Demographics of Fiji

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Fiji, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Indigenous Fijians, the native inhabitants of Fiji, are a mixture of Polynesian and Melanesian, resulting from the original migrations to the South Pacific many centuries ago. The Indo-Fijian population has grown rapidly from the 61,000 workers brought from India between 1879 and 1916 to work in the sugarcane fields, who later on ended up leasing/owning the sugar cane plantations. Thousands more Indians migrated voluntarily in the 1920s and 1930s and formed the core of Fiji's business class.

In 1977 The Economist reported that ethnic Fijians were a minority of 255,000, in a total population of 600,000 of which fully half were of Indian descent, with the remainder Chinese, European and of mixed ancestry.^[1] Fiji shares with Kazakhstan the distinction of its indigenous ethnic group having been a minority in its own country in recent history but having since regained its majority, in both cases due to large-scale emigration of the non-indigenous population.

The native Fijians live throughout the country, while the Indo-Fijians reside primarily near the urban centers and in the cane-producing areas of the two main islands. Nearly all of the indigenous Fijians are Christian, with some two-thirds being Methodist. Some 77 percent of the Indo-Fijians are Hindu, with a further 16 percent being Muslim and 6 percent Christian. There are also a few Sikhs.

A national census is supposed to be conducted every ten years, but the census intended for 2006 was postponed until 2007. Finance Minister Ratu Jone Kubuabola announced on 27 October 2005 that the Cabinet had decided that it would not be in the country's interest to have a census and a general election in the same year. "Peoples’ focus on the elections could have an impact on their cooperation with census officials," he said. The Statistics Office supported Kubuabola's announcement, saying that public interest in the general election would likely distract people's attention from the census, making it problematic to conduct.

Ethnic groups

According to the 2007 Census of Fiji, the number of Fijians increased from 393,575 to 475,739, while the number of Indians decreased from 338,818 to 313,798.^[2] According to government statistics, the latest estimated population of Indigenous Fijians is counted at 511,838, while there are 290,129 Indians and 56,071 Others (January 2012).^[3]

Religions (1996 census)

† Includes atheists and agnostics.

Source: Fiji Statistics Department

As of the end of 2006 the LDS church reports 14,448 members in Fiji, which equal about 1.4% of the population. The LDS church also operates a temple in Fiji.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population: 827,900^[4]

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 141,779; female 136,212)
15-64 years: 63% (male 263,127; female 262,686)
65 years and over: 4% (male 13,405; female 15,285) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.40% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 23.48 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 5.78 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 14.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 estimate)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.94 years
male: 65.54 years
female: 70.45 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.89 children born/woman (2000 est.) 2.65 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian

Languages: English, Fijian, Hindustani have official status under the 1997 Constitution and Malayalam.

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.6%
male: 93.8%
female: 89.3% (1995 est.)

References

1. ↑ The Economist, Sept. 10, 1977, p. 76
2. ↑ http://www.statsfiji.gov.fj/
3. ↑ http://www.statsfiji.gov.fj/Key%20Stats/Population/1.2%20pop%20by%20ethnicity.pdf
4. ↑ Provisional results - 2007 Population and Housing Census - Fiji Government Online

External links

• Fiji Government Website