Fiji (2005) | Anguilla (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.4% (male 143,066/female 137,346)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 288,434/female 287,720) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 16,797/female 19,991) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.2% (male 1,561/female 1,517)
15-64 years: 69.9% (male 4,767/female 4,501) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 405/female 503) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish | small quantities of tobacco, vegetables; cattle raising |
Airports | 28 (2004 est.) | 3 (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 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 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 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 18,270 sq km
land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | about half 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 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. | Colonized by English settlers from Saint Kitts in 1650, Anguilla was administered by Great Britain until the early 19th century, when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was incorporated into a single British dependency, along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. Several attempts at separation failed. In 1971, two years after a revolt, Anguilla was finally allowed to secede; this arrangement was formally recognized in 1980, with Anguilla becoming a separate British dependency. |
Birth rate | 22.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $427.9 million
expenditures: $531.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $22.8 million
expenditures: $22.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Suva (Viti Levu) | The Valley |
Climate | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 1,129 km | 61 km |
Constitution | promulgated on 25 July 1990; amended on 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; effective 28 July 1998 | Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
conventional short form: Fiji |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Anguilla |
Death rate | 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $188.1 million (2001 est.) | $8.8 million (1998) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $40.3 million (1995) | $9 million (2004 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 - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity, but is inefficient. 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. Overseas remittances from Fijians working in Kuwait and Iraq have increased significantly. | Anguilla has few natural resources, and the economy depends heavily on luxury tourism, offshore banking, lobster fishing, and remittances from emigrants. Increased activity in the tourism industry, which has spurred the growth of the construction sector, has contributed to economic growth. Anguillan officials have put substantial effort into developing the offshore financial sector, which is small, but growing. In the medium term, prospects for the economy will depend largely on the tourism sector and, therefore, on revived income growth in the industrialized nations as well as on favorable weather conditions. |
Electricity - consumption | 697.5 million kWh (2002) | 42.6 million kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | 750 million kWh (2002) | NA |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crocus Hill 65 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion | supplies of potable water sometimes cannot meet increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system |
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 |
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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.) | black (predominant) 90.1%, mixed, mulatto 4.6%, white 3.7%, other 1.6% (2001 Census) |
Exchange rates | Fijian dollars per US dollar - 1.7331 (2004), 1.8958 (2003), 2.1869 (2002), 2.2766 (2001), 2.1286 (2000) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Alan Eden HUCKLE (since 28 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister Osbourne FLEMING (since 3 March 2000) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from among the elected members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | NA | $2.6 million (1999) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil | lobster, fish, livestock, salt, concrete blocks, rum |
Exports - partners | US 24%, Australia 19%, UK 12.6%, Samoa 6.5%, Japan 4.1% (2004) | UK, US, Puerto Rico, Saint-Martin (2000) |
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 Anguillan coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts three orange dolphins in an interlocking circular design on a white background with blue wavy water below |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 22.4% services: 61% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 18% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.6% (2004 est.) | 2.8% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 S, 175 00 E | 18 15 N, 63 10 W |
Geography - note | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited | the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles |
Highways | total: 3,440 km
paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1999 est.) |
total: 105 km
paved: 65 km unpaved: 40 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA | $80.9 million (1999) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals | fuels, foodstuffs, manufactures, chemicals, trucks, textiles |
Imports - partners | Australia 25.9%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 21.1% (2004) | US, Puerto Rico, UK (2000) |
Independence | 10 October 1970 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3.1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries | tourism, boat building, offshore financial services |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 21.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (2002 est.) | 2.3% |
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 | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts | High Court (judge provided by Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court) |
Labor force | 137,000 (1999) | 6,049 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.) | agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining 4%, manufacturing 3%, construction 18%, transportation and utilities 10%, commerce 36%, services 29% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.95%
permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly rock with sparse scrub oak, few trees, some commercial salt ponds) (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani | English (official) |
Legal system | based on British system | based on English common law |
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 and 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 |
unicameral House of Assembly (11 seats total, 7 elected by direct popular vote, 2 ex officio members, and 2 appointed; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 February 2005 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - AUF 38.9%, ANSA 19.2%, AUM 19.4%, APP 9.5 %, independents 13%; seats by party - AUF 4, ANSA 2, AUM 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.53 years
male: 67.05 years female: 72.14 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 77.11 years
male: 74.18 years female: 80.12 years (2005 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 12 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 95% female: 95% (1984 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,372 GRT/7,453 DWT
by type: passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Australia 1) (2005) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF): Land Forces, Naval Division (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $36 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY02) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) | Anguilla Day, 30 May |
Nationality | noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian |
noun: Anguillan(s)
adjective: Anguillan |
Natural hazards | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January | frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower | salt, fish, lobster |
Net migration rate | -3.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | Anguilla United Movement or AUM [Hubert HUGHES]; The Anguilla United Front or AUF [Osbourne FLEMING, Victor BANKS], a coalition of the Anguilla Democratic Party or ADP and the Anguilla National Alliance or ANA; Anguilla Progressive Party or APP [Roy ROGERS]; Anguilla Strategic Alternative or ANSA [Edison BAIRD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 893,354 (July 2005 est.) | 13,254 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25.5% (1990-91) | 23% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 1.4% (2005 est.) | 1.77% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Lambasa, Lautoka, Suva | Blowing Point, Road Bay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) |
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) |
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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 29%, Methodist 23.9%, other Protestant 30.2%, Roman Catholic 5.7%, other Christian 1.7%, other 5.2%, none or unspecified 4.3% (2001 Census) |
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: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 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: 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: modern internal telephone system international: country code - 1-264; microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 102,000 (2003) | 6,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 109,900 (2003) | 1,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin | flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone |
Total fertility rate | 2.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.73 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (1999) | 8% (2002) |
Waterways | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004) |
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