Fiji

Gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1970, Fiji is a country made up of 330 islands and atolls. Of the roughly 850,000 inhabitants, about 60 percent are native Fijians and about 40 percent Indo-Fijians who immigrated during British rule. The primary industries of Fiji are tourism, textiles and sugar. The economy has been sluggish, with a GDP growth rate of -1.3 percent in 2009 and -0.2 percent in 2010, though this converted to positive 2.1 percent in 2011 due to an uptick in the tourism industry and an increase in exports. Since the bloodless coup d'état by Commodore Bainimarama in 2006, the government of Fiji has been under the control of an interim military administration. Although areas of aid focus are the environment, climate change and overcoming vulnerabilities, for the present, JICA is providing aid: 1) to improve the lives of residents through education, health and assistance for the socially vulnerable, 2) to solve and ameliorate global problems, and 3) for wide-area projects when other island countries can benefit.