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Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an
island country An island country, island state, or island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...
in
Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...
, part of
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
in the South
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. It lies about north-northeast of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. Fiji consists of an
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500
islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...
s, amounting to a total land area of about . The most outlying island group is
Ono-i-Lau Ono-i-Lau is a group of islands within a barrier reef system in the Fijian archipelago of Lau Islands (''ono'' means "six" in the Fijian language). There are four central volcanic islands: Onolevu, Doi (or Ndoi) Lovoni and Ndavura, the uppermo ...
. About 87% of the total population live on the two major islands,
Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...
and
Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced , , ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonic ...
. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of
Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
, or in smaller urban centres such as
Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...
(where tourism is the major local industry) or
Lautoka Lautoka (, ) is the second largest List of cities and towns in Fiji#List, metropolitan area in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of ...
(where the sugar-cane industry is dominant). The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain. The majority of Fiji's islands were formed by
volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
activity starting around 150 million years ago. Some
geothermal activity Geothermal activity is a group of natural heat transfer processes, occurring on Earth's surface, caused by the presence of excess heat in the subsurface of the affected area, usually caused by the presence of an igneous intrusion underground. Geot ...
still occurs today on the islands of Vanua Levu and
Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated east of Vanua ...
. The geothermal systems on Viti Levu are non-volcanic in origin and have low-temperature surface discharges (of between roughly ). Humans have lived in Fiji since the second millennium BC—first
Austronesians The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesi ...
and later
Melanesians Melanesians are the predominant and Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in an area stretching from New Guinea to the Fiji Islands. Most speak one of the many languages of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian l ...
, with some Polynesian influences. Europeans first visited Fiji in the 17th century. In 1874, after a brief period in which Fiji was an independent kingdom, the British established the
Colony of Fiji The Colony of Fiji was a Crown colony that existed from 1874 to 1970 in the territory of the present-day nation of Fiji. London declined its first opportunity to annex Fiji in 1852. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had offered to cede the islands, s ...
. Fiji operated as a
Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...
until 1970, when it gained independence and became known as the
Dominion of Fiji Fiji, also known as the Dominion of Fiji, was an independent state from 1970 to 1987, a Commonwealth realm in which the British monarch, Elizabeth II, remained head of state as Queen of Fiji, represented by the Governor-General. The state wa ...
. In 1987, following a series of coups d'état, the military government that had taken power declared it a republic. In a 2006 coup, Commodore
Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...
seized power. In 2009, the Fijian High Court ruled that the military leadership was unlawful. At that point,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to r ...
Josefa Iloilo '' Ratu'' Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, (29 December 1920 – 6 February 2011) was a Fijian politician who served as the 3rd President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009 following the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, excluding a brief period from 5 ...
, whom the military had retained as the nominal head of state, formally abrogated the 1997 Constitution and re-appointed Bainimarama as interim
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. Later in 2009, Ratu
Epeli Nailatikau Brigadier-General '' Ratu'' Epeli Nailatikau, (; born 5 July 1941) (often referred to as ''Na Turaga Mai Naisogolaca'') is a Fijian chief who was President of Fiji from 2009 to 2015. He has had a long career in the Military, diplomatic service ...
succeeded Iloilo as president. On 17 September 2014, after years of delays, a democratic election took place. Bainimarama's
FijiFirst FijiFirst (FF, ; ) was a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. It was deregistered on 1 July 2024. Formation and history The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bai ...
party won 59.2% of the vote, and international observers deemed the election credible. Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific through its abundant forest, mineral, and fish resources. The currency is the
Fijian dollar The Fijian dollar (currency sign: FJ$, $; currency code: FJD) 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 ...
, with the main sources of
foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. By trading volume, it i ...
being the tourist industry,
remittance A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes ...
s from Fijians working abroad, bottled water exports, and sugar cane. The Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development supervises Fiji's local government, which takes the form of city and town councils.


Etymology

The name of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, served as the origin of the name "Fiji", though the common English pronunciation is based on that of Fiji's island neighbours in
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
. An official account of the emergence of the name states: "Feejee", the Anglicised spelling of the Tongan pronunciation, occurred in accounts and other writings by missionaries and other travellers visiting Fiji until the late 19th century.


History


Early settlement

Pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled by
Austronesian people The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesi ...
s by at least 3500 to 1000 BC, with Melanesians following around a thousand years later, although there are still many open questions about the specific dates and patterns of human migration. It is believed that either the
Lapita people The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed to have originated fro ...
or the ancestors of the Polynesians settled the islands first, but not much is known of what became of them after the Melanesians arrived; the old culture may have had some influence on the new one, and archaeological evidence shows that some of the migrants moved on to
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
,
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
and even
Hawai'i Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...
. Archeological evidence also shows signs of human settlement on Moturiki Island beginning at least by 600 BC and possibly as far back as 900 BC. Although some aspects of Fijian culture are similar to the
Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...
n culture of the western Pacific, Fijian culture has a stronger connection to the older
Polynesian culture Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras: * Exploration and ...
s. The evidence is clear that there was trade between Fiji and neighbouring archipelagos long before
Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...
made contact with Fiji. In the 10th century, the
Tu'i Tonga Empire Tu'i, also spelled more simplistically Tui, is a Polynesian traditional title for tribal chiefs or princes. In translations, the highest such positions are often rendered as "king". For details, see the links below various polities. Traditionally, ...
was established in Tonga, and Fiji came within its sphere of influence. The Tongan influence brought Polynesian customs and language into Fiji. That empire began to decline in the 13th century. Fiji has long had permanent settlements, but its peoples also have a history of mobility. Over the centuries, unique Fijian cultural practices developed. Fijians constructed large, elegant watercraft, with rigged sails called ''
drua Drua, also known as na drua, n'drua, ndrua or waqa tabu ("sacred canoe", ), is a double-hull sailing boat that originated in the south-western Pacific islands. Druas do not tack but rather shunt (stern becomes the bow and vice versa). Both ends ...
'' and exported some to Tonga. Fijians also developed a distinctive style of village architecture, consisting of communal and individual ''bure'' and ''vale'' housing, and an advanced system of ramparts and moats that were usually constructed around the more important settlements. Pigs were domesticated for food, and a variety of agricultural endeavors, such as
banana plantations A banana plantation is a commercial agricultural facility found in tropical climates where bananas are grown. Geographic distribution Banana plants may grow with varying degrees of success in diverse climatic conditions, but commercial banana pl ...
, existed from an early stage. Villages were supplied with water brought in by constructed wooden aqueducts. Fijians lived in societies led by chiefs, elders and notable warriors. Spiritual leaders, often called ''bete'', were also important cultural figures, and the production and consumption of ''yaqona'' was part of their ceremonial and community rites. Fijians developed a monetary system where the polished teeth of the
sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...
, called ''tambua'', became an active currency. A type of writing existed which can be seen today in various petroglyphs around the islands. Fijians developed a refined ''masi'' cloth textile industry, and used the cloth they produced to make sails and clothes such as the ''malo'' and the ''liku''. As with most other ancient human civilisations, warfare or preparation for warfare was an important part of everyday life in pre-colonial Fiji. The Fijians were noted for their distinctive use of weapons, especially war clubs. Fijians used many different types of clubs that can be broadly divided into two groups, two handed clubs and small specialised throwing clubs called ''ula''. With the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century, and European colonisation in the late 19th century, many elements of Fijian culture were either repressed or modified to ensure European – specifically, British – control. This was especially the case with respect to traditional Fijian spiritual beliefs. Early colonists and missionaries pointed to the practice of
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...
in Fiji as providing a moral imperative justifying colonisation. Europeans labelled many native Fijian customs as debased or primitive, enabling many colonists to see Fiji as a "paradise wasted on savage cannibals". Authors such as Deryck Scarr Scarr, p. 3 have perpetuated 19th century claims of "freshly killed corpses piled up for eating" and ceremonial mass human sacrifice on the construction of new houses and boats. In fact, during colonial times, Fiji was known as ''the Cannibal Isles''. Modern archaeological research conducted on Fijian sites has shown that Fijians did in fact practice cannibalism, which has helped modern scholars to assess the accuracy of some of these colonial European accounts. Studies conducted by scholars including Degusta, Cochrane, and Jones provide evidence of burnt or cut human skeletons, suggesting that cannibalism was practised in Fiji. However, these archaeological accounts indicate that cannibalistic practices were likely more intermittent and less ubiquitous than European settlers had implied; it appears that the cannibalism may more often have been nonviolent and ritualistic.


Early interaction with Europeans

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
explorer
Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...
was the first known European visitor to Fiji, sighting the northern island of Vanua Levu and the North Taveuni archipelago in 1643 while looking for the Great Southern Continent.
James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
, the British navigator, visited one of the southern Lau islands in 1774. It was not until 1789, however, that the islands were charted and plotted, when
William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...
, the castaway captain of , passed
Ovalau Ovalau (pronounced ) is the sixth largest island in Fiji. It is located in Lomaiviti Archipelago. Situated at 17.70° South and 178.8° East, (60 km north east from the national capital Suva and 20 km off the east coast of Viti Levu), ...
and sailed between the main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu en route to Batavia, in what is now Indonesia.
Bligh Water In 1789 the English Royal Navy Cutter ''Bounty'' commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh was overtaken by 18 crew led by Master's Mate Fletcher Christian in what has been named the " Mutiny on the Bounty." The area known as the Bligh Water is the bo ...
, the strait between the two main islands, is named after him and for a time, the Fiji Islands were known as the ''Bligh Islands''. The first Europeans to maintain substantial contact with the Fijians were
sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
merchants, whalers and "beche-de-mer" (sea cucumber) traders. The first
whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...
vessel known to have visited was the ''Ann and Hope'' in 1799, and she was followed by many others in the 19th century. These ships came for drinking water, food and firewood and, later, for men to help man their ships. Some of the Europeans who came to Fiji in this period were accepted by the locals and were allowed to stay as residents. By the 1820s,
Levuka Levuka () is a Local government in Fiji, town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau (Fiji), Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division, Fiji, Eastern Division of Fiji. Prior to 1877, it was the capital of Fiji. At the ...
was established as the first European-style town in Fiji, on the island of Ovalau. The market for "beche-de-mer" in China was lucrative, and British and American merchants set up processing stations on various islands. Local Fijians were utilised to collect, prepare and pack the product which would then be shipped to Asia. A good cargo would result in a half-yearly profit of around $25,000 for the dealer. The Fijian workers were often given firearms and ammunition as an exchange for their labour, and by the end of the 1820s most of the Fijian chiefs had muskets and many were skilled at using them. Some Fijian chiefs soon felt confident enough with their new weapons to forcibly obtain more destructive weaponry from the Europeans. In 1834, men from Viwa and Bau were able to take control of the French ship ''L'amiable Josephine'' and use its cannon against their enemies on the Rewa River, although they later ran it aground. Christian missionaries like David Cargill also arrived in the 1830s from recently converted regions such as Tonga and
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
, and by 1840 the European settlement at Levuka had grown to about 40 houses with former whaler
David Whippey David Whippey (or Whippy, 1802–1871) was an American sailor from Nantucket who became a " beachcomber", a white resident of the Fijian islands who served as liaison between the local and foreign communities, and eventually was the United States v ...
being a notable resident. The religious conversion of the Fijians was a gradual process which was observed first-hand by Captain
Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...
of the United States Exploring Expedition. Wilkes wrote that "all the chiefs seemed to look upon Christianity as a change in which they had much to lose and little to gain". Christianised Fijians, in addition to forsaking their spiritual beliefs, were pressured into cutting their hair short, adopting the
sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago. It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...
form of dress from Tonga and fundamentally changing their marriage and funeral traditions. This process of enforced cultural change was called ''lotu''. Intensification of conflict between the cultures increased, and Wilkes was involved in organising a large punitive expedition against the people of
Malolo Malolo is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, near Fiji. Malolo was used as a tribe name in Survivor: Ghost Island. Malolo Island is the largest of the Mamanuca Islands and is home to two villages. History Malolo was one of the locations ...
. He ordered an attack with rockets which acted as makeshift incendiary devices. The village, with the occupants trapped inside, quickly became an inferno with Wilkes noting that the "shouts of men were intermingled with the cries and shrieks of the women and children" as they burnt to death. Wilkes demanded the survivors should "sue for mercy" and if not "they must expect to be exterminated". Around 57 to 87 Maloloan people were killed in this encounter.


