Economy of Fiji
Encyclopedia
Endowed with forest
, mineral
, and fish
resources, Fiji
is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies
, though it remains a developing country with a large subsistence agriculture
sector. Agriculture accounts for 18 % of Gross Domestic Product
, although it employs some 70 % of the workforce as of 2001. Sugar
exports and a growing tourist industry are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar cane processing makes up one-third of industrial activity; coconut
s, ginger
, and copra
are also significant.
Fiji Village
quoted Energy Minister Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi
on 22 September 2006 as confirming that the Southern Cross Management Company Limited had applied for a license to drill for petroleum
in Fiji's waters. Two other companies had already been granted licenses to explore Bligh Water
and the Lau
waters.
The country's tallest building is the 14-story Reserve Bank of Fiji Building in Suva
. Fiji is a member of the WTO.
a great stake in the economy. The plan envisages tax
-relief to businesses owned or managed by ethnic Fijians, along with greater protection for indigenous land and fishery rights.
A major aim of the Fijian government is to achieve self-sufficiency in rice
production. Cattle farming, fishing, and forestry (especially pine trees) are being encouraged in order to diversify the economy; the leading manufacturing industries involve the processing of primary products. On 14 April 2005, the Cabinet
approved Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
's proposal to develop a biofuel
s industry. Under the plan, ethanol
is to be developed as a complement to the sugar industry, with the hope of alleviating Fiji's dependence on imported fossil fuels such as petrol.
On 15 August, Qarase said that the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) had granted assistance to Fiji to develop its biofuels project. Transformation of the Fiji Sugar Corporation
into an energy and sugar company would result in a turnover of F$1 billion by 2025, he said, and would cut imports of crude oil, generate export earnings, and provide a source of electricity. Energy could be produced from copra, forest, and agricultural products, as well as sugar. He touted the scheme as necessary for diversifying and strengthening the sugar industry for its own survival and the nation's economic good. He said that the government of India
had loaned F$86 million for the upgrading of Fiji's sugar mills, which would be completed in time for the 2007-2008 crushing season.
On 28 December 2005, John Teiwa of the Coconut Industry Development Authority announced that a 20-year plan for the coconut
industry would be launched in 2006. Finance from international investors, including the government of India
, would be sought to develop the processing of virgin and extra virgin coconut oil
, with a view to venturing into foreign health markets. The government expected an annual profit of F$120 million
from the venture, Fiji Village
reported. Trials for the generation of fuel from coconut oil were also in progress, Teiwa said.
has expanded rapidly since the early 1980s and is the leading economic activity in the islands. More than 409,000 people visited Fiji in 1999 (excluding cruise ship
passengers). About one-quarter came from Australia
, with large contingents also coming from New Zealand
, Japan
, the United States
and United Kingdom
Over 62,000 of the tourists were American, a number that has steadily increased since the start of regularly scheduled nonstop air service from Los Angeles
. Tourism earned more than $300 million in foreign exchange for Fiji in 1998, an amount exceeding the revenue from its two largest goods exports (sugar and garments). The effects of the Asian financial crisis led to a sharp drop in the number of Asian tourists visiting Fiji in 1997 and 1998, which contributed to a substantial drop in gross domestic product
. Positive growth returned in 1999, however, aided by a 20% devaluation of the Fijian dollar
. 2005 was a record year for the tourism sector, with 9% growth according to Viliame Gavoka, Chief Executive of the Fiji Visitors Bureau.
accounts for between 35% and 45% of Fiji's trade, with New Zealand
, the United States
, the United Kingdom
, and Japan
varying year-by-year between 5% and 15% each.
Foodstuffs, machinery, mineral fuels, beverages, tobacco, and manufactured goods are the principal imports. The two largest exports are sugar and garments, which each accounted for approximately one-quarter of export revenue in 1998 (roughly $122 million each). The sugar industry suffered in 1997 due to low world prices and rent disputes between farmers and landowners, and again in 1998 from drought, but recovered in 1999. The Fijian garment industry has developed rapidly since the introduction of tax exemptions in 1988. The industry's output has increased nearly tenfold since that time. Fish, lumber, molasses, coconut oil and ginger are also important exports, although the last two are in decline. Forestry became important as an export trade in the mid-1980s, when the pine plantations planted in the 1950s and 1960s began to mature. Gold
and silver
are also exported.
Australia's Trade Commissioner
Ross Bray revealed on 26 January 2006 that Fiji's exports to Australia are achieving an annual growth rate of 5 %. More than 31,000 Australian companies were trading in the Pacific, half of them in Fiji, Bray said.
