The demographic characteristics of the population of Fiji are known through censuses, usually conducted in ten-year intervals, and has been analysed by statistical bureaus since the 1880s. The Fijian Bureau of Statistics (FBOS) has performed this task since 1996, the first enumerated Fiji census when an independent country. The 2017 census found that the permanent population of Fiji was 884,887, compared to 837,271 in the 2007 census. The population density at the time in 2007 was 45.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the overall life expectancy in Fiji was 67 years.[1] Since the 1930s the population of Fiji has increased at a rate of 1.1% per year. Since the 1950s, Fiji's birth rate has continuously exceeded its death rate. The population is dominated by the 15–64 age segment. The median age of the population was 27.9, and the gender ratio of the total population was 1.03 males per 1 female.

Demographics of Fiji
Fiji population pyramid in 2020
Population884,887
Density49.4/km2
Birth rate22.5 (2017 est.)
Death rate8.10 (2017 est.)
Life expectancy72.1 (2014 est.)
 • male65.4
 • female68.5
Fertility rate2.9 (2017 est.)
Infant mortality rate12.5 (2017 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years28.2% (2014 est.)
Sex ratio
Total1.03 males/females (2014 est.)
At birth1.05 males/females (2014 est.)
Under 151.05 males/females (2014 est.)
15–64 years1.04 males/females (2014 est.)
65 and over0.85 males/females (2014 est.)
Nationality
Nationalitynoun Fijian(s), adj. Fijian
Major ethnic56.8% Itaukei (2007 est.)
Minor ethnic37.5% Indian, 1.2% Rotuman (2007 est.)
Language
OfficialEnglish, Fijian, Fiji Hindi

Indigenous Fijians, the native inhabitants of Fiji, are a mixture of Polynesian and Melanesian, resulting from the original migrations to the South Pacific over time. The Indo-Fijian population increased rapidly from the 61,000 people brought from the Indian subcontinent (modern day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) between 1879 and 1916 to work in the sugarcane fields, many who later would lease/own the sugar cane plantations.

In 1977 The Economist reported that ethnic Fijians were a minority of 255,000, in a total population of 600,000 of which fully half were of Indian descent, with the remainder Chinese, European and of mixed ancestry.[2]

The native Fijians live throughout the country, while the Indo-Fijians reside primarily near the urban centres and in the cane-producing areas of the two main islands. Nearly all of the indigenous Fijians are Christian, with some two-thirds being Methodist. The Indo-Fijians, by contrast, have a similar religious mix as India today: some 76.7% percent of the Indo-Fijians are Hindu, with a further almost 16% being Muslim and 6 percent Christian. There are also a few Sikhs.

A national census is supposed to be conducted every ten years, but the census intended for 2006 was postponed until 2007. Finance Minister Ratu Jone Kubuabola announced on 27 October 2005 that the Cabinet had decided that it would not be in the country's interest to have a census and a general election in the same year. "Peoples’ focus on the elections could have an impact on their cooperation with census officials", he said. The Statistics Office supported Kubuabola's announcement, saying that public interest in the general election would likely distract people's attention from the census, making it problematic to conduct.

Ethnic groups

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1881 127,486—    
1891 121,180−4.9%
1901 120,124−0.9%
1911 139,541+16.2%
1921 157,266+12.7%
1936 198,379+26.1%
1946 259,638+30.9%
1956 345,737+33.2%
1966 476,727+37.9%
1976 588,068+23.4%
1986 715,375+21.6%
1996 775,077+8.3%
2007 837,271+8.0%
2017 884,887+5.7%
 
Ethnic Map of Fiji based on the 2017 census.

According to the 2007 Census of Fiji, the number of Fijians increased from 393,575 to 475,739, while the number of Indians decreased from 338,818 to 313,798.[3] According to government statistics, the latest estimated population of Indigenous Fijians is counted at 511,838, while there are 290,129 Indians and 56,071 Others (January 2012).[4]

Religions (1996 census)