Cakobau and the wars against Christian infiltration

The 1840s was a time of conflict where various Fiji clans attempted to assert dominance over each other. Eventually, a warlord named
Seru Epenisa Cakobau ''Ratu'' Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian chief, monarch, and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes, establishing a Fijian kingdom. He served as i ...
of Bau Island was able to become a powerful influence in the region. His father was Ratu
Tanoa Visawaqa '' Ratu'' Tanoa Visawaqa (pronounced ) (died on 8 December 1852) was a Fijian Chieftain who held the title 5th '' Vunivalu'' of Bau. With '' Adi'' Savusavu, one of his nine wives, he was the father of ''Ratu'' Seru Epenisa Cakobau, who succeeded ...
, the Vunivalu (a chiefly title meaning warlord'','' often translated also as paramount chief) who had previously subdued much of western Fiji. Cakobau, following on from his father, became so dominant that he was able to expel the Europeans from Levuka for five years over a dispute about their giving of weapons to his local enemies. In the early 1850s, Cakobau went one step further and declared war on all Christians. His plans were thwarted after the missionaries in Fiji received support from the already converted Tongans and the presence of a British warship. The Tongan Prince
Enele Maʻafu ʻEnele Maʻafuʻotuʻitonga, commonly known as Maʻafu, (circa 1816 — 6 February 1881) was a Pacific islander who held important titles in two countries in the Pacific. He was a traditional Tongan Prince and a Fijian chief nominated and ins ...
, a Christian, had established himself on the island of Lakeba in 1848, forcibly converting the local people to the
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
. Cakobau and other chiefs in the west of Fiji regarded Maʻafu as a threat to their power and resisted his attempts to expand Tonga's dominion. Cakobau's influence, however, began to wane, and his heavy imposition of taxes on other Fijian chiefs, who saw him at best as
first among equals is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. H ...
, caused them to defect from him. Around this time the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
also became interested in asserting their power in the region, and they threatened intervention following a number of incidents involving their consul in the Fiji islands, John Brown Williams. In 1849, Williams had his trading store looted following an accidental fire, caused by stray cannon fire during a
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
celebration, and in 1853 the European settlement of Levuka was burnt to the ground. Williams blamed Cakobau for both these incidents, and the U.S. representative wanted Cakobau's capital at Bau destroyed in retaliation. A naval blockade was instead set up around the island which put further pressure on Cakobau to give up on his warfare against the foreigners and their Christian allies. Finally, on 30 April 1854, Cakobau offered his ''soro'' (supplication) and yielded to these forces. He underwent the ''lotu'' and converted to Christianity. The traditional Fijian temples in Bau were destroyed, and the sacred '' nokonoko'' trees were cut down. Cakobau and his remaining men were then compelled to join with the Tongans, backed by the Americans and British, to subjugate the remaining chiefs in the region who still refused to convert. These chiefs were soon defeated with Qaraniqio of the Rewa being poisoned and Ratu Mara of Kaba being hanged in 1855. After these wars, most regions of Fiji, except for the interior highland areas, had been forced into giving up much of their traditional systems and were now vassals of Western interest. Cakobau was retained as a largely symbolic representative of a few Fijian peoples and was allowed to take the ironic and self proclaimed title of "Tui Viti" ("King of Fiji"), but the overarching control now lay with foreign powers.


Cotton, confederacies and the Kai Colo

The rising price of cotton in the wake of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
(1861–1865) caused an influx of hundreds of settlers to Fiji in the 1860s from Australia and the United States in order to obtain land and grow cotton. Since there was still a lack of functioning government in Fiji, these planters were often able to get the land in violent or fraudulent ways such as exchanging weapons or alcohol with Fijians who may or may not have been the true owners. Although this made for cheap land acquisition, competing land claims between the planters became problematic with no unified government to resolve the disputes. In 1865, the settlers proposed a confederacy of the seven main native kingdoms in Fiji to establish some sort of government. This was initially successful, and Cakobau was elected as the first president of the confederacy. With the demand for land high, the white planters started to push into the hilly interior of Viti Levu. This put them into direct confrontation with the Kai Colo, which was a general term to describe the various Fijian clans resident to these inland districts. The Kai Colo were still living a mostly traditional lifestyle, they were not Christianised, and they were not under the rule of Cakobau or the confederacy. In 1867, a travelling missionary named Thomas Baker was killed by Kai Colo in the mountains at the headwaters of the
Sigatoka River The Sigatoka River is in the island of Viti Levu in Fiji and has its source on the west side of Mount Victoria and flows for 120 kilometers to the coast between the central and western ranges. It is the chief means of transportation with some par ...
. The acting British consul,
John Bates Thurston Sir John Bates Thurston (31 January 1836 – 7 February 1897) was a British colonial official who served Fiji in a variety of capacities, including Premier of the Kingdom of Viti (before the islands were ceded to the United Kingdom) and lat ...
, demanded that Cakobau lead a force of Fijians from coastal areas to suppress the Kai Colo. Cakobau eventually led a campaign into the mountains but suffered a humiliating loss with 61 of his fighters being killed. Settlers also came into conflict with the local eastern Kai Colo people called the Wainimala. Thurston called in the
Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, whose rank varied over t ...
section of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
for assistance. The Navy duly sent Commander
Rowley Lambert Vice Admiral Rowley Lambert, CB (23 April 1828 – 22 July 1880) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Sir George Lambert, Rowley was appointed a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1848. He served in the B ...
and to conduct a punitive mission against the Wainimala. An armed force of 87 men shelled and burnt the village of Deoka, and a skirmish ensued which resulted in the deaths of over 40 Wainimala.


Kingdom of Fiji (1871–1874)

After the collapse of the confederacy,
Enele Maʻafu ʻEnele Maʻafuʻotuʻitonga, commonly known as Maʻafu, (circa 1816 — 6 February 1881) was a Pacific islander who held important titles in two countries in the Pacific. He was a traditional Tongan Prince and a Fijian chief nominated and ins ...
established a stable administration in the Lau Islands and the Tongans. Other foreign powers such as the United States were considering the possibility of annexing Fiji. This situation was not appealing to many settlers, almost all of whom were British subjects from Australia. Britain, however, refused to annex the country, and a compromise was needed. In June 1871, George Austin Woods, an ex-lieutenant of the Royal Navy, managed to influence Cakobau and organise a group of like-minded settlers and chiefs into forming a governing administration. Cakobau was declared the monarch (''Tui Viti'') and the Kingdom of Fiji was established. Most Fijian chiefs agreed to participate, and even Ma'afu chose to recognise Cakobau and participate in the
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
. However, many of the settlers had come from
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, where negotiation with the
indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
almost universally involved coercing them to accept very unfavourable terms. These settlers' expectation of dominating by force led them to form several aggressive, racially motivated groups, such as the British Subjects Mutual Protection Society. One group called themselves the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
in homage to the
white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
group in America. However, when respected individuals such as
Charles St Julian Charles James Herbert de Courcy St Julian (10 May 1819 – 26 November 1874) was a journalist, newspaper owner-editor and the first Chief Justice of Fiji. St Julian's obituary records that he was born in France but other sources suggest London ...
, Robert Sherson Swanston and John Bates Thurston were appointed by Cakobau, a degree of authority was established. With the rapid increase in white settlers entering the country, the desire for land acquisition also intensified. Once again, conflict with the Kai Colo in the interior of Viti Levu ensued. In 1871, the killing of two settlers near the Ba River in the northwest of the island prompted a large
punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...
of white farmers, imported slave labourers, and coastal Fijians to be organised. This group of around 400 armed vigilantes, including veterans of the U.S. Civil War, had a battle with the Kai Colo near the village of Cubu, in which both sides had to withdraw. The village was destroyed, and the Kai Colo, despite being armed with muskets, received numerous casualties. The Kai Colo responded by making frequent raids on the settlements of the whites and Christian Fijians throughout the district of Ba. Likewise, in the east of the island on the upper reaches of the Rewa River, villages were burnt, and many Kai Colo were shot by the vigilante settler squad called the Rewa Rifles. Although the Cakobau government did not approve of the settlers taking justice into their own hands, it did want the Kai Colo subjugated and their land sold. The solution was to form an army. Robert S. Swanston, the minister for Native Affairs in the Kingdom, organised the training and arming of suitable Fijian volunteers and prisoners to become soldiers in what was variably called the King's Troops or the Native Regiment. In a similar system to the
Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...
that was present in the colonies of Australia, two white settlers, James Harding and W. Fitzgerald, were appointed as the head officers of this paramilitary brigade. The formation of this force did not sit well with many of the white plantation owners as they did not trust an army of Fijians to protect their interests. The situation intensified further in early 1873 when the Burns family was killed by a Kai Colo raid in the Ba River area. The Cakobau government deployed 50 King's Troopers to the region under the command of Major Fitzgerald to restore order. The local whites refused their posting, and deployment of another 50 troops under Captain Harding was sent to emphasise the government's authority. To prove the worth of the Native Regiment, this augmented force went into the interior and massacred about 170 Kai Colo people at Na Korowaiwai. Upon returning to the coast, the force was met by the white settlers who still saw the government troops as a threat. A skirmish between the government's troops and the white settlers' brigade was only prevented by the intervention of Captain William Cox Chapman of , who detained the settlers' leaders, forcing the group to disband. The authority of the King's Troops and the Cakobau government to crush the Kai Colo was now total. From March to October 1873, a force of about 200 King's Troops under the general administration of Swanston with around 1,000 coastal Fijian and white volunteer auxiliaries, led a campaign throughout the highlands of Viti Levu to annihilate the Kai Colo. Major Fitzgerald and Major H.C. Thurston (the brother of John Bates Thurston) led a two pronged attack throughout the region. The combined forces of the different clans of the Kai Colo made a stand at the village of Na Culi. The Kai Colo were defeated with dynamite and fire being used to flush them out from their defensive positions amongst the mountain caves. Many Kai Colo were killed, and one of the main leaders of the hill clans, Ratu Dradra, was forced to surrender with around 2,000 men, women and children being taken prisoner and sent to the coast. In the months after this defeat, the only main resistance was from the clans around the village of Nibutautau. Major Thurston crushed this resistance in the two months following the battle at Na Culi. Villages were burnt, Kai Colo were killed, and a further large number of prisoners were taken. About 1,000 of the prisoners (men, women and children) were sent to Levuka where some were hanged and the rest were sold into
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
and forced to work on various plantations throughout the islands.


