Fiji

Fiji became independent in 1970 after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987 caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). The coups and a 1990 constitution that cemented native Melanesian control of Fiji led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. A new constitution enacted in 1997 was more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a civilian-led coup in May 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE. Re-elected in May 2006, QARASE was ousted in a December 2006 military coup led by Commodore Voreqe BAINIMARAMA, who initially appointed himself acting president but in January 2007 became interim prime minister. Since taking power BAINIMARAMA has neutralized his opponents, crippled Fiji's democratic institutions, and refused to hold elections.

Economical characteristics

• Currency: Fijian dollar (ISO code: FJD)
• Central bank discount rate: 3% (31 December 2009)
• Commercial banks lending rate: 7.85% (31 December 2009 )
• Stock of money (M1): $738.6 million (31 December 2008)
• Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $1.012 billion (31 December 2008)

Statistics

Statistic / Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)	1 942	1 684	1 660	1 843	2 316	2 728	2 963	3 168	3 351	3 590
Govt. debt (% of GDP)
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)						24.400	24.273	24.925
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)						24.921	24.859	25.767
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

External links

• Fiji on Wikipedia
• Central bank of Fiji
• Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
• BBC country profile