Fiji (2004) | American Samoa (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 142,412; female 136,754)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 283,690; female 283,027) 65 years and over: 4% (male 16,047; female 18,944) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
38.44% (male 13,278; female 12,512) 15-64 years: 56.57% (male 18,784; female 19,163) 65 years and over: 4.99% (male 1,779; female 1,568) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 4 (2000 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 (2004 est.) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 18,270 sq km
land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly larger than 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 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government and gave a mandate to the government of Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE. | Settled as early as 1000 B. C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. |
Birth rate | 22.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $427.9 million
expenditures: $531.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants) expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97) |
Capital | Suva (Viti Levu) | Pago Pago |
Climate | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season from November to April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,129 km | 116 km |
Constitution | promulgated on 25 July 1990 and amended on 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 | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
conventional short form: Fiji |
conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
Currency | Fijian dollar (FJD) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $188.1 million (2001 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador David L. LYON
embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 331-4466 FAX: [679] 330-0081 |
none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Mr. Paula NAVUNISARAVI (Charge D'Affaires ad Interim)
chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996 |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $40.3 million (1995) | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 |
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 - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's ability to manage its budget. Yet short-run economic prospects are good, provided tensions do not again erupt between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians. | This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts the great bulk of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism, a developing sector, has been held back by the recurring financial difficulties in East Asia. |
Electricity - consumption | 483.7 million kWh (2001) | 120.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 520.1 million kWh (2001) | 130 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion | limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.) | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | Fijian dollars per US dollar - 1.8958 (2003), 2.1869 (2002), 2.2766 (2001), 2.1286 (2000), 1.9696 (1999) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since 18 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 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 chief 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 ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA% |
chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1997) and Lieutenant Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 3 January 1997) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tauese P. SUNIA reelected governor; percent of vote - Tauese P. SUNIA (Democrat) 50.7%, Lealaifuaneva Peter REID (independent) 47.8% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $500 million (1998) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil | canned tuna 93% |
Exports - partners | US 23.7%, Australia 18.4%, UK 13.6%, Samoa 6%, Japan 4.8% (2003) | US 99.6% |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.012 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 22.4% services: 61% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 S, 175 00 E | 14 20 S, 170 00 W |
Geography - note | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited | Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total: 3,440 km
paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1999 est.) |
total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $471 million (1996) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% |
Imports - partners | Australia 35.1%, Singapore 19.2%, New Zealand 17.2%, Japan 4.9% (2003) | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% |
Independence | 10 October 1970 (from UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.99 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (2002 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) |
Labor force | 137,000 (1999) | 14,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.) | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.95%
permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2001) |
arable land:
5% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 70% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Legal system | based on British system | NA |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (34 seats; 24 appointed by the President on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the president, 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 seats; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1 September, 19 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2006) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - FLP 26.5%, SDL 27.5%, NFP 1.2%, MV 4.2%, NLUP 1.3%, UGP .3%, independents 1.4%; seats by party - FLP 27, SDL 32, MV 6, NFP 1, NLUP 2, UGP 1, independents 2 |
bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - only independents elected note: American Samoa elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate for a sixth term |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.2 years
male: 66.74 years female: 71.79 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,372 GRT/7,453 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Singapore 1 (2004 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF): Land Forces, Naval Division | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY02) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 239,221 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 131,349 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 9,302 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
Nationality | noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian |
noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
Natural hazards | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January | typhoons common from December to March |
Natural resources | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower | pumice, pumicite |
Net migration rate | -3.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Bai Kei Viti Party or BKV [Ratu Tevita MOMOEDONU]; Conservative Alliance Party/Matanitu Vanua or MV [Ratu Rakuita VAKALALABURE]; Dodonu Ni Taukei Party or DNT [Fereti S. DEWA]; Fiji Democratic Party or FDP [Felipe BOLE] (a merger of the Christian Democrat Alliance or VLV [Poesci Waqalevu BUNE], Fijian Association Party or FAP [Adi Kuini SPEED], Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Felipe BOLE], and New Labor Unity Party or NLUP [Tupeni BABA]); Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDRHRY]; General Voters Party or GVP [leader NA] (became part of United General Party); Girmit Heritage Party or GHP [leader NA]; Justice and Freedom Party or AIM [leader NA]; Lio 'On Famor Rotuma Party or LFR [leader NA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Pramond RAE]; Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party or NVTLP [Saula TELAWA]; Party of National Unity or PANU [Meli BOGILEKA]; Party of the Truth or POTT [leader NA]; United Fiji Party/Sogosogo Duavata ni Lewenivanua or SDL [Laisenia QARASE]; United General Party or UGP [Millis Mick BEDDOES] | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 880,874 (July 2004 est.) | 67,084 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25.5% (1990-91) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.41% (2004 est.) | 2.42% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Malau, Savusavu, Suva, Vuda | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 57,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 597 km
narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during harvest season (May to December) (2003) |
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) |
Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
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: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 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: country code - 679; 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:
NA domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 102,000 (2003) | 13,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 109,900 (2003) | 2,550 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
Total fertility rate | 2.78 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (1999) | 16% (1993) |
Waterways | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004) |
none |