Blackbirding and slavery in Fiji

The
blackbirding Blackbirding was the trade in indentured labourers from the Pacific in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often described as a form of slavery, despite the British Slavery Abolition Act 1833 banning slavery throughout the British Empire, ...
era began in Fiji in 1865 when the first New Hebridean and
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
labourers were transported there to work on cotton plantations. The
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
had cut off the supply of US cotton to the international market when the Union
blockaded A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
Confederate ports. Cotton cultivation was potentially an extremely profitable business. Thousands of European planters flocked to Fiji to establish plantations, but found the natives unwilling to adapt to their plans. They sought labour from the Melanesian islands. On 5 July 1865 Ben Pease received the first licence to provide 40 labourers from the New Hebrides to Fiji. The British and Queensland governments tried to regulate this recruiting and transport of labour. Melanesian labourers were to be recruited for a term of three years, paid three pounds per year, issued basic clothing, and given access to the company store for supplies. Most Melanesians were recruited by deceit, usually being enticed aboard ships with gifts, and then locked up. In 1875, the chief medical officer in Fiji, Sir
William MacGregor Sir William MacGregor, (20 October 1846 – 3 July 1919)R. B. Joyce,', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 158–160. Retrieved 29 September 2009 was a Scottish colonial administrator who was ...
, listed a mortality rate of 540 out of every 1,000 labourers. After the expiry of the three-year contract, the government required captains to transport the labourers back to their villages, but most ship captains dropped them off at the first island they sighted off the Fiji waters. The British sent warships to enforce the law ( Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1872 ( 35 & 36 Vict. c. 19)), but only a small proportion of the culprits were prosecuted. A notorious incident of the blackbirding trade was the 1871 voyage of the brig ''Carl'', organised by Dr. James Patrick Murray to recruit labourers to work in the plantations of Fiji. Murray had his men reverse their collars and carry black books, to appear as church missionaries. When islanders were enticed to a religious service, Murray and his men would produce guns and force the islanders onto boats. During the voyage Murray shot about 60 islanders. He was never brought to trial for his actions, as he was given immunity in return for giving evidence against his crew members.James A. Michener and A. Grove Day (1957) "Bully Hayes, South Sea Buccaneer", in ''Rascals in Paradise'', London: Secker & Warburg. The captain of the ''Carl'', Joseph Armstrong, was later sentenced to death. In addition to the blackbirded labour from other Pacific islands, thousands of people indigenous to the Fijian archipelago were sold into slavery on the plantations. As the white settler backed Cakobau government, and later the British colonial government, subjugated areas in Fiji under its power, the resultant prisoners of war were regularly sold at auction to the planters. This provided a source of revenue for the government and also dispersed the rebels to different, often isolated islands where the plantations were located. The land that was occupied by these people before they became slaves was then also sold for additional revenue. An example of this is the Lovoni people of Ovalau, who after being defeated in a war with the Cakobau government in 1871, were rounded up and sold to the settlers at £6 per head. Two thousand Lovoni men, women and children were sold, and their period of slavery lasted five years. Likewise, after the Kai Colo wars in 1873, thousands of people from the hill tribes of Viti Levu were sent to Levuka and sold into slavery. Warnings from the Royal Navy stationed in the area that buying these people was illegal were largely given without enforcement, and the British consul in Fiji, Edward Bernard Marsh, regularly turned a blind eye to this type of labour trade.


Colonisation

Despite achieving military victories over the Kai Colo, the Cakobau government was faced with problems of legitimacy and economic viability. Indigenous Fijians and white settlers refused to pay taxes, and the cotton price had collapsed. With these major issues in mind, John Bates Thurston approached the British government, at Cakobau's request, with another offer to cede the islands. The newly elected
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
British government under
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
encouraged expansion of the empire and was therefore much more sympathetic to annexing Fiji than it had been previously. The murder of Bishop John Patteson of the
Melanesian Mission The Melanesian Mission is an Anglican missionary agency supporting the work of local Anglican churches in Melanesia. It was founded in 1849 by George Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand. History Bishop Selwyn's see was focused on New Zealan ...
at
Nukapu Nukapu is one of the islands of the nation of Solomon Islands. It is in the Reef Islands group in Temotu Province; the easternmost province of the Solomons. The estimated terrain elevation above sea level is 15 metres. The island contains a mem ...
in the
Reef Islands The Reef Islands are a loose collection of 16 islands in the in Temotu Province, in the independent nation of Solomon Islands. These islands have historically also been known by the names of Swallow Islands and Matema Islands. Geography The i ...
had provoked public outrage, which was compounded by the massacre by crew members of more than 150 Fijians on board the brig ''Carl.'' Two British commissioners were sent to Fiji to investigate the possibility of an annexation. The question was complicated by maneuverings for power between Cakobau and his old rival, Ma'afu, with both men vacillating for many months. On 21 March 1874, Cakobau made a final offer, which the British accepted. On 23 September, Sir Hercules Robinson, soon to be appointed the British Governor of Fiji, arrived on HMS ''Dido'' and received Cakobau with a royal 21-gun salute. After some vacillation, Cakobau agreed to renounce his ''Tui Viti'' title, retaining the title of ''Vunivalu'', or Protector. The formal cession took place on 10 October 1874, when Cakobau, Ma'afu, and some of the senior chiefs of Fiji signed two copies of the Deed of Cession. Thus the Colony of Fiji was founded; 96 years of British rule followed.


Measles epidemic of 1875

To celebrate the annexation of Fiji, Hercules Robinson, who was
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...
at the time, took Cakobau and his two sons to
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. There was a
measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...
outbreak in that city and the three Fijians all came down with the disease. On returning to Fiji, the colonial administrators decided not to quarantine the ship on which the convalescents travelled. This was despite the British having a very extensive knowledge of the devastating effect of infectious disease on an unexposed population. In 1875–76 the resulting epidemic of measles killed over 40,000 Fijians, about one-third of the Fijian population. Some Fijians allege that this failure of quarantine was a deliberate action to introduce the disease into the country. Historians have found no such evidence; the disease spread before the new British governor and colonial medical officers had arrived, and no quarantine rules existed under the outgoing regime.


= Sir Arthur Gordon and the "Little War"

= Robinson was replaced as Governor of Fiji in June 1875 by Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon. Gordon was immediately faced with an insurgency of the Qalimari and Kai Colo people. In early 1875, colonial administrator
Edgar Leopold Layard Edgar Leopold Layard MBOU, (23 July 1824 – 1 January 1900) was a British diplomat and a naturalist mainly interested in ornithology and to a lesser extent the molluscs. He worked for a significant part of his life in Ceylon and later ...
had met with thousands of highland clans at Navuso to formalise their subjugation to British rule and Christianity. Layard and his delegation managed to spread the measles epidemic to the highlanders, causing mass deaths in this population. As a result, anger at the British colonists flared throughout the region, and a widespread uprising quickly took hold. Villages along the Sigatoka River and in the highlands above this area refused British control, and Gordon was tasked with quashing this rebellion. In what Gordon termed the "Little War", the suppression of this uprising took the form of two co-ordinated military campaigns in the western half of Viti Levu. The first was conducted by Gordon's second cousin, Arthur John Lewis Gordon, against the Qalimari insurgents along the Sigatoka River. The second campaign was led by Louis Knollys against the Kai Colo in the mountains to the north of the river. Governor Gordon invoked a type of martial law in the area where Arthur John Lewis Gordon and Knollys had absolute power to conduct their missions outside of any restrictions of legislation. The two groups of rebels were kept isolated from each other by a force led by Walter Carew and
George Le Hunte Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte (20 August 1852 – 29 January 1925) was a British politician. He served as Governor of South Australia from 1 July 1903 until 18 February 1909, soon after the federation of Australia. Life He was born in Porthgai ...
who were stationed at Nasaucoko. Carew also ensured the rebellion did not spread east by securing the loyalty of the Wainimala people of the eastern highlands. The war involved the use of the soldiers of the old Native Regiment of Cakobau supported by around 1,500 Christian Fijian volunteers from other areas of Viti Levu. The colonial
New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...
provided most of the advanced weapons for the army including 100 Snider rifles. The campaign along the Sigatoka River was conducted under a
scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...
policy whereby numerous rebel villages were burnt and their fields ransacked. After the capture and destruction of the main fortified towns of Koroivatuma, Bukutia and Matanavatu, the Qalimari surrendered ''en masse''. Those not killed in the fighting were taken prisoner and sent to the coastal town of Cuvu. This included 827 men, women and children as well as Mudu, the leader of the insurgents. The women and children were distributed to places like
Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...
and Nadroga. Of the men, 15 were sentenced to death at a hastily conducted trial at
Sigatoka Sigatoka (, ) is a town in Fiji. It is on the island of Viti Levu at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, for which it is named, some 61 kilometres from Nadi. Its population at the 2017 census was 17,622. It is the principal urban centre for the pro ...
. Governor Gordon was present, but chose to leave the judicial responsibility to his relative, Arthur John Lewis Gordon. Four were hanged and ten, including Mudu, were shot with one prisoner managing to escape. By the end of proceedings the governor noted that "my feet were literally stained with the blood that I had shed". The northern campaign against the Kai Colo in the highlands was similar but involved removing the rebels from large, well protected caves in the region. Knollys managed to clear the caves "after some considerable time and large expenditure of ammunition". The occupants of these caves included whole communities, and as a result many men, women and children were either killed or wounded in these operations. The rest were taken prisoner and sent to the towns on the northern coast. The chief medical officer in British Fiji, William MacGregor, also took part both in killing Kai Colo and tending to their wounded. After the caves were taken, the Kai Colo surrendered and their leader, Bisiki, was captured. Various trials were held, mostly at Nasaucoko under Le Hunte, and 32 men were either hanged or shot including Bisiki, who was killed trying to escape. By the end of October 1876, the "Little War" was over, and Gordon had succeeded in vanquishing the rebels in the interior of Viti Levu. Remaining insurgents were sent into exile with hard labour for up to 10 years. Some non-combatants were allowed to return to rebuild their villages, but many areas in the highlands were ordered by Gordon to remain depopulated and in ruins. Gordon also constructed a military fortress, Fort Canarvon, at the headwaters of the Sigatoka River where a large contingent of soldiers were based to maintain British control. He renamed the Native Regiment, the Armed Native Constabulary to lessen its appearance of being a military force. To further consolidate social control throughout the colony, Governor Gordon introduced a system of appointed chiefs and village constables in the various districts to both enact his orders and report any disobedience from the populace. Gordon adopted the chiefly titles ''Roko'' and ''Buli'' to describe these deputies and established a
Great Council of Chiefs The Great Council of Chiefs () is a Fijian constitutional body. It previously existed from 1876 to March 2012 and was restored in May 2023. It is different from the House of Chiefs, a larger body that includes all hereditary chiefs, although m ...
which was directly subject to his authority as Supreme Chief. This body remained in existence until being suspended by the military-backed interim government in 2007 and only abolished in 2012. Gordon also extinguished the ability of Fijians to own, buy or sell land as individuals, the control being transferred to colonial authorities.


