- published: 21 Jul 2015
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Endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, Fiji is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though it remains a developing country with a large subsistence agriculture sectorTemplate:Https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fj.html. Agriculture accounts for 18 % of Gross Domestic Product, although it employs some 70 % of the workforce as of 2001. Sugar exports and a growing tourist industry are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar cane processing makes up one-third of industrial activity; coconuts, ginger, and copra are also significant.
Fiji Village quoted Energy Minister Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi on 22 September 2006 as confirming that the Southern Cross Management Company Limited had applied for a license to drill for petroleum in Fiji's waters. Two other companies had already been granted licenses to explore Bligh Water and the Lau waters.
The country's tallest building is the 14-story Reserve Bank of Fiji Building in Suva. Fiji is a member of the WTO.
Fiji i/ˈfiːdʒiː/ (Fijian: Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी), officially the Republic of Fiji (Fijian: Matanitu ko Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी गणराज्यFijī Gaṇarājya), is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, France's New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas, France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast and Tuvalu to the north.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity started around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC. The country comprises an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of circa 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 850,000. The former contains Suva, the capital and largest city. Most of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres. Viti Levu's interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.