Fiji Economy 1997

Economy - overview Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of themost developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a largesubsistence sector. Sugar exports and tourism are the major sources of foreignexchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Roughly250,000 tourists visit each year. Political uncertainty and drought, however,contribute to substantial fluctuations in earnings from tourism and sugarand to the emigration of skilled workers. In 1992, growth was approximately3%, based on growth in tourism and a lessening of labor-management disputesin the sugar and gold-mining sectors. In 1993, the government's budgeted growthrate of 3% was not achieved because of a decline in non-sugar agriculturaloutput and damage from Cyclone Kina. Growth in 1994 of 5% was largely attributableto increased tourism and expansion in the manufacturing sector.

GDP purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,500 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 21%
industry: 18%
services: 61% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 3% (1997 est.)

Labor force
total: 235,000
by occupation: subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary earners 15% (1987)

Unemployment rate 6% (1997 est.)

Budget
revenues: $540.65 million
expenditures : $742.65 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, clothing, lumber, small cottageindustries

Industrial production growth rate 2.9% (1995)

Electricity - capacity 200,000 kW (1993)

Electricity - production 510 million kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 660 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas;cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish catch 13,796 tons (1991)

Exports
total value : $607 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: sugar 32%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber
partners: EU 26%, Australia 15%, other Pacific island countries 11%, Japan 6%

Imports
total value: $864 million (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, consumergoods, chemicals
partners: Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EU 6%, US 6%

Debt - external $333.8 million (1996 est.)

Economic aid
recipient : ODA, $14.35 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.); $3.5 million fromNew Zealand (FY95/96)

Currency 1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.4000 (January 1997), 1.4033 (1996),1.4063 (1995), 1.4641 (1994), 1.5418 (1993), 1.5030 (1992)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Fiji on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Fiji Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Fiji Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.