Indian indenture system in Fiji

Gordon decided in 1878 to import indentured labourers from India to work on the sugarcane fields that had taken the place of the cotton plantations. The 463 Indians arrived on 14 May 1879 – the first of some 61,000 that were to come before the scheme ended in 1916. The plan involved bringing the Indian workers to Fiji on a five-year contract, after which they could return to India at their own expense; if they chose to renew their contract for a second five-year term, they would be given the option of returning to India at the government's expense, or remaining in Fiji. The great majority chose to stay. The Queensland Act, which regulated indentured labour in Queensland, was made law in Fiji also. Between 1879 and 1916, tens of thousands of Indians moved to Fiji to work as indentured labourers, especially on sugarcane plantations. Given the steady influx of ships carrying indentured Indians to Fiji up until 1916, repatriated Indians generally boarded these same ships on their return voyage. The total number of repatriates under the Fiji indenture system is recorded as 39,261, while the number of arrivals is said to have been 60,553. Because the return figure includes children born in Fiji, many of the indentured Indians never returned to India.


Tuka rebellions

With almost all aspects of indigenous Fijian social life being controlled by the British colonial authorities, a number of charismatic individuals preaching dissent and return to pre-colonial culture were able to forge a following amongst the disenfranchised. These movements were called Tuka, which roughly translates as "those who stand up". The first Tuka movement was led by Ndoongumoy, better known as Navosavakandua, which means "he who speaks only once". He told his followers that if they returned to traditional ways and worshipped traditional deities such as Degei and Rokola, their current condition would be transformed, with the whites and their puppet Fijian chiefs being subservient to them. Navosavakandua was previously exiled from the Viti Levu highlands in 1878 for disturbing the peace, and the British quickly arrested him and his followers after this open display of rebellion. He was again exiled, this time to
Rotuma Rotuma () is a self-governing heptarchy, generally designated a Local government in Fiji, dependency of Fiji. Rotuma commonly refers to the Rotuma Island, the only permanently inhabited and by far the largest of all the islands in the Rotuma Gro ...
where he died soon after his 10-year sentence ended. Other Tuka organisations, however, soon appeared. The British colonial administration ruthlessly suppressed both the leaders and followers, with figureheads such as Sailose being banished to an asylum for 12 years. In 1891, entire populations of villages who were sympathetic to the Tuka ideology were deported as punishment. Three years later in the highlands of Vanua Levu, where locals had re-engaged in traditional religion, Governor Thurston ordered in the Armed Native Constabulary to destroy the towns and the religious relics. Leaders were jailed and villagers exiled or forced to amalgamate into government-run communities. Later, in 1914, Apolosi Nawai came to the forefront of Fijian Tuka resistance by founding Viti Kabani, a co-operative company that would legally monopolise the agricultural sector and boycott European planters. The British and their proxy Council of Chiefs were not able to prevent the Viti Kabani's rise, and again the colonists were forced to send in the Armed Native Constabulary. Apolosi and his followers were arrested in 1915, and the company collapsed in 1917. Over the next 30 years, Apolosi was re-arrested, jailed and exiled, with the British viewing him as a threat right up to his death in 1946.


World War I and II

Fiji was only peripherally involved in World War I. One memorable incident occurred in September 1917 when Count
Felix von Luckner Felix Nikolaus Alexander Georg Graf von Luckner (9 June 1881, Dresden – 13 April 1966, Malmö), sometimes called Count Luckner in English, was a German nobleman, naval officer, author, and sailor who earned the epithet ''Der Seeteufel'' (the ...
arrived at
Wakaya Island Wakaya is a privately owned island in Fiji's Lomaiviti Archipelago. Situated at 17.65° South and 179.02° East, it covers an area of . It is to the east of Ovalau, the main island in the Lomaiviti Group. Two other islands close to Wakaya are ...
, off the eastern coast of Viti Levu, after his raider, , had run aground in the
Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
following the shelling of
Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...
in the
French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
of
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
. On 21 September, the district police inspector took a number of Fijians to Wakaya, and von Luckner, not realising that they were unarmed, unwittingly surrendered. Citing unwillingness to exploit the Fijian people, the colonial authorities did not permit Fijians to enlist. One Fijian of chiefly rank, a great-grandson of Cakobau, joined the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
and received France's highest military decoration, the
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
. After going on to complete a law degree at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, this same chief returned to Fiji in 1921 as both a war hero and the country's first-ever university graduate. In the years that followed, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, as he was later known, established himself as the most powerful chief in Fiji and forged embryonic institutions for what would later become the modern Fijian nation. By the time of World War II, the United Kingdom had reversed its policy of not enlisting natives, and many thousands of Fijians volunteered for the
Fiji Infantry Regiment The Fiji Infantry Regiment is the main combat element of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. It is a light infantry regiment consisting of six battalions, of which three are regular army and three are Territorial Force. The regiment was formed ...
, which was under the command of Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau, another great-grandson of Cakobau. The regiment was attached to New Zealand and Australian army units during the war. Because of its central location, Fiji was selected as a training base for the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
. An airstrip was built at
Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...
(later to become an international airport), and gun emplacements studded the coast. Fijians gained a reputation for bravery in the
Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major military campaign, campaign of the Pacific War during World War II. The campaign began with the Empire of Japan, Japanese seizure of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island, B ...
, with one war correspondent describing their ambush tactics as "death with velvet gloves". Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu, of Yucata, was
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
, as a result of his bravery in the Battle of Bougainville.


Responsible government and independence

A constitutional conference was held in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in July 1965 to discuss constitutional changes with a view to introducing responsible government. Indo-Fijians, led by A. D. Patel, demanded the immediate introduction of full self-government, with a fully elected legislature, to be elected by universal suffrage on a common voters' roll. These demands were vigorously rejected by the ethnic Fijian delegation, who still feared loss of control over natively owned land and resources should an Indo-Fijian dominated government come to power. The British made it clear, however, that they were determined to bring Fiji to self-government and eventual independence. Acknowledging their lack of choice, Fiji's chiefs decided to negotiate for the best deal they could get. A series of compromises led to the establishment of a cabinet system of government in 1967, with Ratu Kamisese Mara as the first
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
. Ongoing negotiations between Mara and
Sidiq Koya Siddiq Muhy'Ddin Kwaja, officially known as Siddiq Moidin Khoya (29 February 1924 – 25 April 1993) was a Fijian politician, Statesman and Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indo-Fijian National Federation Par ...
, who had taken over the leadership of the mainly Indo-Fijian
National Federation Party The National Federation Party ( Fiji Hindi: नेशनल फेडरेशन पार्टी; Fijian: ''Mataisoqosoqo ni National Federation'') is a Fijian political party founded by A. D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Fe ...
on Patel's death in 1969, led to a second constitutional conference in London, in April 1970, at which Fiji's Legislative Council agreed on a compromise electoral formula and a timetable for independence as a fully sovereign and independent nation within the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
. The Legislative Council would be replaced with a bicameral
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, with a
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
dominated by Fijian chiefs and a popularly elected
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
. In the 52-member House, Native Fijians and Indo-Fijians would each be allocated 22 seats, of which 12 would represent
communal constituencies Until the abolishment of communal constituencies in the Fijian electoral system in 2014, there was very little cross-ethnic voting in Fiji. In communal constituencies, electors enrolled as ethnic Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Rotuman Islanders, or G ...
comprising voters registered on strictly ethnic roles, and another 10 representing
national constituencies National constituencies were a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. They were created as a compromise between demands for universal suffrage on a common voters' roll, and for a strictly communal franchise, with Parliamentary constitu ...
to which members were allocated by ethnicity but elected by universal suffrage. A further 8 seats were reserved for "
general electors "General Electors" is the term formerly used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belonged, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. The 1997 Constitution defined General Electors as all Fiji citizens who were not registered as being of ...
" –
Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...
,
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
, Banaban Islanders, and other minorities; 3 of these were "communal" and 5 "national". With this compromise, it was agreed that Fiji would become independent. The British flag, the
Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...
, was lowered for the last time at sunset on 9 October 1970 in the capital Suva. The Fijian flag was raised after dawn on the morning of 10 October 1970; the country had officially become independent at midnight.


