Fiji (2001) | Panama (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, and Veraguas |
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: 29.6% (male 433,494; female 418,120)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 939,550; female 914,646) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 84,130; female 92,389) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp |
Airports | 27 (2000 est.) | 107 (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 (2000 est.) |
total: 41
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2002) |
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: 62
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 50 (2002) |
Area | total:
18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999. |
Birth rate | 23.33 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.6 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$610 million expenditures: $501 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $1.9 billion
expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Suva | Panama |
Climate | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) |
Coastline | 1,129 km | 2,490 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 | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983 and 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji |
conventional long form: Republic of Panama
conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
Currency | Fijian dollar (FJD) | balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $193 million (1998) | $7.6 billion (2001 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 Linda Ellen WATT
embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado Postal 6959, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
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 Roberto ALFARO
chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8416 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $40.3 million (1995) | $197.1 million (1995) (1995) |
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). | Panama's economy is based primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-01. The government plans public works programs, tax reforms, and new regional trade agreements in order to stimulate growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 474.3 million kWh (1999) | 4.651 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 20 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 120 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 510 million kWh (1999) | 4.894 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
17.65% hydro: 82.35% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 69% nuclear: 0% other: 1% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion | water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources |
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
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.) | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% |
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) | balboas per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate) |
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 Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez elected president; percent of vote - Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (PA) 44%, Martin TORRIJOS (PRD) 37% note: government coalition - PA, MOLIRENA, Democratic Change, MORENA, PLN, PS |
Exports | $537 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $5.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing |
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 45.9%, Sweden 8.1%, Benelux 5.3%, Costa Rica 5.1% (2000 est.) |
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 | divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16.9 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 30% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 17% services: 76% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -8% (1999 est.) | 1.4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 S, 175 00 E | 9 00 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited | strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1996) |
total: 11,592 km
paved: 4,079 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,513 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 36% (1997) (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | major cocaine transshipment point and primary money laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem |
Imports | $653 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $6.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals | capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia 41.9%, US 14%, NZ 13.3%, Japan 4.8%, Taiwan 1.9% (1999) | US 33.1%, Ecuador 7.2%, Venezuela 6.6%, Japan 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 10 October 1970 (from UK) | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (1995) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries | construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling |
Infant mortality rate | 14.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 19.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 1% (2000 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 | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal |
Labor force | 235,000 | 1.1 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987) | agriculture 21%, industry 18%, services 61% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 555 km
border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 10% forests and woodland: 65% other: 11% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 6.72%
permanent crops: 2.08% other: 91.2% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani | Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
Legal system | based on British system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (71 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 34, PA 18, PDC 5, PS 4, MOLIRENA 3, PLN 3, Democratic Change 2, PRC 1, MORENA 1 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.25 years male: 65.83 years female: 70.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.89 years
male: 73.14 years female: 78.74 years (2002 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: 90.8% male: 91.4% female: 90.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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: 4,838 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 118,878,358 GRT/180,588,102 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1,445, cargo 907, chemical tanker 337, combination bulk 73, combination ore/oil 18, container 560, liquefied gas 207, livestock carrier 5, multi-functional large-load carrier 12, passenger 38, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 542, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 283, roll on/roll off 104, short-sea passenger 38, specialized tanker 34, vehicle carrier 230 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 2, Angola 1, Antigua and Barbuda 1, Argentina 11, Australia 13, Austria 2, Bahamas, The 5, Belgium 2, Belize 6, Brazil 6, British Virgin Islands 8, Cambodia 1, Canada 9, Chile 12, China 259, Colombia 14, Croatia 2, Cuba 20, Cyprus 3, Denmark 3, Dominican Republic 1, Ecuador 3, Egypt 16, Equatorial Guinea 1, France 9, Germany 72, Greece 523, Haiti 1, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 299, Iceland 1, India 18, Indonesia 48, Ireland 1, Israel 5, Italy 9, Japan 1642, Kenya 1, Kuwait 2, Latvia 8, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malaysia 18, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 8, Monaco 112, Netherlands 19, Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 98, Paraguay 1, Peru 15, Philippines 49, Poland 5, Portugal 7, Puerto Rico 2, Romania 7, Russia 12, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Saudi Arabia 4, Seychelles 1, Singapore 112, South Africa 3, South Korea 342, Spain 52, Sri Lanka 3, Sudan 1, Sweden 2, Switzerland 81, Taiwan 334, Thailand 14, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 4, Ukraine 1, United Arab Emirates 54, United Kingdom 73, United States 115, Venezuela 6, Virgin Islands (UK) 8 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force, but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression" |
Military branches | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes ground and naval forces) | an amendment to the Constitution abolished the armed forces, but there are security forces (Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police, National Maritime Service, and National Air Service) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $24 million (FY98) | $128 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (FY98) | 1.3% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
227,599 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 789,973 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
125,238 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 540,052 (2002 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, 3 November (1903) |
Nationality | noun:
Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian |
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian |
Natural hazards | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area |
Natural resources | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -3.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 130 km (2001) |
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] | Arnulfista Party or PA [Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Civic Renewal Party or PRC [Serguei DE LA ROSA]; Democratic Change [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Raul ARANGO Gasteazopo]; National Renovation Movement or MORENA [Pedro VALLARINO Cox]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Ramon MORALES]; Popular Party or PP (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC) [Ruben AROSEMENA]; Solidarity Party or PS [Samuel LEWIS Galindo] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP |
Population | 844,330 (July 2001 est.) | 2,882,329 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.41% (2001 est.) | 1.26% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva | Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo, Manzanillo (part of Colon area), Vacamonte |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 500,000 (1997) | 815,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995) |
total: 355 km
broad gauge: 76 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge (2001) |
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) |
Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: domestic and international facilities well developed
domestic: NA international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 72,000 (1997) | 396,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5,200 (1997) | 17,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.86 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.22 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 13% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges |
882 km
note: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal |