly true of persons with education and
skills. The economic and political uncertainty following the 1987
and 2000 coups added to the outward flow by persons of all ethnic
groups. In recent years, indigenous Fijians also have begun to
emigrate in large numbers, often to seek employment as home health
care workers. Unemployment is high, and wages are very low. Advertised
white-collar job openings often attract hundreds of applicants,
many of whom are well-qualified.
Other long-term economic problems include low investment
rates and uncertain property rights. Investment laws are being
reviewed to make them more business-friendly, including a relaxation
of work permit requirements. Investor confidence in Fiji dropped
significantly immediately after the coup in 2000. However, in
April 2002, Moody's Investor's Service upgraded its Ba2 sovereign
rating of Fiji from negative to stable, noting that despite continuing
domestic political uncertainties, the country's external financial
position had weathered the past 2 year's volatility without significant
deterioration. External liquidity remained adequate.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Fiji maintains a pro-Western foreign policy. It has traditionally
had close relations with its major trading partners Australia
and New Zealand, although these relations cooled after both the
1987 and 2000 coups. Following free and fair elections in September
2001, relations with Australia warmed considerably. Australia
is easily Fiji's most important bilateral partner. Fiji has recently
adopted a "look north policy," establishing closer relations
with the People's Republic of China. A significant increase in
aid from China as well as an increase in Chinese immigration has
resulted.
Since independence, Fiji has been a leader in the
South Pacific region. Fiji is host for the secretariat of the
16-nation Pacific Islands Forum, as well as a number of other
prestigious regional organizations. Fiji hosted the Forum's annual
summit in 2002 at which the Nasonini Declaration against terrorism
was adopted. In 2002, Fiji also hosted the Africa, Caribbean and
Pacific (ACP) Summit with more than 80 countries represented.
During the ACP Summit, the Nadi Declaration was adopted regarding
economic cooperation with the European Union. In July 2003, Fiji
hosted the South Pacific Games, a prestigious event that went
far beyond athletics and symbolized the country's return to normalcy.
Over the years, other Pacific Island governments have generally
been sympathetic to Fiji's internal political problems and have
declined to take public positions.
Fiji became the 127th member of the United Nations
on October 13, 1970, and participates actively in the organization.
Fiji's contributions to UN peacekeeping are unique for a nation
of its size. It maintains about 600 soldiers overseas in UN peacekeeping
missions, with MFO Sinai in the Middle East, East Timor, and Iraq.
Fiji also has a number of private citizens working in Iraq and
Kuwait, mostly in security services.
U.S.-FIJI RELATIONS
Fiji maintains an embassy in Washington DC, as well as a Permanent
Mission in New York at the United Nations. Although the United
States provides relatively little direct bilateral development
assistance, it contributes as a major member of a number of multilateral
agencies such as the Asian Development Bank. The U.S. Peace Corps,
withdrawn from Fiji in 1998 for budgetary reasons, resumed its
program in Fiji in late 2003.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Larry M. Dinger
Deputy Chief of Mission--Ted Mann
Political/Economic/Commercial Affairs--Brian J. Siler
Consul--Kirk Lindly
Management Officer--Jeffrey Robertson
The U.S. Embassy in Fiji is located at 31 Loftus
Street, Suva; tel: 679-331-4466, fax: 679-330-0081. The mailing
address is U.S. Embassy, P.O. Box 218, Suva, Fiji.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides
Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
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Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends
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are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about
terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas
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Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau
of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system:
202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings
also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page:
http://travel.state.gov. Consular Affairs Tips for Travelers publication
series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning
a safe trip abroad, are on the Internet and hard copies can be
purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling
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call 202-647-4000.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC)
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Travelers can check the latest health information
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at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health
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A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel
(HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Information on travel conditions, visa requirements,
currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items
of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure
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country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing
in this publication).
U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling
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or at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in
a country by filling out a short form and sending in a copy of
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Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov,
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