Independence


1987 coups d'état

The British granted Fiji independence in 1970. Democratic rule was interrupted by two
military coups A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a di ...
in 1987 precipitated by a growing perception that the government was dominated by the
Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians () are Fijians of South Asian descent whose ancestors were Girmitiyas, indentured labourers. Indo-Fijians trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's ...
(Indian) community. The second 1987 coup saw both the Fijian monarchy and the
Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
replaced by a non-executive president and the name of the country changed from ''
Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
of Fiji'' to ''Republic of Fiji'' and then in 1997 to ''Republic of the Fiji Islands''. The two coups and the accompanying civil unrest contributed to heavy Indo-Fijian emigration; the resulting population loss resulted in economic difficulties and ensured that Melanesians became the majority. In 1990, the new constitution institutionalised ethnic Fijian domination of the political system. The
Group Against Racial Discrimination {{unreferenced, date=October 2012 The Group Against Racial Discrimination (GARD) was formed in Fiji in 1990 to act as a pressure group against the unilateral imposition of a discriminatory constitution by the military Government controlled by Major ...
(GARD) was formed to oppose the unilaterally imposed constitution and to restore the 1970 constitution. In 1992
Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician, sportsman, and former soldier who has been serving as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was de ...
, the Lieutenant Colonel who had carried out the 1987 coup, became Prime Minister following elections held under the new constitution. Three years later, Rabuka established the Constitutional Review Commission, which in 1997 wrote a new constitution which was supported by most leaders of the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities. Fiji was re-admitted to the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
.


2000 coup d'état

In 2000, a coup was instigated by
George Speight George Speight (; born 1957), also known by his pseudonym Ilikimi Naitini, is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit sei ...
, which effectively toppled the government of
Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader beca ...
, who in 1997 had become the country's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister following the adoption of the new constitution. Commodore
Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...
assumed executive power after the resignation, possibly forced, of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Later in 2000, Fiji was rocked by two mutinies when rebel soldiers went on a rampage at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks. The High Court ordered the reinstatement of the constitution, and in September 2001, to restore democracy, a general election was held which was won by interim Prime Minister
Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Fiji, sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the military quashed the 2 ...
's
Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua The United Fiji Party (, , SDL) was a list of political parties in Fiji, political party in Fiji. It was founded in 2001 by Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase as a power base; it absorbed most of the Christian Democratic Alli ...
party. In 2005, the Qarase government amid much controversy proposed a Reconciliation and Unity Commission with power to recommend compensation for victims of the 2000 coup and amnesty for its perpetrators. However, the military, especially the nation's top military commander, Frank Bainimarama, strongly opposed this bill. Bainimarama agreed with detractors who said that to grant amnesty to supporters of the present government who had played a role in the violent coup was a sham. His attack on the legislation, which continued unremittingly throughout May and into June and July, further strained his already tense relationship with the government.


2006 coup d'état

In late November and early December 2006, Bainimarama was instrumental in the
2006 Fijian coup d'état The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état in Fiji carried out by Commodore (rank), Commodore Frank Bainimarama against Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and President Josefa Iloilo. It was the culminatio ...
. Bainimarama handed down a list of demands to Qarase after a bill was put forward to parliament, part of which would have offered pardons to participants in the 2000 coup attempt. He gave Qarase an ultimatum date of 4 December to accede to these demands or to resign from his post. Qarase adamantly refused either to concede or resign, and on 5 December President Ratu
Josefa Iloilo '' Ratu'' Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, (29 December 1920 – 6 February 2011) was a Fijian politician who served as the 3rd President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009 following the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, excluding a brief period from 5 ...
signed a legal order dissolving the parliament after meeting with Bainimarama. Citing corruption in the government, Bainimarama staged a military takeover on 5 December 2006 against the prime minister that he had installed after a 2000 coup. The commodore took over the powers of the presidency and dissolved the parliament, paving the way for the military to continue the takeover. The coup was the culmination of weeks of speculation following conflict between the elected prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, and Bainimarama. Bainimarama had repeatedly issued demands and deadlines to the prime minister. A particular issue was previously pending legislation to pardon those involved in the 2000 coup. Bainimarama named
Jona Senilagakali Jona Baravilala Senilagakali (8 November 1929 – 26 October 2011) was a Fijian medical doctor and diplomat who was briefly appointed as Prime Minister of Fiji following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. Subsequently he was Minister for Health in th ...
as caretaker prime minister. The next week Bainimarama said he would ask the Great Council of Chiefs to restore executive powers to the president, Ratu Josefa Iloilo. On 4 January 2007, the military announced that it was restoring executive power to Iloilo, who made a broadcast endorsing the actions of the military. The next day, Iloilo named Bainimarama as the interim prime minister, indicating that the military was still effectively in control. In the wake of the takeover, reports emerged of alleged intimidation of some of those critical of the interim regime.


2009 transfer of power

In April 2009, the Fiji Court of Appeal overturned the High Court decision that Bainimarama's takeover of Qarase's government was lawful and declared the interim government to be illegal. Bainimarama agreed to step down as interim prime minister immediately, along with his government, and President Iloilo was to appoint a new prime minister. President Iloilo abrogated the constitution, and removed all office holders under the constitution including all judges and the governor of the Central Bank. In his own words, he "appoint d imelf as the Head of the State of Fiji under a new legal order". He then reappointed Bainimarama under his "New Order" as interim prime minister and imposed a "Public Emergency Regulation" limiting internal travel and allowing press censorship. On 2 May 2009, Fiji became the first nation ever to have been suspended from participation in the
Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organisation that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...
, for its failure to hold democratic elections by the date promised. Nevertheless, it remains a member of the Forum. On 1 September 2009, Fiji was suspended from the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
. The action was taken because Bainimarama failed to hold elections by 2010 as the Commonwealth of Nations had demanded after the 2006 coup. Bainimarama stated a need for more time to end a voting system that heavily favoured ethnic Fijians at the expense of the multi-ethnic minorities. Critics claimed that he had suspended the constitution and was responsible for
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
violations by arresting and detaining opponents. In his 2010 New Year's address, Bainimarama announced the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations (PER). However, the PER was not rescinded until January 2012, and the Suva Philosophy Club was the first organisation to reorganise and convene public meetings. The PER had been put in place in April 2009 when the former constitution was abrogated. The PER had allowed restrictions on speech, public gatherings, and censorship of news media and had given security forces added powers. He also announced a nationwide consultation process leading to a new constitution under which the 2014 elections were held. The official name of the country was reverted to ''Republic of Fiji'' in February 2011.


Since 2014

On 14 March 2014, the
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration, abbreviated to CMAG, is a group of representatives of members of the Commonwealth of Nations that is responsible for upholding the Harare Declaration. That Declaration dictates ...
voted to change Fiji's full suspension from the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
to a suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth, allowing them to participate in a number of Commonwealth activities, including the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
. The suspension was lifted in September 2014. The
FijiFirst FijiFirst (FF, ; ) was a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. It was deregistered on 1 July 2024. Formation and history The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bai ...
party, led by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, won outright majority in the country's 51-seat parliament both in 2014
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
and narrowly in 2018
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
. In October 2021, Tui Macuata Ratu Wiliame Katonivere was elected the new
President of Fiji The president of Fiji is the List of heads of state of Fiji, head of state of the Fiji, Republic of Fiji. The president is appointed by the Parliament of Fiji, Parliament for a three-year term under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, ...
by the parliament. On 24 December 2022,
Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician, sportsman, and former soldier who has been serving as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was de ...
, the head of the
People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to: * People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit * People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923 * People's Alliance ( ...
(PAP), became Fiji's 12th prime minister, succeeding Bainimarama, following the December 2022
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
.


Geography

Fiji lies approximately southwest of Hawaii and roughly from
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia. Fiji is the hub of the Southwest Pacific, midway between
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
and
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
. The archipelago is located between 176° 53′ east and 178° 12′ west. The archipelago is roughly and less than 2 percent is dry land. The 180° meridian runs through
Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated east of Vanua ...
, but the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...
is bent to give uniform time (UTC+12) to all of the Fiji group. With the exception of
Rotuma Rotuma () is a self-governing heptarchy, generally designated a Local government in Fiji, dependency of Fiji. Rotuma commonly refers to the Rotuma Island, the only permanently inhabited and by far the largest of all the islands in the Rotuma Gro ...
, the Fiji group lies between 15° 42′ and 20° 02′ south. Rotuma is located north of the group, from
Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
, 12° 30′ south of the equator. Fiji covers a total area of some of which around 10% is land. Fiji consists of 332
islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...
(of which 106 are inhabited) and 522 smaller islets. The two most important islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, which account for about three-quarters of the total land area of the country. The islands are mountainous, with peaks up to 1,324 metres (4,341 ft), and covered with thick tropical forests. The highest point is
Mount Tomanivi Mount Tomanivi, previously named Mount Victoria and also known as Tomaniivi, is an extinct volcano located in the northern highlands of Viti Levu. At , Mount Tomanivi is the highest mountain in Fiji. A trail leads to the summit of Tomanivi from ...
on Viti Levu. Viti Levu hosts the capital city of Suva and is home to nearly three-quarters of the population. Other important towns include
Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...
(the location of the international airport), and
Lautoka Lautoka (, ) is the second largest List of cities and towns in Fiji#List, metropolitan area in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of ...
, Fiji's second largest city with large sugar cane mills and a seaport. The main towns on Vanua Levu are
Labasa Labasa (, ) is a town in Fiji with a population of 28,500 at the 2010 census. Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. The town itself is located on a ...
and
Savusavu Savusavu () is a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove. The town is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island and had a population of 3,372 in the 2007 census. Savusavu is known as "the hidden paradise of Fiji." Geography Savus ...
. Other islands and island groups include
Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated east of Vanua ...
and
Kadavu Kadavu may refer to: * Kadavu Island, the fourth largest island in Fiji * Kadavu Group, an archipelago in Fiji including Kadavu Island * Kadavu Province, a province of Fiji including Kadavu Group * Kadavu Airport or Vunisea Airport, an airport on K ...
(the third and fourth largest islands, respectively), the
Mamanuca Group The Mamanuca Islands () of Fiji are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by th ...
(just off Nadi) and
Yasawa Group The Yasawa Group is an archipelago of about 20 Volcano, volcanic islands in the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division of Fiji, with an approximate total area of . Geography The Yasawa volcanic group consists of six main islands and num ...
, which are popular tourist destinations, the Lomaiviti Group, off Suva, and the remote Lau Group. Rotuma has special administrative status in Fiji. Ceva-i-Ra, an uninhabited reef, is located about southwest of the main archipelago. Fiji contains two ecoregions:
Fiji tropical moist forests The Fiji tropical moist forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Fiji and Wallis and Futuna. It covers the windward sides of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, Fiji's largest islands, as well as the smaller Fijian islands and the three islands tha ...
and
Fiji tropical dry forests The Fiji tropical dry forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion in Fiji. The dry forests occupy the leeward northwestern portion of Fiji's two largest islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Geography The dry forests are in the rain shadow of Vit ...
. It had a 2018
Forest Landscape Integrity Index The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 47 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 8.35/10, ranking it 24th globally out of 172 countries.


