Fiji Country Overview
Where is Fiji located? The island nation of Fiji is located in the South Pacific to the south of New Zealand and east of Australia. On the time zone map, which divides the world into world time zones along the lines of longitude, the time zone in which Fiji is located is named “Fiji Time” (FJT). There the standard difference to the coordinated world time is 12 hours (UTC+12). Since Fiji is south of the equator, the seasons there are the opposite of those in Germany. In winter it is summer there. Therefore, the time in the months from October to March is also changed to summer time there. Then the time difference to the official world clock is 13 hours.
Bordering Countries of Fiji
According to abbreviationfinder, Fiji is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is made up of over 300 islands, of which around 100 are inhabited. Fiji has two main neighboring countries: Vanuatu to the west and Tonga to the east. It also shares maritime borders with Solomon Islands and New Caledonia to the south, and Wallis and Futuna to the northeast.
Vanuatu is an independent nation located in Melanesia, just northeast of Australia. It was formerly known as the New Hebrides until independence in 1980. The two countries maintain strong cultural ties due to their shared history as British colonies, but have had occasional disputes over maritime boundaries and fishing rights in recent years.
Tonga is an archipelago located north of Fiji and consists of over 170 islands, many of which are uninhabited. The two countries have a long history of friendly relations, though there have been some tensions due to Tonga’s claim on Fiji’s Lau Islands, which were ceded by Britain in 1970.
The Solomon Islands are located southeast of Fiji, across the Solomon Sea. The two countries maintain close economic ties due to their shared access to fishing grounds in the region. They also share a maritime border that has been a source of occasional disputes since independence in 1978.
New Caledonia is an overseas territory of France located west of Fiji across the Coral Sea. Though there are no direct land links between them, they maintain strong economic ties due to their shared access to ports on the Coral Sea coastlines.
Wallis and Futuna are French overseas territories located northwest of Fiji across the Wallis and Futuna Passage from Oceania Island groupings respectively. They have close cultural ties with both Fiji and other Pacific nations due their shared history as French colonies but there have been periodic tensions over territorial claims since independence in 1961.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Fiji is 935,974, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 935,974 |
| Population growth rate | 0.50% |
| Birth rate | 18.60 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall | 71.87 years |
| Men | 69.26 years |
| Women | 74.62 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 27.45% |
| 15-64 years | 65.75% |
| 65 years and above | 6.80% |
| Median age | 28.20 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 1.03 |
| Population density | 51.22 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 51.70% |
| Ethnicities | |
| 57% Melanesians, 38% Indian; Rotumas, Chinese, Europeans and others | |
| Religions | |
| Christians 52% (Methodists 37%, Catholics (Roman Catholic) 9%), Hindu 38%, Muslims 8%, Others 2% note: Fijians are mainly Christians, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority (1986) | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.724 |
| HDI ranking | 98th out of 194 |
People in Fiji
The population of Fiji is made up of Polynesians and Melanesians. In addition, there is a high proportion of people who have immigrated to the islands from India. Because the Europeans mostly use Indian workers on their sugar cane plantations (see Economy). They also brought their own culture, which has been preserved to this day. The Indian population mostly lives in the regions of the sugar cane plantations and in the larger cities. A small proportion of the Chinese population and a few Europeans also have their home in Fiji.
Languages in Fiji
The official language in Fiji is English. However, the native language Fiji and Hindi are just as common and many residents speak several languages.
Religions in Fiji
Most of the residents are Christians, especially Protestants. In addition, there are Hindi due to the Indian population and Muslims.
83 percent of the land is still in the hands of the country’s original population. They do not sell their land, but only grant usage rights for a certain period of time.