Fiji, Melanesian island group (7,095 sq mi/18,376 sq km; 1992 estimated population 746,326; 2004 estimated population 880,874), South Pacific; (cap.) Suva.
Geography
Located on the continental side of the Andesite Line. Fiji includes islands variously estimated at c.320 to 800 in number, of which some 150 are inhabited. Viti Levu (Big Fiji), the largest, covers 4,011 sq mi/10,390 sq km, and includes Suva. The second largest island, Vanua Levu (Big Land), is 2,138 sq mi/5,537 sq km, and other important islands are Taveuni, Kadavu, Koro, Gau, and Ovalau. In the center of the group is the Koro Sea, E of which is the Lau group. The Yasawa and Mamanuca groups are W of Viti Levu. The larger islands are composed of ancient volcanic, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, and are mountainous; the highest peak, Mount Victoria, or Tomaniivi (4,341 ft/1,323 m), is on Viti Levu, which also has the longest river, the Rewa. Coral reefs encircle most islands. Fiji’s climate is warm and humid. There are dense tropical forests on the windward sides of the islands and grassy hills and plains called talasiga with clumps of casuarina and pandanus on the leeward sides; coastal mangrove swamps are abundant, and hot springs, the last residue of volcanism, occur in the mountain regions.
Population
The Fijians, a dark-skinned people of Melanesian origin, presumably arrived (with Lapita-styled pottery) over 3,000 years ago. They constitute half the population and predominate especially in the W islands. The people of the E islands show a stronger admixture with the Polynesian Tongans. Indians (the islands' second largest ethnic group), brought in (1879–1916) under the indenture system, are engaged chiefly in the sugar industry, in commerce, and in other tertiary occupations. They control much of the country’s wealth. There are also small groups of Europeans, Chinese, and Micronesians.
Economy
Fertile soils yield sugarcane, tropical fruits, taro, ginger, pineapples, bananas, and coconuts. Sugar, coconuts, and gold are the traditional exports, with the main export destinations Great Britain (13.5%), Australia (19.3%), and the U.S. (23.5%). But tourism now rivals sugar as a source of income. Also timber, especially from planted softwoods, and commercial fisheries are now significant. Imports, principally from Australia, consist largely of foodstuffs, manufactures, and machinery. Fiji’s chief towns are generally seaports: Suva and Lautoka on Viti Levu; and Levuka, on Ovalau, an island E of Viti Levu. However, Nadi is an airport town. A transport node, Fiji has developed substantial industries oriented toward aircraft, shipping, local consumer needs, and tourist demand. It also houses medical training and university services for the South Pacific. The University of the South Pacific (founded 1968) is located at Suva.
History to Present
The islands were discovered by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1643, one outlier visited by Captain James Cook in 1774, and the group investigated by Captain Bligh. In 1804 the first European settlement was established on the islands at Levuka. In 1874, after repeated requests by the tribal chiefs of Fiji, Great Britain annexed the islands. During World War II the islands were an important supply point of the South Pacific. In 1987, following the second military coup in six months by Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, Fiji was declared a republic, left the Commonwealth, and barred non-Fijians from being elected president or prime minister. The years since the coup have been marked by large-scale emigration of Fiji Indians.
Government
Executive power is vested in the President, who in turn appoints a prime minister. The cabinet is responsible to the legislature, which consists of a senate and a house of representatives. Of the senators, eight are appointed by the council of chiefs, seven by the prime minister, six by the opposition party, and one by the island of Rotuma. The seats in the house of representatives are apportioned on a still-undetermined racial basis, and are filled by elections. General Rabuka was elected prime minister in the first elections under a new constitution in 1992, and again in 1994. Constitutional changes in 1997 allowed for the election in 1999 of an enthic Indian (Indo-Fijian) government, and resulted in poltical unrest and a coup in May 2000. New elections in August 2001 brought in a new coalition government headed by President Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda as chief of state and Laisenia Qarase as prime minister.
Fiji is also known as Viti.
