Virgin Islands (2004) | Fiji (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.8% (male 13,116; female 12,770)
15-64 years: 66% (male 33,944; female 37,870) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 4,855; female 6,220) (2004 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 | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish |
Airports | 2 (2003 est.) | 28 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 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: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 352 sq km
land: 349 sq km water: 3 sq km |
total: 18,270 sq km
land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. | 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 | 14.49 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 22.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $560
expenditures: NA (2003) |
revenues: $427.9 million
expenditures: $531.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Charlotte Amalie | Suva (Viti Levu) |
Climate | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 188 km | 1,129 km |
Constitution | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 | 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: United States Virgin Islands
conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies |
conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
conventional short form: Fiji |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Fijian dollar (FJD) |
Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $188.1 million (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of 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 | none (territory of 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 | NA | $40.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment. | 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 | 957.9 million kWh (2001) | 483.7 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.03 billion kWh (2001) | 520.1 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
Environment - current issues | lack of natural freshwater resources | 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 | black 78%, white 10%, other 12%
note: West Indian 81% (49% born in the Virgin Islands and 32% born elsewhere in the West Indies), US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 4%, other 2% |
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)
head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) 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 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4% |
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 (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil |
Exports - partners | US, Puerto Rico | 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 | white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel | 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 - $2.5 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.012 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 22.4% services: 61% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | 4.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 20 N, 64 50 W | 18 00 S, 175 00 E |
Geography - note | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited |
Highways | total: 856 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2000) |
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 (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, Puerto Rico | Australia 35.1%, Singapore 19.2%, New Zealand 17.2%, Japan 4.9% (2003) |
Independence | - | 10 October 1970 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA |
Industries | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage industries |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 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) | 2.2% (2003) | 1.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts |
Labor force | 48,900 (2003 est.) | 137,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (2003 est.) | agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 11.76%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 85.29% (2001) |
arable land: 10.95%
permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Spanish, Creole | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani |
Legal system | based on US laws | based on British system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 10, ICM 2, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected |
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: 78.75 years
male: 74.91 years female: 82.82 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 69.2 years
male: 66.74 years female: 71.79 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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 | 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 | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) |
Nationality | noun: Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: Virgin Islander |
noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian |
Natural hazards | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January |
Natural resources | sun, sand, sea, surf | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -8.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -3.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] | 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 | 108,775 (July 2004 est.) | 880,874 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 25.5% (1990-91) |
Population growth rate | -0.05% (2004 est.) | 1.41% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Malau, Savusavu, Suva, Vuda |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 11, shortwave 0 (2002) | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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) |
Religions | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% | 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: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2004 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; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: country code - 1-340; submarine cable and satellite communications; satellite earth stations - NA |
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 | 69,400 (2002) | 102,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 41,000 (2002) | 109,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | NA |
Terrain | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land | mostly mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 2.21 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.3% (2003 est.) | 7.6% (1999) |
Waterways | - | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004) |