Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 171 KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1970 (rejoined in 1997 after ten-year lapse) Population: 881,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 1.2% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$4,430 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 88 Life expectancy: 70 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 24 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Cardiovascular diseases Government health expenditure: 2.6% of GDP (2012) General information The Republic of Fiji lies 1,850 km north of Auckland, New Zealand, and 2,800 km north-east of Sydney, Australia. It consists of about 300 islands (100 inhabited) and 540 islets, spread over 3 million sq km. It is surrounded by the island groups of (clockwise from north) Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna, Tonga, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. The largest islands are Viti Levu (‘Great Fiji’), Vanua Levu, Taveuni and Kadavu. Climate: The climate is tropical and oceanic. South-east trade winds prevail; day temperatures range from 20°C to 29°C and humidity is high. The rainy season is November–March throughout the country, though there is also rain from June to September. On average, the country is affected by a hurricane every other year, for example Cyclone Ami in January 2003. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are deforestation and soil erosion. Population: 881,000 (2013); 53 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 0.8 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 20 per 1,000 people (34 in 1970) and life expectancy was 70 years (60 in 1970). More than 50 per cent of the people are ethnic Fijians, who are of mixed Melanesian-Polynesian origin, and most of the rest are of Indian origin. There are small populations of Europeans, Banabans, Tuvaluans and Chinese. Economy: Fiji is classified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: The rate of infant mortality in Fiji was 20 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 24 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012. There has been an overall reduction in under-five mortality from 31 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 24 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. Although this decrease is encouraging, the under-five mortality rate is not yet in line with the country’s target of ten deaths per 1,000 live births, as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4), and has seen little change since 2005. In 2012 the three most prominent known causes of death for children below the age of five years were congenital anomalies (20 per cent), prematurity (19 per cent) and injuries (12 per cent). Other contributory causes were acute respiratory infections (13 per cent), neonatal sepsis (five per cent) and diarrhoea (four per cent). In the 2013 Fiji had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 59 deaths per 100,000 live births (adjusted to 26 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for an estimated 80 per cent majority of all mortality in Fiji in 2012. In 2012 the most prevalent NCDs were cardiovascular diseases (35 per cent). Diabetes, cancer and non-communicable variants of respiratory diseases contributed 16 per cent, 11 per cent and five per cent to total mortality, respectively (2012). Injuries accounted for eight per cent of deaths in 2012. Fiji
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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