Northern Mariana Islands (2001) | Fiji (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.55% (male 8,929; female 8,639) 15-64 years: 74.72% (male 26,242; female 29,509) 65 years and over: 1.73% (male 639; female 654) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | 28 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
477 sq km land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
total: 18,270 sq km
land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. | 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. |
Birth rate | 20.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$221 million expenditures: $213 million, including capital expenditures of $17.7 million (1996) |
revenues: $427.9 million
expenditures: $531.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Saipan | Suva (Viti Levu) |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,482 km | 1,129 km |
Constitution | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
conventional short form: Fiji |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Fijian dollar (FJD) |
Death rate | 2.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $188.1 million (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs | - |
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 |
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 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | extensive funding from US | $40.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 12,000 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 483.7 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 520.1 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
Environment - current issues | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development | deforestation; soil erosion |
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 | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean | Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Fijian dollars per US dollar - 1.8958 (2003), 2.1869 (2002), 2.2766 (2001), 2.1286 (2000), 1.9696 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Pedro P. TENORIO (since NA January 1998) and Lieutenant Governor Jesus R. SABLAN (since NA January 1998) 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 in NA November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Pedro P. TENORIO elected governor in a three-way race; percent of vote - Pedro P. TENORIO (Republican Party) 47% |
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% |
Exports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | garments | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil |
Exports - partners | US | US 23.7%, Australia 18.4%, UK 13.6%, Samoa 6%, Japan 4.8% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
purchasing power parity - $5.012 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 22.4% services: 61% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 12 N, 145 45 E | 18 00 S, 175 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
362 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
total: 3,440 km
paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, Japan | Australia 35.1%, Singapore 19.2%, New Zealand 17.2%, Japan 4.9% (2003) |
Independence | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) | 10 October 1970 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries |
Infant mortality rate | 5.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (1997 est.) | 1.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts |
Labor force | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995) | 137,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 60% |
arable land: 10.95%
permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2001) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
English (official), Fijian, Hindustani |
Legal system | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation | based on British system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001); House of Representatives - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 6, Democratic Party 2, Reform Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 10, Democratic Party 8 note: the Commonwealth does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Juan N. BABAUTA) |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.74 years male: 72.65 years female: 79.02 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.2 years
male: 66.74 years female: 71.79 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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 |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | 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.) |
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 | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian |
Natural hazards | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 74,612 (July 2001 est.) | 880,874 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25.5% (1990-91) |
Population growth rate | 3.62% (2001 est.) | 1.41% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saipan, Tinian | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Malau, Savusavu, Suva, Vuda |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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) |
Religions | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) | 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) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,000 (1996) | 102,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,200 (1995) | 109,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) | NA |
Terrain | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic | mostly mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 7.6% (1999) |
Waterways | none | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004) |