Fiji (2001) | Saint Helena (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
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: 18.8% (male 698; female 678)
15-64 years: 71.9% (male 2,727; female 2,531) 65 years and over: 9.3% (male 296; female 387) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 27 (2000 est.) | 1 (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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (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.) |
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Area | total:
18,270 sq km land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes St. Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. |
Birth rate | 23.33 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.26 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$610 million expenditures: $501 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
Capital | Suva | Jamestown |
Climate | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
Coastline | 1,129 km | 60 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 | 1 January 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Fiji Islands conventional short form: Fiji |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
Currency | Fijian dollar (FJD) | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) |
Death rate | 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $193 million (1998) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $40.3 million (1995) | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
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). | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | 474.3 million kWh (1999) | 4.65 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 510 million kWh (1999) | 5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
17.65% hydro: 82.35% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion | NA |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.) | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
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) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6981 (January 2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6047 (1997); note - the Saint Helenian pound is at par with the British pound |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since NA June 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $537 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $704,000 f.o.b. (1995) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Australia 33.1%, US 14.8%, UK 13.8%, other Pacific island countries 8.8%, NZ 4.5%, Japan 4.5% (1999) | South Africa, UK |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 30% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -8% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 S, 175 00 E | 15 56 S, 5 42 W |
Geography - note | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns |
Highways | total:
3,440 km paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1996) |
total: 158 km (Saint Helena 118 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km)
paved: 138 km (Saint Helena 98km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) unpaved: 20 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $653 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $14.434 million c.i.f. (1995) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | Australia 41.9%, US 14%, NZ 13.3%, Japan 4.8%, Taiwan 1.9% (1999) | UK, South Africa |
Independence | 10 October 1970 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (1995) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 14.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 3.2% (1997 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 | ICFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court |
Labor force | 235,000 | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987) | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 10% forests and woodland: 65% other: 11% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani | English |
Legal system | based on British system | NA |
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 Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.25 years male: 65.83 years female: 70.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.2 years
male: 74.31 years female: 80.23 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 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
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 |
exclusive fishing 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.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes ground and naval forces) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $24 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (FY98) | - |
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) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun:
Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
Natural hazards | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha |
Natural resources | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower | fish |
Net migration rate | -3.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 844,330 (July 2001 est.) | 7,317 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.41% (2001 est.) | 0.7% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 500,000 (1997) | 3,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995) |
0 km |
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) |
Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | NA years of age |
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: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK ; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 72,000 (1997) | 2,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5,200 (1997) | 0 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 0
note: television programs are received in St. Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 2.86 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.53 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges |
none |