Fiji is comprised of 330 islands with a population nearing 800,000. The total land area is 18,333 square kilometres. There are two major islands: Viti Levu (10,429 square kilometers) and Vanua Levu (5,556 square kilometers). The largest island, both in land mass and population, is Viti Levu. It is also the home of Fiji’s capital city, Suva.

Fiji is a multi-racial society comprising Fijians, Indians, Chinese, Europeans, Pacific Islanders and more, combining to provide a colourful, harmonious blend of cultures and lifestyles. English is the official language. Literacy is nearly 95% and schooling is compulsory. It is a sovereign democratic republic based on the British Westminster system.

Researchers say that Fiji was first inhabited by Melanesians and Polynesians, who came to the South Pacific from Southeast Asia via Indonesia around 3,500 years ago. The original inhabitants are now called the “Lapita people” after a distinctive type of fine pottery they produced, remnants of which have been found in practically all the islands of the Pacific, east of New Guinea, though not in eastern Polynesia. Linguistic evidence suggests they came from northern or central Vanuatu, or possibly the eastern Solomons. Soon after they colonised Rotuma to the north, and then Tonga and Samoa to the east. From there, vast ocean distances were crossed to complete the settlement of the Pacific to Hawaii in the north, Rapanui (Easter Island) in the east and Aotearoa (New Zealand) in the south.

The first European to sight Fiji was Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1643 followed by Captain James Cook in 1774 and Captain William Bligh in 1789. They were followed by missionaries, shipwrecked sailors and runaway convicts from Australia. Indians came as indentured workers beginning in 1879, following the cession of Fiji to Great Britain in 1874. The country became independent from Great Britain in 1970, and became a sovereign republic in 1987.