ABOUT FIJI

The Fiji Islands comprise 333 islands in the South Pacific, with beaches, coral gardens, and rain forests. Most people live on the largest island, Viti Levu, where the capital, Suva, is located. After 96 years as a British colony, Fiji gained independence in 1970. During British rule, indentured servants from India came to work in the sugarcane fields—Indo-Fijians currently constitute 40 percent of the population.

Indo-Fijians are mostly Hindu, while the majority native Fijians are mostly Christian. Tensions between the two communities caused two coups in 1987 and one in 2000. Democracy returned in 2001 and so did a record number of tourists.

Economy

• Industry: Tourism, sugar, clothing, copra
• Agriculture: Sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle; fish
• Exports: Sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish

(Source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition)

Fiji officially the Republic of Fiji is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. Its closest neighbors are Vanuatu to the West, New Caledonia to the Southwest, New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands to the Southeast, Tonga to the East, the Samoas and France’s Wallis and Futuna to the Northeast, and Tuvalu to the North.

The majority of Fiji’s islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch and the British explored Fiji, this was a Crown Colony until 1970, this administration lasting almost a century. During World War II, thousands of Fijians volunteered to aid in Allied efforts via their attachment to the New Zealand and Australian army units.

Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific island realm due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the main sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry and sugar exports. The country’s currency is the Fijian dollar.

(Source: Wikipedia)

LANGUAGE

English is the lingua franca, but Fijian and Hindi are also taught in schools as part of the school curriculum. Indigenous Fijians have their own dialects and you can tell where one comes from, from their dialect. Indians too have their own, and generally speak a distinctive Fiji-Hindi dialect. This is not the same as the one spoken in India.

(Source: www.fijihighcommission.org.uk)

You could find more about Fiji on www.fiji.travel