Factbook
Histoire de Fidji — Chronologie
Dates clés de l'histoire de Fidji, d'après le Factbook Magna et l'Encyclopédie universelle.
1643The first European spotted Fiji in 1643 and by the 1800s, European merchants, missionaries, traders, and whalers frequented the islands.
1865Rival kings and chiefs competed for power, at times aided by Europeans, and in 1865, Seru Epenisa CAKOBAU united many groups into the Confederacy of Independent Kingdoms of Viti.
1871The arrangement proved weak, however, and in 1871 CAKOBAU formed the Kingdom of Fiji in an attempt to centralize power.
1874Fearing a hostile takeover by a foreign power as the kingdom’s economy began to falter, CAKOBAU ceded Fiji to the UK in 1874.
1970ITaukei fears of an Indo-Fijian takeover of government delayed independence through the 1960s; Fiji achieved independence in 1970 with agreements to allocate parliamentary seats by ethnic groups.
1970Independence: 10 October 1970 (from the UK).
1987After two coups in 1987, a new constitution in 1990 cemented iTaukei control of politics, leading thousands of Indo-Fijians to leave.
1997A reformed constitution in 1997 was more equitable and led to the election of an Indo-Fijian prime minister in 1999, who was ousted in a coup the following year.
2005In 2005, the new prime minister put forward a bill that would grant pardons to the coup perpetrators, leading Josaia Voreqe "Frank" BAINIMARAMA to launch a coup in 2006.
2007BAINIMARAMA appointed himself prime minister in 2007 and retained the position after elections in 2014 and 2018 that international observers deemed credible.
2007Languages: English (official), iTaukei (official), Fiji Hindi (official) Religions: Protestant 45% (Methodist 34.6%, Assembly of God 5.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 3.9%, and Anglican 0.8%), Hindu 27.9%, other Christian 10.4%, Roman Catholic 9.1%, Muslim 6.3%, Sikh 0.3%, other 0.3%, none 0.8% (2007 est.) Urban population: 58.7% of total population (2023).
2018Major urban areas: 178,000 SUVA (capital) (2018) upper-middle income, tourism-based Pacific island economy; susceptible to ocean rises; key energy and infrastructure investments; post-pandemic tourism resurgence; improved debt standing; limited workforce Inflation: 4.5% (2024 est.).
2022BAINIMARAMA's party lost control of the prime minister position after elections in 2022 with former opposition leader Sitiveni Ligamamada RABUKA winning the office by a narrow margin.
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 36.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 52.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 25.375 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: tourism, sugar processing, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber Agriculture: sugarcane, cassava, taro, vegetables, chicken, coconuts, eggs, ginger, milk, sweet potatoes (2023) Electricity access: 92% (2022 est.).
2024Military spending: 1.4% of GDP (2024 est.).
