e claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation;
rectilinear shelf claim added
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature
variation

Terrain: mostly mountains of volcanic origin

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m

Natural resources: timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil
potential

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 10%
forests and woodland: 65%
other: 11% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: cyclonic storms can occur from November to
January

Environment--current issues: deforestation; soil erosion

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertication, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine
Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography--note: includes 332 islands of which approximately 110
are inhabited

People

Population: 812,918 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 138,796; female 133,428)
15-64 years: 63% (male 257,130; female 256,834)
65 years and over: 4% (male 12,527; female 14,203) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.28% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 22.76 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 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 (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 16.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.59 years
male: 64.19 years
female: 69.11 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian

Ethnic groups: Fijian 51%, Indian 44%, European, other Pacific
Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.)

Religions: Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%),
Hindu 38%, Muslim 8%, other 2%
note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indi