Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of 924,610 live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi or Lautoka. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.
Suva is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Division.
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000–450,000 ethnic Fijians as a native language. The 2013 Constitution established Fijian as an official language of Fiji, along with English and Fiji Hindi and there is discussion about establishing it as the "national language". Fijian is a VOS language.
The president of Fiji is the head of state of the Republic of Fiji. The president is appointed by the Parliament for a three-year term under the terms of the 2013 Constitution. Although not entirely a figurehead, the role of president in the government is largely ceremonial, but there are important reserve powers that may be exercised in the event of a crisis. In addition, the president is the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces.
Fiji Airways is the flag carrier of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 15 countries and 27 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands (Oceania), Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Canada and the United States. It has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners. The Fiji Airways Group brings in 64 percent of all visitors who fly to Fiji, employs over 1000 employees, and earns revenues of over FJD$815 million (US$390m).
Fijians are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and English and share a common history and culture.
Phi Gamma Delta (ΦΓΔ), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Gamma Delta forms a half of the Jefferson Duo. Since its founding in 1848, the fraternity has initiated more than 196,000 brothers. The nickname FIJI is used commonly by the fraternity due to Phi Gamma Delta bylaws that limit the use of the Greek letters.
The Fiji national rugby league team, nicknamed the Bati, has been participating in international rugby league football since 1992. The team is controlled by the governing body for rugby league in Fiji, Fiji National Rugby League (FNRL), which is currently a member of the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC). Fiji have thrice reached the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup, in 2008, 2013 and 2017, and are currently ranked 6th in the International Rugby League's World Rankings. They are coached by Fijian Joe Dakuitoga, who was appointed in August 2020, and their captain is Kevin Naiqama.
The Fiji national rugby sevens team has competed in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Olympics. Fiji won the gold medal in the inaugural rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Brazil, the country's first Olympic medal in any event, and repeated as Olympic champions in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, defeating New Zealand. Thus Fiji is the sole nation to have won Olympic gold in the sport. They are the only country in the world to have won the Sevens Treble, the three major achievements in Sevens. They have won multiple World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.
The Pacific Games, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games were called the South Pacific Games from 1963 to 2007. The Pacific Games Council (PGC) organises the Games and oversees the host city's preparations. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams. In each sporting event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third place.
Apia Park is a multi-function sports complex located in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Primarily used for rugby union events, Apia Park is the home stadium of the Samoa national rugby union team, Manu Samoa. It is also a venue for association football. Manuma Samoa use the venue for rugby union matches.
The 2003 South Pacific Games were held in Suva, Fiji from 28 June to 12 July 2003. They are also known as the XII South Pacific Games.
The Fiji International was a men's golf tournament in Fiji, originally sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia. The event was Fiji's first internationally broadcast golf tournament to a worldwide audience across more than 30 countries in over 400 million homes, a first for a single sporting event in Fiji.
The Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship is an international rugby union competition organised by Oceania Rugby, which is the regional governing body for rugby in Oceania. It is contested by men's junior national teams with an under-20 age requirement, and played as two tournaments: the Oceania Championship for teams that qualify for the World Championship; and the Oceania Trophy for teams aiming to compete in the World Rugby U20 Trophy.
The 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 17th annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999–2000. This season, the series expanded from nine to ten events.
Fiji competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's debut in 1956, Fijian athletes had taken part in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for two occasions. Fiji failed to register any athletes at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and joined the American-led boycott when Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Apna is a New Zealand radio network targeted towards ethnic minorities. The radio network broadcasts on 990 AM in Whangārei, Auckland and Hamilton, and plays Bollywood music alongside cultural features and discussions.
Fiji competed at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015.
Johanne Defay is a French professional surfer. She was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, France.
Fiji competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