Climate

The climate in Fiji is tropical marine and warm year round with minimal extremes. The warm season is from November to April, and the cooler season lasts from May to October. Temperatures in the cool season average . Rainfall is variable, with the warm season experiencing heavier rainfall, especially inland. For the larger islands, rainfall is heavier on the southeast portions of the islands than on the northwest portions, with consequences for agriculture in those areas. Winds are moderate, though cyclones occur about once annually (10–12 times per decade). Climate change in Fiji is an exceptionally pressing issue for the country – as an island nation, Fiji is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels,
coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...
and
extreme weather Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe weather, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weat ...
. These changes, along with temperature rise, will displace Fijian communities and will prove disruptive to the national economy – tourism, agriculture and fisheries, the largest contributors to the nation's GDP, will be severely impacted by climate change causing increases in poverty and food insecurity. As a party to both the
Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...
and the
Paris Climate Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
, Fiji hopes to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 which, along with national policies, will help to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The governments of Fiji and other island states at risk from climate change (
Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...
, the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
,
Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...
,
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
and
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
) launched the "Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific", calling for the phase out
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s and the 'rapid and
just transition Just transition is a concept that emerged in the 1980s through efforts by U.S. trade unions to protect workers' rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production, primarily protecting workers affected by environmental regulati ...
' to
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
and strengthening
environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...
including introducing the crime of
ecocide Ecocide (from Greek 'home' and Latin 'to kill') is the destruction of the natural environment, environment by humans. Ecocide threatens all human populations that are dependent on natural resources for maintaining Ecosystem, ecosystems and ensu ...
.


Government and politics

Politics in Fiji normally take place in the framework of a
parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
representative democratic Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a type of democracy where elected delegates represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies funct ...
republic wherein the Prime Minister of Fiji is the
head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
and the President the
Head of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "
he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
, and of a multi-party system.
Executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
is exercised by the government,
legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...
is vested in both the government and the
Parliament of Fiji The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Fiji, Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. Hist ...
, and the
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
is independent of the executive and the legislature. A general election took place on 17 September 2014. Bainimarama's
FijiFirst FijiFirst (FF, ; ) was a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. It was deregistered on 1 July 2024. Formation and history The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bai ...
party won with 59.2% of the vote, and the election was deemed credible by a group of international observers from Australia, India and Indonesia. In the 2018
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
FijiFirst won with 50.02 per cent of the total votes cast. It held its outright majority in the parliament, winning 27 of the 51 seats. The
Social Democratic Liberal Party The Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) is a Fijian political party. The party was formed in January 2013 after the dissolution of the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua. History Party foundation In January 2013 Fiji's military regime p ...
(SODELPA) came in second with 39.85 per cent of the vote. In the 2022
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
FijiFirst lost its parliamentary majority.
Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician, sportsman, and former soldier who has been serving as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was de ...
of
People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to: * People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit * People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923 * People's Alliance ( ...
party, with the backing of the Social Liberal Democratic party (Sodelpa), became Fiji's new Prime Minister to succeed Frank Bainimarama.


Armed forces and law enforcement

The military consists of the
Republic of Fiji Military Forces The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces until 1987 when the Dominion of Fiji was overthrown) is the military force of the Pacific Ocean, Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about ...
with a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, and includes a Navy unit of 300 personnel. The land force comprises the
Fiji Infantry Regiment The Fiji Infantry Regiment is the main combat element of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. It is a light infantry regiment consisting of six battalions, of which three are regular army and three are Territorial Force. The regiment was formed ...
(regular and territorial force organised into six light infantry battalions), Fiji Engineer Regiment, Logistic Support Unit and Force Training Group. Relative to its size, Fiji has fairly large armed forces and has been a major contributor to
UN peacekeeping Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role of the United Nations's Department of Peace Operations and an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is ...
missions in various parts of the world. In addition, a significant number of former military personnel have served in the lucrative security sector in Iraq following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The law enforcement branch is composed of the Fiji Police Force and Fiji Corrections Service.


Administrative divisions

Fiji is divided into four major divisions which are further divided into 14 provinces. They are: * Central Division has 5 provinces: Naitasiri, Namosi, Rewa, Serua, and Tailevu. * Eastern Division has 3 provinces:
Kadavu Kadavu may refer to: * Kadavu Island, the fourth largest island in Fiji * Kadavu Group, an archipelago in Fiji including Kadavu Island * Kadavu Province, a province of Fiji including Kadavu Group * Kadavu Airport or Vunisea Airport, an airport on K ...
, Lau, and Lomaiviti. * Northern Division has 3 provinces: Bua, Cakaudrove, and Macuata. * Western Division has 3 provinces: Ba, Nadroga-Navosa, and Ra. Fiji was divided into three confederacies or governments during the reign of
Seru Epenisa Cakobau ''Ratu'' Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian chief, monarch, and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes, establishing a Fijian kingdom. He served as i ...
, though these are not considered political divisions, they are still considered important in the social divisions of the indigenous Fijians:


Economy

Endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, Fiji is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Some progress was experienced by this sector when Marion M. Ganey introduced credit unions to the islands in the 1950s. Natural resources include timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil, and hydropower. Fiji experienced a period of rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s but stagnated in the 1980s. The coups of 1987 caused further contraction. Economic liberalisation in the years following the coups created a boom in the garment industry and a steady growth rate despite growing uncertainty regarding land tenure in the sugar industry. The expiration of leases for sugar cane farmers (along with reduced farm and factory efficiency) has led to a decline in sugar production despite subsidies for sugar provided by the EU. Fiji's gold mining industry is based in
Vatukoula Vatukoula (, meaning "gold rock" in Fijian) is a gold mining settlement in Fiji, 9 km inland from the Town of Tavua on the island of Viti Levu. Colonial history Vatukoula may be viewed historically as the cradle of the modern gold mining i ...
. Urbanisation and expansion in the service sector have contributed to recent GDP growth. Sugar exports and a rapidly growing tourist industry – with tourists numbering 430,800 in 2003 and increasing in the subsequent years – are the major sources of foreign exchange. Fiji is highly dependent on tourism for revenue. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment and uncertain property rights. The South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) is the only licensed securities exchange in Fiji and is based in Suva. Its vision is to become a regional exchange.


Tourism

Fiji has a significant amount of tourism with the popular regions being
Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...
, the Coral Coast, Denarau Island, and
Mamanuca Islands The Mamanuca Islands () of Fiji are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by the ...
. The biggest sources of international visitors by country are Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Fiji has a significant number of soft
coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...
s, and
scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...
is a common tourist activity.Fiji Travel Information and Travel Guide
.
Lonely Planet
''. Retrieved April 2010.
Fiji's main attractions to tourists are primarily white sandy beaches and aesthetically pleasing islands with all-year tropical weather. In general, Fiji is a mid-range priced holiday/vacation destination with most of the accommodations in this range. It also has a variety of world-class five-star resorts and hotels. More budget
resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
s are being opened in remote areas, which will provide more tourism opportunities.
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
named Fiji's Laucala Island Resort as one of the fifteen world's most beautiful island hotels. Official statistics show that in 2012, 75% of visitors stated that they came for a holiday/vacation. Honeymoons are very popular as are romantic getaways in general. There are also family-friendly resorts with facilities for young children including kids' clubs and nanny options. Fiji has several popular tourism destinations. The Botanical Gardens of Thursten in
Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
, Sigatoka Sand Dunes, and Colo-I-Suva Forest Park are three options on the mainland (Viti Levu). A major attraction on the outer islands is scuba diving. According to the Fiji Bureau of Statistics, most visitors arriving to Fiji on a short-term basis are from the following countries or regions of residence: Fiji has also served as a location for various Hollywood movies starting from the ''
Mr Robinson Crusoe ''Mr. Robinson Crusoe'' is a 1932 Pre-Code American film. It is one of the few "talkie" films starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., in his penultimate film role; Fairbanks also produced the film and provided the story during the Great Depression. T ...
'' in 1932 to '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1980) starring
Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...
and ''
Return to the Blue Lagoon ''Return to the Blue Lagoon'' is a 1991 American South Seas romantic adventure film directed and produced by William A. Graham and starring Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause. The film is a sequel to '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1980). The screenplay b ...
'' (1991) with
Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; ; ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (), is an American actress and former fashion model. Her starring roles in numerous science fiction film, science-fiction and action films led th ...
. Other popular movies shot in Fiji include ''
Cast Away ''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter who is stranded on a desert island after his plane cras ...
'' (2000) and '' Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid'' (2004). The U.S. version of the
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
show ''
Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...
'' has filmed all of its semiannual seasons in the Mamanuca Islands since its 33rd season in 2016. Typically, two 39-day competitions will be filmed back to back, with the first season airing in the fall of that year, and the second airing in the spring of the following year. This marks the longest consecutive period that ''Survivor'' has filmed in one location. Before the airing of the 35th season ('' Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers)'', host
Jeff Probst Jeffrey Lee Probst (; born November 4, 1961) is an American television presenter and producer and young adult fiction writer. He is best known as the Emmy Awards, Emmy Award–winning host of the American version of the reality television show ' ...
said in an interview with ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' that the Mamanucas are the optimal location for the show and he would like to stay there permanently.


Transport

Airports Fiji Limited (AFL) is responsible for the operation of 15 public airports in the Fiji Islands. These include two international airports: Nadi international Airport, Fiji's main international gateway, and Nausori Airport, Fiji's domestic hub, and 13 outer island airports. Fiji's main airline is
Fiji Airways Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, is the flag carrier of Fiji. It operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 27 destinations, and has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners, includi ...
. The
Nadi International Airport Nadi International Airport is the main international airport of Fiji as well as an important regional hub for the South Pacific islands, located by the coast on the Ba Province in the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division of the main island V ...
is located north of central Nadi and is the largest Fijian hub.
Nausori International Airport Nausori International Airport , also known as Luvuluvu, is the secondary international airport in Fiji, behind Nadi International Airport. It is situated in Nausori on the southeastern side of Viti Levu, Fiji's main island. Nausori Airport is rou ...
is about northeast of downtown Suva and serves mostly domestic traffic with flights from Australia and New Zealand. The main airport in the second largest island of Vanua Levu is
Labasa Airport Labasa Airport is an airport serving Labasa (pronounced ) is a town located in Macuata Province, in the northeastern part of the island of Vanua Levu in Fiji. It is operated by Airports Fiji Limited. Facilities The airport resides at an eleva ...
located at Waiqele, southwest of Labasa Town. The largest aircraft handled by Labasa Airport is the
ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...
. Fiji's larger islands have extensive bus routes that are affordable and consistent in service. There are bus stops, and in rural areas buses are often simply hailed as they approach. Buses are the principal form of public transport and passenger movement between the towns on the main islands. Buses also serve on inter-island ferries. Bus fares and routes are regulated by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Bus and taxi drivers hold Public Service Licenses issued by the LTA. Taxis are licensed by the LTA and operate widely all over the country. Apart from urban, town-based taxis, there are others that are licensed to serve rural or semi-rural areas. Inter-island ferries provide services between Fiji's principal islands, and large vessels operate roll-on-roll-off services such as
Patterson Brothers Shipping Company Patterson Brothers Shipping Company LTD is Fiji's longest running inter-island ferry operation bridging the gap between Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and Ovalau daily. They also provide trips to Kadavu and Koro islands. The company is a family ...
, transporting vehicles and large amounts of cargo between the main island of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, and other smaller islands.