(ADB) has criticized it, saying that the concessions have been abused and have not generated long-term investment. The 2005 report of the ADB accused foreign entrepreneurs of leaving as soon as their concessions expired, and alleged that administration of the concessions encouraged corruption and bribery.
Fiji Labour Party
leader Mahendra Chaudhry
joined the ADB on 31 December 2005, saying that foreign companies repatriated much of the profit made in Fiji, rather than investing it locally, while taking advantage of the infrastructure funded by Fijian taxpayers without paying any taxes themselves. This discriminated against local businesses, he claimed.
, Fiji has suffered a very high rate of emigration
, particularly of skilled and professional personnel. More than 70,000 people left the country in the aftermath of the coups, some 90 % of whom were Indo-Fijians. With the continuing expiration of land leases and ongoing instability in the aftermath of another coup
in 2000, a further outflow of skilled workers has taken place.
A 2004 report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
, published on 29 June 2005, found that 61 % of Fiji's skilled workers have either emigrated or gone abroad as guestworkers. Fiji's loss of skilled workers was the world's fourth highest, behind Guyana
, Jamaica
, Haiti
, and Trinidad and Tobago
. Fiji's Bureau of Statistics recorded 3595 workers as having left the country between January and August 2004. Of these, 414 held professional or technical jobs, 263 were in administrative or managerial positions, and were clerks, supervisors, or related workers, and 118 were sales workers. Indo-Fijians comprised more than 90 % of those leaving.
Fiji's economy is increasingly reliant on remittances from citizens working overseas. Personal remittances now run to more than F$200 million a year, earning more than traditional sectors like sugar and garment manufacturing. Recruitment of Fijians by foreign private military companies is a growing source of revenue. By mid-2005, there were over 1,000 Fijians working in Iraq
and Kuwait
as soldiers, security guards, drivers and labourers. In addition in 2006 there were more than 2,000 Fijian soldiers in the British Army
, and in 2004 the British defence ministry even sent recruiting teams to Fiji to do initial fitness and aptitude tests, cutting the costs of selection for poor Fijian villagers who could not afford to fly to London to sign up.
and may only be leased, not purchased outright. However, the leasehold system is often misunderstood.
Leasehold tenure has not been a problem for the property sector. Houses all over Fiji on communally owned land are on 99 year leases, which have proved satisfactory as a basis for house ownership. Hotels also enjoy 99 year leases. The prestigious Denarau
development involving major hotels and resorts and luxury properties is situated on communally owned land. It delivers significant income to native owners and secure title to developers and their customers.
In agricultural sector, there have been problems, even though agricultural leases are mandated at 30 years, following the extension by legislation (the Agricultural Landlords and Tenants Act or ALTA) of all ten year leases to thirty year in 1977. The problem experienced in agriculture is the non-renewal leases as landowners have been unhappy with the provisions in the ALTA for indexing of rents to cope with inflation. This is an on-going problem which calls for urgent attention.
in January 2003. Apart from the economic devastation, there were food shortages and outbreaks of disease due to the pollution of the water supply.
was restored and free elections held. The possibility of a return to a racially discriminatory constitution led to fears that Fiji might forfeit its preferential arrangements with the European Union
for its sugar exports, and with Australia
for its clothing industry, but those fears have largely (but not entirely) subsided.
and Nausori
being the worst-affected areas. The number of squatter settlements had increased 14 % since January 2001, and 73 % since 1996. Urban migration, unemployment, the expiry of land leases, and the breakdown of nuclear and extended families were among the factors blamed for the trend. The report projected the population of squatters to grow to 90,000 in the Suva-Nausori corridor by 2006, putting increasing strain on supplies of water, electricity, sewage, and road services. On 14 September, Prime Minister Qarase said that the squatter problem had become so serious that the government was looking abroad
for funding.
Human Development Index
downgraded Fiji from 81st in 2004 to 92nd in 2005, behind Pacific
neighbours Tonga
and Samoa
. Incomes had improved, the report said, with Gross Domestic Product
rising from F$5440
to F$5880
, but other aspects of the quality of life enjoyed by Fiji Islanders had deteriorated. Life expectancy
had declined from 72.9 in 2000 to 69.6 in 2004 and 67.8 in 2005, while literacy remained unchanged at 93 %.
