Fiji consists of 18,376 square km of land and includes approximately 330 islands
of which around 100 are inhabited. The largest island and population centre is Viti
Levu, followed by Vanua Levu. It is located north of New Zealand and northwest of
Australia. The four largest islands, Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni and Kadavu are
surronded by coral reefs and have mountains located in the central region of each
island which cover a large portion of the land mass.
Climate
Fiji has a tropical oceanic climate. The rainy season, from November to April coincides
with the hot and humid months and the cooler months are from May to October. Humidity
tends to be higher in the south and east and much less in the west and north. Tempertures
in January in Suva can be min - max temp: 23 - 30 degrees C or 74-86 degrees F and
in July: min - max temp:20-26 degrees C or 68-79 degrees F. Rainfall also varies
widely - in Suva, the average number of rainy days is 240 whereas in Lautoka which
lays in the west, the average is 99 days. Fiji does sit in a cyclone area and they
are most likely to occur in the summer months between November and April.
Population
Fiji is perhaps the most cosmopolitan of all South Pacific nations. Its population
just under 780,000 is a combination of indigenous Fijians (50%), Indians (46%),
with the remainder of the population including Rotumans, Chinese, other Pacific
Islanders and Europeans. Indigenous Fijians have a culture and language that is
fairly homogonous with hereditary chiefs and patrilineal descent. Indians first
came to Fiji under British rule as indentured labourers over a century ago.
Economy
Fiji's economy is based on mainly agriculture and tourism. The sugar and tourism
industries provide employment to over 50% of the labour force with that figure looking
to increase due to the influx of resorts and hotels being built in the West. Both
sugar and tourism are based in Western Viti Levu. A variety of crops are also produced
including coconut oil, cocoa, ginger and kava.
Fiji's tourism industry has grown over the last decade to become and important source
of jobs and the major source of foreign exchange since 1990, surpassing sugar as
an export industry at that time. Several new hotels and resorts being built in the
Nadi and Sigatoka area will have a major impact on the number and frequency of people
arriving in Fiji, as well as creating a large number of jobs.