Science and technology

Fiji is the only developing Pacific Island country with recent data for gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD), with the exception of
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. The national Bureau of Statistics cites a GERD/GDP ratio of 0.15% in 2012. Private-sector research and development (R&D) is negligible. Government investment in research and development tends to favour agriculture. In 2007, agriculture and primary production accounted for just under half of government expenditure on R&D, according to the Fijian National Bureau of Statistics. This share had risen to almost 60% by 2012. However, scientists publish much more in the field of geosciences and health than in agriculture. The rise in government spending on agricultural research has come to the detriment of research in education, which dropped to 35% of total research spending between 2007 and 2012. Government expenditure on health research has remained fairly constant, at about 5% of total government research spending, according to the Fijian National Bureau of Statistics. The Fijian Ministry of Health is seeking to develop endogenous research capacity through the ''Fiji Journal of Public Health'', which it launched in 2012. A new set of guidelines are now in place to help build endogenous capacity in health research through training and access to new technology. Fiji is also planning to diversify its energy sector through the use of
science and technology Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...
. In 2015, the
Secretariat of the Pacific Community The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's hea ...
observed that "while Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa are leading the way with large-scale hydropower projects, there is enormous potential to expand the deployment of other renewable energy options such as solar, wind, geothermal and ocean-based energy sources". In 2014, the Centre of Renewable Energy became operational at the
University of Fiji The University of Fiji is a university based in Saweni, Lautoka, Fiji. It was established in December 2004 under academic leadership of the Fiji Institute of Applied Studies and financial sponsorship of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji, a Hindu ...
, with the assistance of the Renewable Energy in Pacific Island Countries Developing Skills and Capacity programme (EPIC) funded by the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. From 2013 to 2017, the European Union funded the EPIC programme, which developed two master's programmes in renewable energy management, one at the University of Papua New Guinea and the other at the University of Fiji, both accredited in 2016. In Fiji, 45 students have enrolled for the master's degree since the launch of the programme and a further 21 students have undertaken a related diploma programme introduced in 2019. In 2020, the Regional Pacific Nationally Determined Contributions Hub Office in Fiji was launched to support climate change mitigation and adaptation. Pacific authors on the frontlines of climate change remain underrepresented in the scientific literature on the impact of disasters and on
climate resilience Climate resilience is a concept to describe how well people or ecosystems are prepared to bounce back from certain climate hazard events. The formal definition of the term is the "capacity of social, economic and ecosystems to cope with a hazardou ...
strategies.


Society


Demographics

The 2017 census found that the population of Fiji was 884,887, compared to the population of 837,271 in the 2007 census. The population density at the time of the 2007 census was 45.8 inhabitants per
square kilometre The square kilometre (square kilometer in American spelling; symbol: km2) is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. In the SI unit of area (m2), 1 km2 is equal to 1M(m2). 1 km2 is equal to: * 1,000,000 squar ...
. The
life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...
in Fiji was 72.1 years. Since the 1930s the population of Fiji has increased at a rate of 1.1% per year. The median age of the population was 29.9, and the gender ratio was 1.03 males per 1 female. Fiji's score on the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI) is 10.2, which indicates a moderate level of hunger.


Ethnic groups

The population of Fiji is mostly made up of native Fijians (54.3%), who are
Melanesians Melanesians are the predominant and Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in an area stretching from New Guinea to the Fiji Islands. Most speak one of the many languages of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian l ...
, although many also have Polynesian ancestry; and
Indo-Fijians Indo-Fijians () are Fijians of South Asian descent whose ancestors were Girmitiyas, indentured labourers. Indo-Fijians trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's ...
(38.1%), descendants of Indian contract labourers brought to the islands by the British colonial powers in the 19th century. The percentage of the population of Indo-Fijian descent has declined significantly over the last two decades through migration for various reasons. Indo-Fijians suffered reprisals for a period after the coup of 2000. Relationships between ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians in the political arena have often been strained, and the tension between the two communities has dominated politics in the islands for the past generation. The level of political tension varies among different regions of the country. About 1.2% of the population is Rotuman – natives of Rotuma Island, whose culture has more in common with countries such as Tonga or Samoa than with the rest of Fiji. There are also small but economically significant groups of Europeans, Chinese, and other Pacific island minorities. The membership of other ethnic groups is about 4.5%. 3,000 people or 0.3% of the people living in Fiji are from Australia. The concept of family and community is of great importance to Fijian culture. Within the indigenous communities many members of the extended family will adopt particular titles and roles of direct guardians. Kinship is determined through a child's lineage to a particular spiritual leader, so that a clan is based on traditional customary ties as opposed to actual biological links. These clans, based on the spiritual leader, are known as a matangali. Within the matangali are a number of smaller collectives, known as the mbito. The descent is patrilineal, and all the status is derived from the father's side.


Demonym

Fiji's constitution refers to all Fijian citizens as "Fijians". Former constitutions referred to citizens of Fiji as "Fiji Islanders", though the term ''Fiji nationals'' was used for official purposes. In August 2008, shortly before the proposed
People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress The People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress (initially, People's Charter for Change and Progress) was a proposed legal document which would have complemented the 1997 Constitution of Fiji. It would have established compulsory guidelines f ...
was due to be released to the public, it was announced that it recommended a change in the name of Fiji's citizens. If the proposal were adopted, all citizens of Fiji, whatever their ethnicity, would be called "Fijians". The proposal would change the English name of indigenous Fijians from "Fijians" to ''itaukei'', the
Fijian language Fijian (') or iTaukei is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000–450,000 ethnic Fijians as a native language. The 1997 Constitution of Fiji#New Consti ...
endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
for indigenous Fijians. Deposed Prime Minister
Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Fiji, sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the military quashed the 2 ...
reacted by stating that the name "Fijian" belonged exclusively to indigenous Fijians, and that he would oppose any change in legislation enabling non-indigenous Fijians to use it. The
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
, to which a large majority of indigenous Fijians belong, also reacted strongly to the proposal, stating that allowing every Fiji citizen to call themselves "Fijian" would be "daylight robbery" inflicted on the indigenous population. In an address to the nation during the constitutional crisis of April 2009, military leader and interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, who was at the forefront of the attempt to change the definition of "Fijian", stated: In May 2010,
Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (born 24 September 1965) is a Fijian politician and a former cabinet minister. He was the Fijian Attorney-General and the Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, and also served as the Minister responsible ...
reiterated that the term "Fijian" should apply to all Fiji nationals, but the statement was again met with protest. A spokesperson for the Viti Landowners and Resource Owners Association claimed that even fourth-generation descendants of migrants did not fully understand "what it takes to be a Fijian", and added that the term refers to a legal standing, since legislation affords specific rights to "Fijians" (meaning, in that legislation, indigenous Fijians).


Languages

Fiji has three official languages under the 1997 constitution (and not revoked by the 2013 Constitution):
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, Fijian (iTaukei), and
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
. (
Fiji Hindi Fiji Hindi (Devanagari: ; Kaithi: ; Perso-Arabic: ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Fijians. It is considered to be a ''koiné'' language based on Awadhi that has also been subject to considerable influence by other Eastern Hindi ...
is a variety of Hindi common in Fiji.) Fijian is an
Austronesian Austronesian may refer to: *The Austronesian languages *The historical Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Sout ...
language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 350,000 native speakers, and another 200,000 speak it as a second language. There are many dialects of the language across the Fiji Islands, which may be classified in two major branches— eastern and western. Missionaries in the 1840s chose an eastern dialect, the speech of Bau Island, to be their written standard of the Fijian language. Bau Island was home to Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the chief who eventually became the self-proclaimed King of Fiji.
Fiji Hindi Fiji Hindi (Devanagari: ; Kaithi: ; Perso-Arabic: ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Fijians. It is considered to be a ''koiné'' language based on Awadhi that has also been subject to considerable influence by other Eastern Hindi ...
, also known as Fijian Baat or Fijian Hindustani, is the language spoken by most Fijian citizens of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n descent. It is derived mainly from the
Awadhi Awadhi may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Awadh or Oudh region in Uttar Pradesh, northern India ** Awadhi people, ethnic group of India *** Awadhi language Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging ...
and
Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...
varieties of
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
. It has also borrowed a large number of words from Fijian and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
. The relation between Fiji Hindi and
Standard Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ''lin ...
is similar to the relation between
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
and
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
. Indian
indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...
d labourers were initially brought to Fiji mainly from districts of eastern
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
,
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
, North-West Frontier and
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
such as from
Andhra Andhra Pradesh (ISO: , , AP) is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official lang ...
and
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. They spoke numerous, mainly Hindi, dialects and languages depending on their district of origin. English, a remnant of British colonial rule over the islands, was the sole official language until 1997 and is widely used in government, business and education as a
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
.


