Austronesians settled Fiji around 1000 B.C., followed by successive waves of Melanesians starting around the first century A.D. Fijians traded with Polynesian groups in Samoa and Tonga, and by about 900, much of Fiji was in the Tu’i Tongan Empire’s sphere of influence. The Tongan influence declined significantly by 1200, while Melanesian seafarers continued to periodically arrive in Fiji, further mixing Melanesian and Polynesian cultural traditions. The first European spotted Fiji in 1643 and by the 1800s, European merchants, missionaries, traders, and whalers frequented the islands. Rival kings and chiefs competed for power, at times aided by Europeans, and in 1865, Seru Epenisa CAKOBAU united many groups into the Confederacy of Independent Kingdoms of Viti. The arrangement proved weak, however, and in 1871 CAKOBAU formed the Kingdom of Fiji in an attempt to centralize power. Fearing a hostile takeover by a foreign power as the kingdom’s economy began to falter, CAKOBAU ceded Fiji to the UK in 1874.The first British governor set up a plantation-style economy and brought in more than 60,000 Indians as indentured laborers, most of whom chose to stay in Fiji rather than return to India when their contracts expired. In the early 1900s, society was divided along ethnic lines, with iTaukei (indigenous Fijians), Europeans, and Indo-Fijians living in separate areas and maintaining their own languages and traditions. ITaukei fears of an Indo-Fijian takeover of government delayed independence through the 1960s; Fiji achieved independence in 1970 with agreements to allocate parliamentary seats by ethnic groups. After two coups in 1987, a new constitution in 1990 cemented iTaukei control of politics, leading thousands of Indo-Fijians to leave. A reformed constitution in 1997 was more equitable and led to the election of an Indo-Fijian prime minister in 1999, who was ousted in a coup the following year. In 2005, the new prime minister put forward a bill that would grant pardons to the coup perpetrators, leading Josaia Voreqe "Frank" BAINIMARAMA to launch a coup in 2006. BAINIMARAMA appointed himself prime minister in 2007 and retained the position after elections in 2014 and 2018 that international observers deemed credible. BAINIMARAMA's party lost control of the prime minister position after elections in 2022 with former opposition leader Sitiveni Ligamamada RABUKA winning the office by a narrow margin.
Area: 18,274 km2
Climate: tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation
Natural resources: timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower
Groups: iTaukei 56.8% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indo-Fijian 37.5%, Rotuman 1.2%, other 4.5% (European, part European, other Pacific Islanders, Chinese) (2007 est.)note: a 2010 law replaces 'Fijian' with 'iTaukei' when referring to the original and native settlers of Fiji
Languages: English (official), iTaukei (official), Fiji Hindi (official)
Religions: Protestant 45% (Methodist 34.6%, Assembly of God 5.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 3.9%, and Anglican 0.8%), Hindu 27.9%, other Christian 10.4%, Roman Catholic 9.1%, Muslim 6.3%, Sikh 0.3%, other 0.3%, none 0.8% (2007 est.)
Capital: Suva (on Viti Levu)
Government type: parliamentary republic
Chief of state: President Ratu Naiqama LALABALAVU (since 12 November 2024)
Head of government: Prime Minister Sitiveni Ligamamada RABUKA (since 24 December 2022)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliamentelections/appointments: president elected by Parliament for a 3-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 31 October 2024 (next to be held in 2027); prime minister endorsed by the presidentelection results: 2024: Ratu Naiqama LALABALAVU elected president (People's Alliance) 35 votes, Meli Tora TAVAIQIA (Fiji First) 14 votes2021: Ratu Wiliame KATONIVERE elected president; Wiliame KATONIVERE (People's Alliance) 28 votes, Teimumu KEPA (SODELPA) 23 votes
Description: legislature name: Parliamentlegislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 55 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 12/14/2022parties elected and seats per party: FijiFirst (26); People's Alliance (21); National Federation Party (NFP) (5); Social Democratic Liberal Party (Soldelpa) (3)percentage of women in chamber: 9.1%expected date of next election: December 2026
Information derived by "The World Factbook 2021. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2021. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/"