Fiji (2001) | Israel (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
32.92% (male 141,724; female 136,216) 15-64 years: 63.52% (male 268,411; female 267,871) 65 years and over: 3.56% (male 14,007; female 16,101) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.5% (male 851,415/female 812,095)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,010,888/female 1,986,256) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 264,708/female 351,521) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 27 (2000 est.) | 51 (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 (2000 est.) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
24 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2000 est.) |
total: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century as a British colony. 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). 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. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a coup in May of 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. New elections are scheduled for August 2001. | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. On 24 June 2002, US President BUSH laid out a "road map" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envisions a two-state solution. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by Palestinian-Israeli violence ongoing since September 2000. The conflict may have reached a turning point with the election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT. |
Birth rate | 23.33 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.21 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$610 million expenditures: $501 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $48.09 billion
expenditures: $52.11 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Suva | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
Climate | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 1,129 km | 273 km |
Constitution | 10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990; amended 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 | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji |
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | Fijian dollar (FJD) | - |
Death rate | 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.18 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $193 million (1998) | $74.46 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Osman M. SIDDIQUE embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 314466 FAX: [679] 300081 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903 mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7369/7453/7454/7457/7458/7551/7575 FAX: [972] (3) 516-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Salaseini Lelelvawalu VOSAILAGI chancery: Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5578 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5560 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel announced its intention to pull out Israeli settlers and withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank in 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region |
Economic aid - recipient | $40.3 million (1995) | $662 million from US (2003 est.) |
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 are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Roughly 300,000 tourists visit each year, including thousands of Americans following the start of regularly scheduled non-stop air service from Los Angeles. Fiji's growth slowed in 1997 because the sugar industry suffered from low world prices and rent disputes between farmers and landowners. Drought in 1998 further damaged the sugar industry, but its recovery in 1999 contributed to robust GDP growth. 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 8% in 1999 and over 7,000 people losing their jobs. The interim government's 2001 budget is an attempt to attract foreign investment and restart economic activity. The government's ability to manage the budget and fulfill predictions of 4% growth for 2001 will depend on a return to stability, a regaining of investor confidence, and the absence of international sanctions (which could cripple Fiji's sugar and textile industry). | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain, but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict; difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors; and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. The economy grew at 1% in 2003, with improvements in tourism and foreign direct investment. In 2004, rising business and consumer confidence - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports boosted GDP by 3.9%. |
Electricity - consumption | 474.3 million kWh (1999) | 38.3 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.387 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 510 million kWh (1999) | 42.67 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
17.65% hydro: 82.35% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.) | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | Fijian dollars per US dollar - 2.1814 (January 2001), 2.1286 (2000), 1.9696 (1999), 1.9868 (1998), 1.4437 (1997), 1.4033 (1996) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000) |
Executive branch | note:
armed ethnic Fijian terrorists, led by George SPEIGHT stormed the Parliament building on 19 May 2000; ethnic Indo-Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra CHAUDHRY and his government were held hostage for 56 days; following the attempted coup, the Commander of the Fiji Military Forces, naval Commodore Frank BAINIMARAMA declared martial law and dissolved the government on 29 May 2000; an interim government, headed by interim Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE, was appointed to serve until a new constitution was initiated and subsequent elections held; in November 2000, Fiji's High Court upheld the 1997 constitution and ruled that Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA remained the president; Justice Anthony GATES concluded that MARA should recall the pre-May 19th Parliament and appoint a prime minister to form a new government; the Fiji Court of Appeals upheld GATES' decision on 1 March 2001; it ruled that the 1997 constitution had not been abrogated, Parliament had not been dissolved, only prorogued for six months, and that the presidency remained vacant since MARA's resignation took effect 15 December 2000; President Ratu Josefa ILOILO reinstated QARASE's interim government as the caretaker government and elections were scheduled for August 2001; approximately 23 fluid political parties are currently jockeying for power chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILO (since NA 2000); Vice President Jope SENILOLI (since NA 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since NA 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Epeli NAILATIKAU (since NA 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 chiefly 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 ILOILO elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Moshe KATZAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held mid-2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January 2003 (next scheduled to be held fall of 2006) election results: Moshe KATZAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
Exports | $537 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Exports - commodities | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | Australia 33.1%, US 14.8%, UK 13.8%, other Pacific island countries 8.8%, NZ 4.5%, Japan 4.5% (1999) | US 36.8%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 4.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 30% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 37.7% services: 59.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $20,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -8% (1999 est.) | 3.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 S, 175 00 E | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
Heliports | - | 3 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1996) |
total: 16,903 km
paved: 16,903 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center |
Imports | $653 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Australia 41.9%, US 14%, NZ 13.3%, Japan 4.8%, Taiwan 1.9% (1999) | US 15%, Belgium 10.1%, Germany 7.5%, Switzerland 6.5%, UK 6.1% (2004) |
Independence | 10 October 1970 (from UK) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (1995) | 4.5% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles and footwear |
Infant mortality rate | 14.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 0% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | BIS, BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
Labor force | 235,000 | 2.68 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987) | agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6%, manufacturing 20.2%, construction 7.5%, commerce 12.8%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, finance and business 13.1%, personal and other services 6.4%, public services 31.2% (1996) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 10% forests and woodland: 65% other: 11% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.39%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 79.44% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
Legal system | based on British system | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (32 seats; 14 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the prime minister, eight appointed by the leader of the opposition, 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; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 11 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fiji Labor Party 37, others 34 |
unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next scheduled to be held fall of 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Assembly 2.3%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya (YBA) 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Assembly 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.25 years male: 65.83 years female: 70.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.32 years
male: 77.21 years female: 81.55 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.6% male: 93.8% female: 89.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.4% male: 97.3% female: 93.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | Oceania | Middle East |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,870 GRT/14,787 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 752,873 GRT/881,711 DWT
by type: cargo 1, container 16 registered in other countries: 48 (2005) |
Military branches | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes ground and naval forces) | Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Ground Corps, Navy, Air and Space Force (includes Air Defense Forces); historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $24 million (FY98) | $9.11 billion (FY03) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (FY98) | 8.7% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
227,599 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
125,238 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
9,471 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May |
Nationality | noun:
Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
Net migration rate | -3.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 140 km; oil 1,509 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDHRY]; Fijian Nationalist Federation Party or NFP [Singh RAKKA]; Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Jai Ram REDDY]; United General Party or UGP [David PICKERING] | Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Green Leaf Party (no longer active) [Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; Herut (no longer active) [Michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Shimon PERES]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meretz (merged with YAHAD) [Zahava GALON]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Ephraim "Efie" EITAM]; National Union (Haichud Haleumi) [Avigdor LIBERMAN] (includes Tekuma Moledet and Yisra'el Beiteinu); One Nation [David TAL]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Yosef "Tommy" LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Yaakov LITZMAN]; YAHAD [Yossi BEILIN]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA (merged with Likud) [Natan SHARANSKY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses |
Population | 844,330 (July 2001 est.) | 6,276,883
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 18% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.41% (2001 est.) | 1.2% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva | Ashdod, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 500,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995) |
total: 640 km
standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
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) |
Jewish 76.5%, Muslim 15.9%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2003) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: country code - 972; 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 72,000 (1997) | 3.006 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5,200 (1997) | 6.334 million (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 2.86 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.44 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 10.7% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges |
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