Joji Kotobalavu
, the Chief Executive of the Prime Minister's Office, branded the report "a joke." His dismissal attracted a strong reaction from Opposition Leader
Mahendra Chaudhry
, who said that whereas Kotobalavu was paid to be the Prime Minister's spin doctor. the HDI report was put together by professionals who had no hidden agendas, and should therefore be taken very seriously.
oil company announced on 22 November 2005 that after several decades of operation in Fiji, it would be selling its Fijian concerns in order to concentrate on much larger investments in Asia
. The decision also affected the company's operations in Tonga
, the Solomon Islands
, the Cook Islands
and New Caledonia
.
the following day. The redundant workers would be reemployed if conditions improved, General Manager Sean O'Connor
said. On 3 January 2006, however, the mine agreed to reinstate 141 of those made redundant.
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP): US$1.64 billion; US$2031 per capita (2000)
GDP - real growth rate:
-6.6% (2008 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
8.9%
industry:
13.5%
services:
77.6% (2006 est.) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fj.html#Econ
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
335,000
Labor force - by occupation:
subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987)
Unemployment rate:
6% (1997 est.)
$540.65 million
expenditures:
$742.65 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
, clothing, copra
, gold
, silver
, lumber, small cottage industries
Industrial production growth rate:
2.9% (1995)
550 GWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
20%
hydro:
80%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
512 GWh (1998)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1998)
sugar cane, coconut
s, cassava
(tapioca
), rice
, sweet potato
es, banana
s, ginger
, taro, kava; livestock: cattle, pigs,, Shrimp, pickles,goats; fish
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Australia
35%, Japan
4.8%, Singapore
19.2%, New Zealand
17.1% (2003).
US$136 million (2000)
Economic aid - recipient:
$40.3 million (1995)
(F$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 – 1.72565 (August 2006), 1.9654 (January 2000), 1.9696 (1999), 1.9868 (1998), 1.4437 (1997), 1.4033 (1996), 1.4063 (1995)
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
, and fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
resources, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, though it remains a developing country with a large subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
sector. Agriculture accounts for 18 % of Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
, although it employs some 70 % of the workforce as of 2001. Sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
exports and a growing tourist industry are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar cane processing makes up one-third of industrial activity; coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
, and copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
are also significant.
Fiji Village
Fiji Village
The Fiji Village is an online news service in Fiji. Published daily, it covers political, business, sporting, cultural, and other news items, and also includes the Yellow Bucket commentary, an editorial which does not necessarily reflect the views of the Fiji Village owners or staff, according to...
quoted Energy Minister Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi
Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi
Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi, is a Fijian politician of Indian descent. He was one of the youngest members to be elected into Parliament in 1992. He has represented the Nadroga Indian Communal Constituency, which he won for the Fiji Labour Party in the parliamentary elections of 1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, and...
on 22 September 2006 as confirming that the Southern Cross Management Company Limited had applied for a license to drill for petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
in Fiji's waters. Two other companies had already been granted licenses to explore Bligh Water
Bligh Water
The Bligh Water, named after Captain William Bligh, is a shallow marine area in western Fiji, east of the Yasawa Islands. Parts of the seafloor of the area are covered with coral growths.-External links:**...
and the Lau
Lau Islands
The Lau Islands of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about one hundred islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited...
waters.
The country's tallest building is the 14-story Reserve Bank of Fiji Building in Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
. Fiji is a member of the WTO.
Development plan
In September 2002, the government announced a 20-year development plan. Among other things, it aims to give indigenous FijiansFijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
a great stake in the economy. The plan envisages tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
-relief to businesses owned or managed by ethnic Fijians, along with greater protection for indigenous land and fishery rights.
A major aim of the Fijian government is to achieve self-sufficiency in rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
production. Cattle farming, fishing, and forestry (especially pine trees) are being encouraged in order to diversify the economy; the leading manufacturing industries involve the processing of primary products. On 14 April 2005, the Cabinet
Cabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
approved Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
's proposal to develop a biofuel
Biofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
s industry. Under the plan, ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
is to be developed as a complement to the sugar industry, with the hope of alleviating Fiji's dependence on imported fossil fuels such as petrol.
On 15 August, Qarase said that the United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
(UNDP) had granted assistance to Fiji to develop its biofuels project. Transformation of the Fiji Sugar Corporation
Fiji Sugar Corporation
Fiji Sugar Corporation is the Government-owned sugar milling company in Fiji having the monopoly on production of all raw sugar in Fiji. It is also the largest public enterprise in Fiji directly employing nearly 3000 people while another 200,000 or more depend on it for their livelihood in rural...
into an energy and sugar company would result in a turnover of F$1 billion by 2025, he said, and would cut imports of crude oil, generate export earnings, and provide a source of electricity. Energy could be produced from copra, forest, and agricultural products, as well as sugar. He touted the scheme as necessary for diversifying and strengthening the sugar industry for its own survival and the nation's economic good. He said that the government of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
had loaned F$86 million for the upgrading of Fiji's sugar mills, which would be completed in time for the 2007-2008 crushing season.