Religion

According to the 2017 census, 69.2% of the population was
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, while 24.0% was
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 5.8%
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, and 1.04% belonged to other religions including
Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
. As of 2007, among Christians, 54% were counted as
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
, followed by 14.2%
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, 8.9%
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
, 6.0%
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
, 1.2%
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
with the remaining 16.1% belonging to other denominations. – Percentages are derived from total population figures provided in the source The largest Christian denomination is the
Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma The Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma is the largest Christian denomination in Fiji, with 34.6% of the total population at the most recent 2007 census. Along with the chiefly system and the Fijian government, the Methodist Church forms ...
. With 34.6% of the population (including almost two-thirds of ethnic Fijians), the proportion of the population adhering to Methodism is higher in Fiji than in any other nation. Fijian Catholics are administered by the
Archdiocese of Suva The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Suva (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Suvana'') is a Metropolitan Archdiocese in Fiji. It is responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Rarotonga and Tarawa and Nauru and —as of 21 March 2003—the Mission '' ...
. The archdiocese is the
metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...
of an
ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...
which includes the Dioceses of
Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...
(on the
Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
, for those and
Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...
, both New Zealand-associated countries) and Tarawa and Nauru (with see at Tarawa on
Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...
, also for
Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...
) and the
Mission sui iuris of Tokelau The Roman Catholic Mission ''Sui Iuris'' of Tokelau (Latin: ''Missio Sui Iuris Tokelaunum'') in Tokelau is a suffragan mission of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia. It was formed in 1992 when the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia and Tokelau ...
(New Zealand). The Assemblies of God and the Seventh-day Adventist denominations are significantly represented. Fiji is the base for the Anglican Diocese of Polynesia (part of the
Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand, is a Anglican province, province of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. Since 1992 ...
).These and other denominations have small numbers of Indo-Fijian members; Christians of all kinds comprised 6.1% of the Indo-Fijian population in the 1996 census. Hindus in Fiji mostly belong to the Sanatan sect (74.3% of all Hindus) or else are unspecified (22%). Muslims in Fiji are mostly
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
(96.4%).


Education

Fiji has a high literacy rate (91.6 percent), and although there is no compulsory education, more than 85 percent of the children between the ages of 6 and 13 attend primary school. Schooling is free and provided by both
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
and church-run schools. Generally, the Fijian and Hindu children attend separate schools, reflecting the political split that exists in the nation.


Primary education

In Fiji, the role of government in education is to provide an environment in which children realise their full potential, and school is free from age 6 to 14. The primary school system consists of eight years of schooling and is attended by children from the ages of 6 to 14 years. Upon completion of primary school, a certificate is awarded and the student is eligible to take the secondary school examination.


Secondary education

High school education may continue for a total of five years following an entry examination. Students either leave after three years with a Fiji school leaving certificate, or remain on to complete their final two years and qualify for tertiary education. Entry into the secondary school system, which is a total of five years, is determined by a competitive examination. Students passing the exam then follow a three-year course that leads to the Fiji School Leaving Certificate and the opportunity to attend senior secondary school. At the end of this level, they may take the Form VII examination, which covers four or five subjects. Successful completion of this process gains students access to higher education.


Tertiary education

The
University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...
, called the crossroads of the South Pacific because it serves ten English-speaking territories in the South Pacific, is the major provider of higher education. Admission to the university requires a secondary school diploma, and all students must take a one-year foundation course at the university regardless of their major. Financing for the university is derived from school fees, funds from the Fiji government and other territories, and aid from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In addition to the university, Fiji also has teacher-training colleges, as well as
medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
,
technological Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as ute ...
, and
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
schools. Primary school teachers are trained for two years, whereas secondary school teachers train for three years; they then have the option to receive a diploma in education or read for a bachelor's degree in arts or science and continue for an additional year to earn a postgraduate certificate of education. The Fiji Polytechnic School offers training in various trades, apprenticeship courses, and other courses that lead to diplomas in
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
, hotel catering, and
business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...
. Some of the course offerings can also lead to several City and Guilds of
London Institute The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College ...
Examinations. In addition to the traditional educational system, Fiji also offers the opportunity to obtain an education through distance learning. The University Extension Service provides centres and a network of terminals in most regional areas. For students taking non-credit courses, no formal qualifications are necessary. However, students who enroll in the credit courses may be awarded the appropriate degree or certificate upon successful completion of their studies through the extension services.


Culture

While indigenous Fijian culture and traditions are very vibrant and are integral components of everyday life for the majority of Fiji's population, Fijian society has evolved over the past century with the introduction of traditions such as Indian and Chinese as well as significant influences from Europe and Fiji's Pacific neighbours, particularly
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
and
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
. Thus, the various cultures of Fiji have come together to create a unique multicultural national identity. Fiji's culture was showcased at the World Exposition held in Vancouver, Canada, in 1986 and more recently at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, along with other Pacific countries in the Pacific Pavilion.


Sport

Sports are very popular in Fiji, particularly sports involving physical contact. Fiji's national sport is
Rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...
.
Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
is a minor sport in Fiji.
Cricket Fiji Cricket Fiji is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Fiji. Its current headquarters is in Suva. The organisation was founded in 1946, as the Fiji Cricket Association, and became an associate member of the International Cricket ...
is an associate member of the
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
("ICC").
Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
is the most popular women's participation sport in Fiji. The
national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
has been internationally competitive, at
Netball World Cup The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and the New ...
competitions reaching 6th position in 1999, its highest level to date. The team won gold medals at the 2007 and
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...
. Because of the success of Fiji's national basketball teams, the popularity of basketball has experienced rapid growth in recent years. In the past, the country only had few basketball courts, which severely limited Fijians who desired to practice the sport more frequently. Through recent efforts by the national federation Basketball Fiji and with the support of the Australian government, many schools have been able to construct courts and provide their students with basketball equipment.
Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
, a PGA golfer from Fiji, was ranked the world number one male golfer for a total of 32 weeks.


Rugby union

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
is the most-popular team sport played in Fiji. The Fiji national sevens side is a popular and successful international rugby sevens team and has won the
Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens ( zh, t=香港國際七人欖球賽, link=no) is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competiti ...
a record eighteen times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the
Rugby World Cup Sevens Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) was the former quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it consisted of men's and women's tournaments, and was the highest level of competition in the sport ...
twice – in 1997 and 2005. The Fiji national rugby union sevens team is the reigning
Sevens World Series The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB Wor ...
Champions in World Rugby. In 2016, they won Fiji's first ever Olympic medal in the
Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics Rugby sevens was played at the Olympics for the first time at the 2016 Summer Olympics, with both men's and women's contests. It was added to the Olympics following the decision of the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen in October 2009. The champio ...
, winning gold by defeating Great Britain 43–7 in the final. The national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga in the union. Fiji is currently ranked eleventh in the world by the IRB (). The national rugby union team has competed at five
Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...
competitions, the first being in
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
, where they reached the quarter-finals. The team again qualified in the
2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...
when they upset
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
38–34 to progress to the quarter-finals where they lost to the eventual Rugby World Cup winners,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. Fiji competes in the
Pacific Tri-Nations The Pacific Tri-Nations was the traditional rugby union series between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. It was established in 1982 with the Samoan team, then known as Western Samoa, winning the tournament. In 2006 it was replaced by the IRB Pacific 5 Nation ...
and the IRB Pacific Nations Cup. The sport is governed by the
Fiji Rugby Union Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA), along with Samoa and Tonga. There are ...
which is a member of the
Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) was set up in 2002 as a basis of co-operation between the Fiji Rugby Union, Fiji, Samoa Rugby Football Union, Samoa and Tonga Rugby Football Union, Tonga Rugby Unions. Niue Rugby Union, Niue and the Cook Is ...
, and contributes to the
Pacific Islanders rugby union team The Pacific Islanders was a combined international rugby union team that played from 2004 to 2008. It represented Fiji national rugby union team, Fiji, Samoa national rugby union team, Samoa and Tonga national rugby union team, Tonga; Niue Rugby Un ...
. At the club level there are the
Skipper Cup The Skipper Cup (formerly the Sanyo Cup and The Digicel Cup) is the Fiji Rugby Union's national provincial Premier rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non- ...
and Farebrother Trophy Challenge.


Rugby league

The
Fiji national rugby league team The Fiji national rugby league team, nicknamed the Bati (pronounced ), has been participating in international rugby league football since 1992. The team is controlled by the governing body for rugby league in Fiji, Fiji National Rugby League (FN ...
, nicknamed the Bati (pronounced ˈbatʃi, represents Fiji in the sport of rugby league football and has been participating in international competition since 1992. It has competed in the
Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by senior men's national teams who each represent member nations of the International Rugby League who run and administer the tournament. The tournament has be ...
on three occasions, with their best results coming when they made consecutive semi-final appearances in the
2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest ...
,
2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams. It took place between the 26 October and 30 November and was hosted by England and Wales (although some games were played in France and Ire ...
and 2019 Rugby League World Cup. The team also competes in the
Pacific Cup The Pacific Cup was a rugby league football competition, inaugurated in 1974, as a development competition for national teams from the Pacific region outside of Australia and New Zealand. The tournament ceased in 2009. In 2019, a similar com ...
.


Association football

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
was traditionally a minor sport in Fiji, popular largely amongst the Indo-Fijian community, but with international funding from
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
and sound local management over the past decade, the sport has grown in popularity in the wider Fijian community. It is now the second most-popular sport in Fiji, after rugby for men and after netball for women. The
Fiji Football Association The Fiji Football Association is the governing body of football in Fiji. It came into existence in 1961. It is the overseeing body of the Fiji National Team and its leagues. History Football started to be played in Fiji ever since the arrival o ...
is a member of the
Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...
. The national football team defeated
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
2–0 in the 2008
OFC Nations Cup The OFC Men's Nations Cup, known as the OFC Nations Cup before the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup, 2024 edition, is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's natio ...
, on their way to a joint-record third-place finish. However, they have never reached a
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
to date. Fiji won the
Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...
football tournament in
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
and
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
. Fiji qualified for the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
men's tournament for the first time in history.


See also

* Index of Fiji-related articles *
List of festivals in Fiji Public holidays in Fiji reflect the country's cultural diversity. Each major religion in Fiji has a public holiday dedicated to it. Also Fiji's major cities and towns hold annual carnivals, commonly called festivals, which are usually named for so ...
* Outline of Fiji


Notes


References


Cited sources

* * Morens, David M. "Measles in Fiji, 1875: thoughts on the history of emerging infectious diseases". ''Pacific Health Dialog'' 5#1 (1998): 119–128 online. *


Further reading

* Traces the colonisation of the Fiji Islands, explains how the Fijians have managed to keep their language and culture intact, and describes modern Fiji society. * Details on Fiji its history and Geography. * Details of Fiji's History, Geography, Economy. * * * * David Routledge: ''Matanitu – The Struggle for Power in Early Fiji'',
University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...
, Suva 1985 * *


Sources

*


External links


Government


Official website of the Government of Fiji
.

(archived 24 March 2010)
Fiji Bureau of Statistics


General information


Geologic Map
* *
Fiji
''
The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The off ...
''.
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
.
Fiji
at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' (archived 7 June 2008)
Fiji profile
from the
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

J. Edward Hoffmeister Films
from the J. Edward Hoffmeister Papers. MSS 231. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego. {{Authority control 1970 establishments in Oceania British Western Pacific Territories Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations Countries in Melanesia Countries and territories where English is an official language Island countries Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Member states of the United Nations Small Island Developing States States and territories established in 1970 Countries in Oceania