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Fiji, officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands, is anisland nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga andsouth of Tuvalu. The country occupies an archipelago of about 322 islands, ofwhich 106 are permanently inhabited, and 522 islets. The islands are mountainous, with peaks up to 1,300 meters(4,250 ft), and covered with tropical forests. The two major islands, VitiLevu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population. Viti Levu hosts the capital city ofSuva, and is home to nearly three quarters of the population of 931,741 (July2008 est.). The climate in Fiji istropical and warm most of the year round.
Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, isone of the more developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with alarge subsistence sector. Fiji experienced a period of rapid growth in the1960s and 1970s but stagnated in the 1980s. The coup of 1987 caused furthercontraction. Economic liberalization in the years following the coup created a boomin the garment industry and a steady growth rate despite growing uncertainty ofland tenure in the sugar industry.
Urbanization and expansion in the service sector havecontributed to recent GDP growth. Sugar exports and a rapidly growing touristindustry — with 430,800 tourists in 2003 and increasing in the subsequent years— are the major sources of foreign exchange. Fiji is highly dependent ontourism for revenue. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrialactivity. Long-term problems include low investment and uncertain propertyrights. Although inflation is low, the policy indicator rate of the ReserveBank of Fiji was raised by 1% to 3.25% in February 2006 due to fears ofexcessive consumption financed by debt. Lower interest rates have so far notproduced greater investment for exports. However, there has been a housing boomfrom declining commercial mortgage rates that has created low property prices.Due to Fiji’s potential for fast price rises and returns, it is an ideal marketfor the investor.
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