On 28 December 2005, John Teiwa of the Coconut Industry Development Authority announced that a 20-year plan for the coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
industry would be launched in 2006. Finance from international investors, including the government of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, would be sought to develop the processing of virgin and extra virgin coconut oil
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm . Throughout the tropical world, it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millions of people for generations. It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry...
, with a view to venturing into foreign health markets. The government expected an annual profit of F$120 million
Fijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
from the venture, Fiji Village
Fiji Village
The Fiji Village is an online news service in Fiji. Published daily, it covers political, business, sporting, cultural, and other news items, and also includes the Yellow Bucket commentary, an editorial which does not necessarily reflect the views of the Fiji Village owners or staff, according to...
reported. Trials for the generation of fuel from coconut oil were also in progress, Teiwa said.
Tourism
TourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
has expanded rapidly since the early 1980s and is the leading economic activity in the islands. More than 409,000 people visited Fiji in 1999 (excluding cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
passengers). About one-quarter came from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with large contingents also coming from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Over 62,000 of the tourists were American, a number that has steadily increased since the start of regularly scheduled nonstop air service from Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Tourism earned more than $300 million in foreign exchange for Fiji in 1998, an amount exceeding the revenue from its two largest goods exports (sugar and garments). The effects of the Asian financial crisis led to a sharp drop in the number of Asian tourists visiting Fiji in 1997 and 1998, which contributed to a substantial drop in gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
. Positive growth returned in 1999, however, aided by a 20% devaluation of the Fijian dollar
Fijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
. 2005 was a record year for the tourism sector, with 9% growth according to Viliame Gavoka, Chief Executive of the Fiji Visitors Bureau.
Trade
Fiji runs a persistently large trade deficit. Imports in 1998 accounted for US$721 million, and exports for US$510 million, resulting in a US$116 million deficit. Tourism revenue yields a services surplus, however, which keeps the current account of its balance of payments roughly in balance ($13 million in 1998). AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
accounts for between 35% and 45% of Fiji's trade, with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
varying year-by-year between 5% and 15% each.
Foodstuffs, machinery, mineral fuels, beverages, tobacco, and manufactured goods are the principal imports. The two largest exports are sugar and garments, which each accounted for approximately one-quarter of export revenue in 1998 (roughly $122 million each). The sugar industry suffered in 1997 due to low world prices and rent disputes between farmers and landowners, and again in 1998 from drought, but recovered in 1999. The Fijian garment industry has developed rapidly since the introduction of tax exemptions in 1988. The industry's output has increased nearly tenfold since that time. Fish, lumber, molasses, coconut oil and ginger are also important exports, although the last two are in decline. Forestry became important as an export trade in the mid-1980s, when the pine plantations planted in the 1950s and 1960s began to mature. Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
are also exported.
Australia's Trade Commissioner
Trade Commissioner
Trade Commissioner is the title of a government official whose primary duties are to promote international trade agreements and export trade programs on behalf of a national or regional government authority. Such envoys are normally posted abroad, often being permanently resident in the country or...
Ross Bray revealed on 26 January 2006 that Fiji's exports to Australia are achieving an annual growth rate of 5 %. More than 31,000 Australian companies were trading in the Pacific, half of them in Fiji, Bray said.
Investment
The government's policy of awarding tax concessions to large multinational companies investing in Fiji has not proved universally popular. The Asian Development BankAsian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
(ADB) has criticized it, saying that the concessions have been abused and have not generated long-term investment. The 2005 report of the ADB accused foreign entrepreneurs of leaving as soon as their concessions expired, and alleged that administration of the concessions encouraged corruption and bribery.
Fiji Labour Party
Fiji Labour Party
The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. Most of its support at present comes from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. It is...
leader Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
joined the ADB on 31 December 2005, saying that foreign companies repatriated much of the profit made in Fiji, rather than investing it locally, while taking advantage of the infrastructure funded by Fijian taxpayers without paying any taxes themselves. This discriminated against local businesses, he claimed.
Economic problems
Fiji's economic difficulties have been compounded by the effects of three coups over the last two decades.Emigration
Since 1987, when the country was destabilized by two military coupsFiji coups of 1987
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic...
