Fiji is a group of volcanicislands in the South Pacific lying about 4,450 km (2,775 mi.) southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km (1,100 mi.) north of New Zealand. Its 322 islands range in size from the large--Vitu Levu (where Suva and 70% of the population are located) and Vanua Levu--to much smaller islands, of which just over 100 are inhabited. The larger islands contain mountains as high as 1,200 meters (4,000 ft.) rising abruptly from the shore. Heavy rains (up to 304 cm or 120 inches annually) fall on the windward (southeastern) side, covering these sections of the islands with dense tropical forest. Lowlands on the western portions of each of the main islands are sheltered by the mountains and have a well-marked dry season favorable to crops such as sugarcane.
More than half of Fiji's population lives on the island coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centers. The interior is sparsely populated due to its rough terrain.
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Location
Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements
Geography - note
Includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited
The Republic of the Fiji Islands occupies an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu.
The first inhabitants of Fiji arrived from South East Asia[?] long before the islands were discovered by European explorers in the 17th century.
Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector.
The Republic of the Fiji Islands, or Fiji, is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu.
Fiji's membership of the Commonwealth of Nations was suspended due to the anti-democratic activities connected with the 2000 coup.
The population of Fiji is mostly made up of native Fijians, a people of mixed Polynesian and Melanesian ancestory (54.3%), and Indo-Fijians (38.1%), descendants of Indian contract labourers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century.
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