The state is located on more than 332 islands and 500 islets of volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs. Of the uninhabited islands, there are approximately 110. The two largest islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Viti Levu is half of the Fijian area, with the capital of the country, Suva and the highest hill - Tomanivi (1324 m above sea level). Volcanic mountains rise over 1,200 m above sea level, overgrown with evergreen equatorial forests, leaf-dropping forests and savannas. The climate of the equatorial, humid island, from November to April there are tropical cyclones.
History
The first inhabitants of Fiji were visitors from Southeast Asia long before the discovery of the islands by Europeans in the 17th century. The first European who arrived here was Abel Tasman in 1643. Then in 1774 the islands were examined by James Cook. In 1854, in the western part, a kingdom was established, the capital of which was located on Bau. The islands became a British colony in 1874. In the years 1879-1917 there was an influx of Hindus to work on plantations. In 1966, Fiji gained internal autonomy as part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Independence received in 1970. Since 1987, Fiji is a republic (before that, the British monarch was the head of state). Democratic governments were interrupted by two military assassinations. Both were caused by anxieties between ethnic Fijians and the majority Indian population.
The 1990 constitution guaranteed the ethnic Fijians control over Fiji, which led to the emigration of Indians. This again caused economic hardship, but it caused the Melanesians to become the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution fairer. The free and peaceful elections in 1999 ended with the formation of a government by the Indians. After a year, he was removed by the attack carried out by the nationalist George Speight. Democracy was restored at the end of 2000, when a provisional government was formed with Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who remained in this position. At the end of 2006, a military coup took place. After this event, on December 8, 2006, Fiji's membership in the Commonwealth was suspended.
Fiji has extremely efficient armed forces and is an important UN collaborator. Takes part in peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world.
Political system
Fiji is a republic, originally based on the Westminster model, which, however, was subject to more and more serious modifications on the occasion of subsequent constitutional changes. The current basic law, promulgated in September 2013, envisages the existence of a unicameral parliament of 50 members elected for a four-year term, and a parliamentary majority with the prime minister in the lead. The head of state is the president of Fiji, elected by the parliament for a three-year term, whose role is mainly ceremonial.
Society
Population: 849 thousand (as of 2008), mainly Melanesians and Indians. Fijians are indigenous people who own 83% of the land, Indians were imported by the British in the 19th century to work on plantations.
Data can be found in the CIA Factbook
languages
The constitution contains 3 official languages: English, left after the British, Fijian, belonging to the Austronesian language family used by ethnic Fijians and Hindustani, the main language of the Indians. The citizens of Fiji have a constitutional right to communicate with any government agency in any of the official languages. English is mainly used for communication between the two largest communities as well as the outside world, it is also the language of government, business, education, commerce, and courts.
Among Hindus, Hindi is preferred by Hindus, while Muslims prefer Urdu [5].
Several dialects of the Fijian language used in the west of the country differ significantly from the official standard. Some Indians use Tamil, Bengali and other languages. On the island of Rotuma, the local language of Polynesian origin is in use.