, Fiji has suffered a very high rate of emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
, particularly of skilled and professional personnel. More than 70,000 people left the country in the aftermath of the coups, some 90 % of whom were Indo-Fijians. With the continuing expiration of land leases and ongoing instability in the aftermath of another coup
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
in 2000, a further outflow of skilled workers has taken place.
A 2004 report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
, published on 29 June 2005, found that 61 % of Fiji's skilled workers have either emigrated or gone abroad as guestworkers. Fiji's loss of skilled workers was the world's fourth highest, behind Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. Fiji's Bureau of Statistics recorded 3595 workers as having left the country between January and August 2004. Of these, 414 held professional or technical jobs, 263 were in administrative or managerial positions, and were clerks, supervisors, or related workers, and 118 were sales workers. Indo-Fijians comprised more than 90 % of those leaving.
Fiji's economy is increasingly reliant on remittances from citizens working overseas. Personal remittances now run to more than F$200 million a year, earning more than traditional sectors like sugar and garment manufacturing. Recruitment of Fijians by foreign private military companies is a growing source of revenue. By mid-2005, there were over 1,000 Fijians working in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
as soldiers, security guards, drivers and labourers. In addition in 2006 there were more than 2,000 Fijian soldiers in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, and in 2004 the British defence ministry even sent recruiting teams to Fiji to do initial fitness and aptitude tests, cutting the costs of selection for poor Fijian villagers who could not afford to fly to London to sign up.
Property laws and investment problems
Low investment has been a long term problem in Fiji and property rights are sometimes thought to be part of this problem because, by law, five sixths of the land is owned communally by indigenous FijiansFijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
and may only be leased, not purchased outright. However, the leasehold system is often misunderstood.
Leasehold tenure has not been a problem for the property sector. Houses all over Fiji on communally owned land are on 99 year leases, which have proved satisfactory as a basis for house ownership. Hotels also enjoy 99 year leases. The prestigious Denarau
Denarau Island
Denarau Island is a small island in Fiji, and the name of the resort area on the island. It is connected by a short causeway to Viti Levu and is 20 minutes drive from Nadi International Airport. The island includes resorts operated by major upscale international chains such as Sheraton, Radisson,...
development involving major hotels and resorts and luxury properties is situated on communally owned land. It delivers significant income to native owners and secure title to developers and their customers.
In agricultural sector, there have been problems, even though agricultural leases are mandated at 30 years, following the extension by legislation (the Agricultural Landlords and Tenants Act or ALTA) of all ten year leases to thirty year in 1977. The problem experienced in agriculture is the non-renewal leases as landowners have been unhappy with the provisions in the ALTA for indexing of rents to cope with inflation. This is an on-going problem which calls for urgent attention.
Natural disasters
Drought in 1998 further damaged the sugar industry, but its recovery in 1999 contributed to robust GDP growth. Further damage to the economy (estimated at US$30 million) was wrought by a cyclone that hit the northern island of Vanua LevuVanua Levu
Vanua Levu , formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located 64 kilometres to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of 5,587.1 km² and a population of some 130,000.- Geography :...
in January 2003. Apart from the economic devastation, there were food shortages and outbreaks of disease due to the pollution of the water supply.
Tourism woes
The aftermath of the political turmoil in 2000 resulted in a 10-percent shrinkage in the economy, as investor confidence plummeted and tourist numbers dropped sharply. An estimated 7500 jobs were lost. There has been a gradual recovery since 2001, when the 1997 constitutionConstitution of Fiji
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
was restored and free elections held. The possibility of a return to a racially discriminatory constitution led to fears that Fiji might forfeit its preferential arrangements with the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
for its sugar exports, and with Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for its clothing industry, but those fears have largely (but not entirely) subsided.
Homelessness
In June 2003, a survey revealed a disturbingly high percentage of squatters - about one in ten Fijian citizens. An estimated 82,350 individuals in 13,725 households lived in 182 squatter settlements, with SuvaSuva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
and Nausori
Nausori
Nausori is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 47,604 at the 2007 census, the most recent to date. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers out of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corridor.Nausori grew up around Fiji's...
being the worst-affected areas. The number of squatter settlements had increased 14 % since January 2001, and 73 % since 1996. Urban migration, unemployment, the expiry of land leases, and the breakdown of nuclear and extended families were among the factors blamed for the trend. The report projected the population of squatters to grow to 90,000 in the Suva-Nausori corridor by 2006, putting increasing strain on supplies of water, electricity, sewage, and road services. On 14 September, Prime Minister Qarase said that the squatter problem had become so serious that the government was looking abroad
Foreign relations of Fiji
Fiji has experienced many coups recently, in 1987, 2000, and 2006. Fiji has been suspended various times from the Commonwealth of Nations, a grouping of mostly former British colonies. It was readmitted to the Commonwealth in December 2001, following the parliamentary election held to restore...
for funding.
