Fiji: Background and Issues Facing Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Nov. 29, 2024 |
| Report Number |
IF12831 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Jared G. Tupuola |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Successive U.S. presidential administrations and some
Members of Congress have identified U.S. national security
interests in the Pacific Islands, including maintaining free
and open waterways, supporting U.S. diplomatic
engagement with Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and
regional organizations, and addressing security and other
threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC or
China). Fiji is viewed as an important partner for the United
States given its regional influence, relative economic
power, and military forces, one of three in the region.
Congressional considerations include Fiji’s human rights
record; U.S. assistance to Fiji across several areas including
fisheries, security cooperation, and climate; and Fiji’s law
enforcement cooperation with China.
Fiji is an archipelagic nation with a parliamentary republicstyle government. The capital city of Suva is located on Viti
Levu, one of the two major islands. Fiji is the second most
populated PIC, after Papua New Guinea, with nearly one
million people. Fiji is an ethnically and religiously
heterogeneous society including the indigenous iTaukei
(57%) and Indo-Fijians (37.5%) whose ancestors were
brought by the British from India to serve as laborers during
British rule of Fiji, which lasted 105 years until the nation
gained its independence in 1970.
Fiji has one of the Pacific’s largest economies, with the
World Bank reporting a GDP of $5.49 billion in 2023. The
economy’s primary industries—tourism and agriculture—
have rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, but labor
migration poses an economic risk for Fiji. Remittances
provide an important source of national revenue. Australia
is Fiji’s most significant development partner, accounting
for 25% of Fiji’s official development financing.
Some analysts consider Fiji a leader amongst the PICs. It
plays an important role in Pacific regionalism as the hub of
the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the region’s preeminent
political and economic bloc. The PIF Secretariat in Suva is
the PIF’s administrative core, supporting Forum Leaders
and member countries in making policy decisions. Fiji also
hosts the main campus of the University of the South
Pacific, the premier regional public research university.
Outside the region, Fiji has a long history of providing
troops to support UN peacekeeping operations.