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Religion Indigenous House Indo-Fijian Others TOTAL
393,575 % 338,818 % 42,684 % 775,077 %
Methodists 261,972 66.6 5,432 1.6 13,224 31.0 280,628 36.2
Roman Catholics 52,163 13.3 3,520 1.0 13,637 31.9 69,320 8.9
Assemblies of God 24,717 6.2 4,620 1.4 1,735 4.1 31,072 4.0
Seventh-day Adventists 19,896 5.1 572 0.2 1,719 4.0 22,187 2.9
Anglicans 2,508 0.6 1,208 0.4 2,609 6.2 6,325 0.8
Jehovah's Witness 4,815 1.2 486 0.1 801 1.9 6,102 0.8
CMF (Every Home) 5,149 1.3 269 0.1 255 0.6 5,673 0.7
Latter Day Saints 2,253 0.6 633 0.2 589 1.4 3,475 0.4
Apostolics 2,237 0.6 250 0.1 106 0.2 2,593 0.3
Gospelers 618 0.2 514 0.2 222 0.5 1,354 0.2
Baptists 695 0.2 382 0.1 219 0.5 1,296 0.2
Salvation Army 628 0.2 251 0.1 110 0.3 989 0.1
Presbyterians 105 0.0 90 0.0 188 0.4 383 0.0
Other Christians 12,624 3.2 2,492 0.7 2,969 7.0 18,085 2.3
All Christians 390,380 99.2 20,719 6.1 38,383 89.9 449,482 58.0
Sanatanis 551 0.1 193,061 57.0 315 0.7 193,927 25.0
Arya Samajis 44 0.0 9,493 2.8 27 0.1 9,564 1.2
Kabirpanthis 43 0.0 73 0.0 2 0.0 118 0.0
Sathya Sai devotees 7 0.0 52 0.0 1 0.0 60 0.0
Other Hindus 219 0.1 57,096 16.9 113 0.3 57,428 7.4
All Hindus 864 0.2 259,775 76.7 458 1.1 261,097 33.7
Sunnis 175 0.0 32,082 9.5 94 0.2 32,351 4.2
Ahmadiyyas 18 0.0 1,944 0.6 14 0.0 1,976 0.3
Other Muslim 131 0.0 19,727 5.8 138 0.3 19,996 2.6
All Muslims 324 0.1 53,753 15.9 246 0.6 54,323 7.0
Sikhs 0 0.0 3,076 0.9 0 0.0 3,076 0.4
Baháʼís 389 0.1 25 0.0 149 0.3 563 0.1
Confucians 8 0.0 21 0.0 336 0.8 365 0.0
Other religions 61 0.0 314 0.1 664 1.6 1,039 0.1
No religion† 1,549 0.4 1,135 0.3 2,448 5.7 5,132 0.7

† Includes atheists and agnostics.

Source: Fiji Statistics Department

As of the end of 2006 the LDS church reports 14,448 members in Fiji, which equal about 1.4% of the population. The LDS church also operates a temple in Fiji.

Births and deaths

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Year[5] Popu­lation (x1000) Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
1996 775,077 17,608 4,604 13,004 22.7 6.2 16.5 2.80
1997 16,977 5,578 11,399 21.6 5.5 16.1 2.60
1998 16,910 5,240 11,670 21.2 5.4 15.8 2.60
1999 16,916 5,667 11,249 21.0 4.5 16.5 2.60
2000 17,966 5,914 12,052 22.2 5.3 16.9 2.70
2001 16,689 5,774 10,915 20.5 6.1 14.4 2.50
2002 16,990 5,632 11,358 20.6 6.2 14.4 2.50
2003 17,701 6,116 11,585 21.2 6.1 15.1 2.60
2004 17,199 5,628 11,571 20.9 6.8 14.1 2.60
2005 16,900 5,963 10,937 20.3 7.1 13.2 2.50
2006 830,619 17,356 6,154 11,202 20.8 7.4 13.4 2.60
2007 834,517 17,456 6,359 11,097 20.9 7.6 13.3 2.50
2008 841,373 17,199 6,471 10,728 20.4 7.7 12.7 2.50
2009 845,462 18,211 6,119 12,092 21.5 7.2 14.3 2.70
2010 850,700 22,220 5,966 16,254 24.4 7.2 17.2 3.00
2011 854,290 19,547 6,151 13,396 22.9 7.5 15.4 2.90
2012 858,038 18,434 6,431 12,003 21.5 7.6 13.9 2.84
2013 862,068 18,633 6,488 12,145 21.6 7.6 14.0 2.71
2014 865,716 19,143 6,573 12,570 21.9 8.0 13.9 2.92
2015 869,458 19,081 6,672 12,409 21.7 7.7 14.0 2.91
2016[6] 873,210 19,180 7,588 11,592 21.8 8.6 13.2 2.8
2017[6] 884,887 19,646 6,925 12,654 22.2 7.8 14.3 2.7
2018[6] 889,649 19,690 7,510 12,180 22.2 8.4 13.8 2.6
2019[6] 894,410 19,825 7,591 12,234 22.2 8.5 13.7 2.8
2020[6] 899,172 21,040 7,784 13,256 23.4 8.7 14.7
2021[6] 20,217 8,815 11,402 22.4 9.8 12.6

