Pacific Magazine > 2007 Pacific Almanac
Fiji
The Basics
Population: 827,900 (Prov. 2007 census)
Capital: Suva
Land Area: 18,333 sq. km.
Political Status and Form of Government: Independent republic with parliamentary system, currently being run by a military-backed interim regime. Indigenous body of hereditary leaders called the Great Council of Chiefs, currently suspended while its functions and membership are reviewed.
Languages: Fijian, English, Hindustani (three official languages), Rotuman, Mandarin.
Currency: Fijian Dollar (FJD)
Number of Islands: 332 (110 inhabited)
The Numbers
Gross Domestic Product: F$5.8 (US$3.7) billion (2008 budget)
Gross Domestic Product per capita: US$3,229 (2004)
Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate: -3.9% (2007 est.)
National Budget: F$1.52 billion. (US$ 979 million) Net deficit F$116.5 million (2008 budget documents)
Aid per capita: F$1.9million (US$1.2 million) grants in aid (2008 budget est.) (In total, not per capita)
Life Expectancy: Male: 70 (2007 est.) Female:
Ethnicity: Ethnic Fijians 57%, Ethnic Indians 37%, Others (Rotumans, Chinese and part-Chinese, European, part-European, Pacific Islanders) 6%
Nationality: Fiji Islanders
Age Distribution:0-14 years: 30.9%, 15-64 years: 64.7%, 65+: 4.4% (2007 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.83% (2006 prov.)
People in Power
Head of Government: Interim Prime Minister Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama (chief of the military, minister for home affairs, immigration, information, national planning)
Head of State: President Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda
Cabinet Members: Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney-General, Electoral Reform and Anti-Corruption; Mahendra Chaudhry, Finance and Sugar Industry; Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, Foreign Affairs and External Trade; Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Fijian Affairs, Heritage, Provincial Development and Multi-Ethnic Affairs; Poseci Bune, Public Service, Public Enterprises, Public Sector Reform; Dr. Jona Senilagakali, Health; Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi, Youth, Employment Opportunities, Sports, Productivity; Jone Navakamocea, Local Government, Urban Development and Public Utilities; Bernadette Rounds-Ganilau, Labour, Industrial Relations, Tourism, Environment; Netani Sukanaivalu, Education; Manu Korovulavula, Transport, Energy, Works; Taito Waradi, Commerce, Industry, Investment and Communication; Adi Laufitu Malani, Women, Social Welfare, Housing; Tevita Vuibau, Lands, Mineral Resources; Jainend Kumar, Agriculture; Joketani Cokanasiga, Fisheries, Forests.
Representative Body: bicameral Parliament with 34-seat Senate and 71-seat House of Representatives, suspended.
Regional Organizations
ACP, AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, SPTO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WCPFC, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Media & Internet Service Providers
Radio: AM 2, FM 19
TV: 1 free-to-air, 4 pay channels (via digital satellite), 2 Christian stations, 2 free-to-air broadcasters poised to go live in 2008.
Print: Fiji Times, Fiji Daily Post, Fiji Sun, Islands Business, Fiji Living, Marama, Turaga, Mai Life, Living in Fiji, Just Sport.
ISPs: Connect, Unwired Fiji, Kidanet
Recent News
The long-running tensions between the military and the government of Laisenia Qarase came to a head with a coup on December 5, 2006. After a year of rumours of a coup, Bainimarama finally seized presidential power in what he said was a bid to rid Fiji of corruption. His action was condemned by the international community, not least by Fiji’s two biggest neighbors, Australia and New Zealand. Bainimarama ruled as president for a month before handing ceremonial power back to Ratu Josefa Iloilo. Immediately after that Bainimarama appointed an interim Cabinet, which was half the size of Qarase’s. In the months that followed the coup, the military kept a tight rein on dissent and crime. On Christmas Eve 2006, six pro-democracy activists – two of them women - were arrested from their homes and taken to the military’s Queen Elizabeth Barracks where they were mistreated and threatened.
During the six-month state of emergency, two men died, allegedly as a result of their assault in military custody. One man died in police custody. There were numerous reports of arbitrary arrests, bashings and several incidents where high-profile people – including several ousted ministers and some women – were taken into military custody. Travel bans were placed on those who publicly criticized the regime. An austerity budget, announced in March by interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry meant a 5 percent pay-cut in the civil service and a drastic reduction in government spending. The pay cut prompted several unions to file a dispute. In August, the Fiji Nursing Association launched a 16-day strike. The nurses were followed several days later by a strike of more than 10,000 government workers whose unions are affiliated to the Fiji Islands Congress of Trade Unions, affecting government services.
In early November, several men were arrested in what the authorities said was a plot to assassinate Bainimarama, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and Chaudhry, as well as two senior army officers. Eleven men were charged with inciting to mutiny and conspiracy to murder and were awaiting trial when this edition went to press. They were initially charged with treason, but a standoff developed between the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions who refused to sanction the treason charge for what was presumed to be insufficient evidence. Among those arrested were two Fiji-born New Zealand nationals – one of them millionaire business executive Ballu Khan, who spent several weeks in hospital for injuries sustained during his arrest on Nov. 3. He continued to be kept under military and police guard after being readmitted to hospital but had not been charged with any offence. His lawyers filed a F$40m compensation claim against the government in late November for battery and assault and wrongful confinement.
Airlines, Shippers Serving Countrys
Air: Air Fiji, Air New Zealand, Air Niugini, Air Pacific, Pacific Blue, Pacific Sun, Solomon Airlines, Qantas.
Shippers: Pacific Forum Line, Bank Line, Bligh Water Shipping, Carpenters Shipping, Consort Shipping Lines, Patterson Brothers Shipping, Kadavu Shipping Company.
Main Government Contact
Office of the Prime Minister
PO Box 2353, Government Buildings, Suva, Fiji
Ph: (679) 3211-201
Fax: (679) 330-7806
Sources and Fiji on the Web
Fiji Government
www.fiji.gov.fj
Fiji Bureau of Statistics
"http://www.statsfiji.gov.fj"
Department of Communication - Ministry of Information
Fiji Visitor’s Bureau
www.bulafiji.com
CIA Factbook
www.cia.gov
Map courtesy UH Press, The Pacific Islands; an Encyclopedia
Click map for larger image