Human Development Index
On 11 September 2005, the publication of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Human Development Index
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
downgraded Fiji from 81st in 2004 to 92nd in 2005, behind Pacific
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
neighbours Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
. Incomes had improved, the report said, with Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
rising from F$5440
Fijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
to F$5880
Fijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
, but other aspects of the quality of life enjoyed by Fiji Islanders had deteriorated. Life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
had declined from 72.9 in 2000 to 69.6 in 2004 and 67.8 in 2005, while literacy remained unchanged at 93 %.
Joji Kotobalavu
Joji Kotobalavu
Jioji Kotobalavu was Fiji civil servant. He was the Chief Executive Officer in the Prime Minister's office, but was dismissed on 7 December 2006 by the military junta which had seized power on 5 December. He received his formal notice of dismissal on 13 December.Kotobalavu was a career civil...
, the Chief Executive of the Prime Minister's Office, branded the report "a joke." His dismissal attracted a strong reaction from Opposition Leader
Leader of the Opposition (Fiji)
The post of Leader of the Opposition is a political office common in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. It did not originate in Fiji but has a long tradition; in British constitutional theory, the Leader of the Opposition must pose a formal alternative to the government, ready...
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
, who said that whereas Kotobalavu was paid to be the Prime Minister's spin doctor. the HDI report was put together by professionals who had no hidden agendas, and should therefore be taken very seriously.
The withdrawal of Shell Oil
The ShellRoyal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
oil company announced on 22 November 2005 that after several decades of operation in Fiji, it would be selling its Fijian concerns in order to concentrate on much larger investments in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The decision also affected the company's operations in Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.
Gold mining layoffs
On 28 December 2005, the Emperor Gold Mining Company Limited, Fiji's largest private employer, announced that it would be laying off 374 workers at VatukoulaVatukoula
Vatukoula is a gold mining settlement in Fiji, 9 kilometers inland from the Town of Tavua on the island of Viti Levu. It was established in 1934....
the following day. The redundant workers would be reemployed if conditions improved, General Manager Sean O'Connor
Sean O'Connor
Sean O'Connor is an Irish businessman and political activist. He is a co-founder of Rally Ireland, a round of the World rally Championship . In 2009 he joined the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE as Director of Strategy to assist in the staging of the first Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix...
said. On 3 January 2006, however, the mine agreed to reinstate 141 of those made redundant.
Income
Gross National Product (GNP): US$101.48 billion; US$1820 per capita (2000)Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
(GDP): US$1.64 billion; US$2031 per capita (2000)
- purchasing power parityPurchasing power parityIn economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
- US$5.9 billion; US$7300 per capita (1999 estimate)
GDP - real growth rate:
-6.6% (2008 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
8.9%
industry:
13.5%
services:
77.6% (2006 est.) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fj.html#Econ
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Workforce
Labor force:335,000
Labor force - by occupation:
subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987)
Unemployment rate:
6% (1997 est.)
Budget
revenues:$540.65 million
expenditures:
$742.65 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Industries
tourism, sugarSugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, clothing, copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, lumber, small cottage industries
Industrial production growth rate:
2.9% (1995)
Electricity
Electricity - production:550 GWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
20%
hydro:
80%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
512 GWh (1998)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture
Agriculture - products:sugar cane, coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
(tapioca
Tapioca
Tapioca is a starch extracted Manihot esculenta. This species, native to the Amazon, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and most of the West Indies, is now cultivated worldwide and has many names, including cassava, manioc, aipim,...
), rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
es, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
, taro, kava; livestock: cattle, pigs,, Shrimp, pickles,goats; fish
Imports
US$721 million (1998)Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
35%, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
4.8%, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
19.2%, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
17.1% (2003).
Debt and aid
Debt - external:US$136 million (2000)
Economic aid - recipient:
$40.3 million (1995)
Currency
1 Fijian dollarFijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
(F$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 – 1.72565 (August 2006), 1.9654 (January 2000), 1.9696 (1999), 1.9868 (1998), 1.4437 (1997), 1.4033 (1996), 1.4063 (1995)