Structure of the population

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Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 17.IX.2017): [7]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 448 595 436 292 884 887 100
0–4 47 195 44 702 91 897 10.39
5–9 45 243 43 052 88 295 9.98
10–14 40 715 38 881 79 596 9.00
15–19 38 032 36 056 74 088 8.37
20–24 37 464 36 152 73 616 8.32
25–29 35 253 34 055 69 308 7.83
30–34 35 266 33 552 68 818 7.78
35–39 33 382 31 768 65 150 7.36
40–44 27 697 25 817 53 514 6.05
45–49 25 314 24 190 49 504 5.59
50–54 24 649 23 961 48 610 5.49
55–59 21 263 20 745 42 008 4.75
60–64 14 891 15 724 30 615 3.46
65-69 10 076 11 252 21 328 2.41
70-74 6 367 7 781 14 148 1.60
75+ 5 788 8 604 14 392 1.63
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 133 153 126 635 259 788 29.36
15–64 293 211 282 020 575 231 65.01
65+ 22 231 27 637 49 868 5.64
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (17.IX.2021): [7]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 453 116 440 352 893 468 100
0–4 45 067 43 434 88 501 9.91
5–9 45 198 43 351 88 550 9.91
10–14 43 891 41 667 85 559 9.58
15–19 39 545 37 635 77 179 8.64
20–24 37 195 35 500 72 695 8.14
25–29 35 544 34 702 70 246 7.86
30–34 32 251 31 377 63 628 7.12
35–39 31 807 30 514 62 321 6.98
40–44 29 333 28 020 57 352 6.42
45–49 23 948 22 534 46 482 5.20
50–54 22 277 21 336 43 612 4.88
55–59 21 435 20 578 42 013 4.70
60–64 17 589 17 132 34 722 3.89
65-69 11 863 12 629 24 492 2.74
70-74 7 823 8 791 16 614 1.86
75+ 8 350 11 152 19 502 2.18
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 134 156 128 452 262 608 29.39
15–64 290 924 279 328 570 252 63.82
65+ 28 036 32 572 60 608 6.78

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

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The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

0–14 years: 33% (male 141,779; female 136,212)
15–64 years: 63% (male 263,127; female 262,686)
65 years and over: 4% (male 13,405; female 15,285) (2000 est.)

  • Population growth rate:[8] 0.67% (2015 est.)
  • Birth rate:[8] 19.43 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
  • Death rate:[8] 6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
  • Net migration rate:[8] -6.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
  • Sex ratio:[8]
    at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
    0–14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
    15–24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
    25–54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
    55–64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
    65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
  • Maternal mortality rate:[8] 30 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
  • Infant mortality rate:[8]
    Total: 9.94 deaths/1,000 live births
    Male: 10.97 deaths/1,000 live births
    Female: 8.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)
  • Total fertility rate:[8] 2.47 children born/woman (2015 est.)
  • Ethnic groups:[8] iTaukei 56.8% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 37.5%, Rotuman 1.2%, other 4.5% (European, part European, other Pacific Islander, Chinese)
  • Languages:[8] English (official), Fijian (official), Hindustani
  • Religions:[8] Protestantism 45% (Methodism 34.6%, Assembly of God 5.7%, Seventh-day Adventist 3.9%, and Anglicanism 0.8%), Hinduism 27.9%, other Christianity 10.4%, Roman Catholicism 9.1%, Islam 6.3%, Sikhism 0.3%, other 0.3%, none 0.8% (2007 est.)

References

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  1. ^ "Vital Statistics Report - Fiji Bureau of Statistics". www.statsfiji.gov.fj. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  2. ^ The Economist, Sept. 10, 1977, p. 76
  3. ^ "Fiji Bureau of Statistics - Fiji Bureau of Statistics". Statsfiji.gov.fj. 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2022-05-19.[not specific enough to verify]
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2013-05-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Demographic Yearbook". United Nations Statistics Division.[not specific enough to verify]
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Fiji Vital Statistics Report 2016 - 2021 Highlight" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  7. ^ a b "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Australia-Oceania :: FIJI". CIA The World Factbook. 4 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Provisional results – 2007 Population and Housing Census – Fiji Government Online". Archived from the original on October 25, 2008.

Further reading

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