Fiji

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Fiji

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Ethnic Groups

The population of Fiji is divided between native Fijians, a people of mixed Polynesian and Melanesian ancestory (54.3%), and Indo-Fijians (38.1%), descendants of Indian contract labourers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century. The percentage of the population of Indian descent has declined significantly over the last two decades because of emigration. About 1.2 percent are Rotuman—natives of Rotuma Island, whose culture has more in common with countries such as Tonga or Samoa than with the rest of Fiji. There are also small, but economically significant, groups of Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities. Relationships between ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians have often been strained, and the tension between the two communities has dominated politics in the islands for the past generation. The level of tension varies between different regions of the country.

Related Topics:
Fijians - Polynesian - Melanesia - Indo-Fijians - Indian - 19th century - Rotuman - Rotuma Island - Tonga - Samoa

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Language

Three official languages are prescribed by the constitution: English, which was introduced by the former British colonial rulers, Bau Fijian, spoken by ethnic Fijians, and Hindustani, the main language spoken by Indo-Fijians. Citizens of Fiji have the constitutional right to communicate with any government agency in any of the official languages, with an interpreter to be supplied on request.

Related Topics:
English - Bau Fijian - Hindustani - Indo-Fijians

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The use of English is one of the most enduring legacies of almost a century of British rule. Widely spoken by both ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians, English is the main medium of communication between the two communities, as well as with the outside world. It is the language in which the government conducts most of its business, and is the main language of education, commerce, and the courts.

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Fijian belongs to the Austronesian family of languages. Fijian proper is closely related to the Polynesian languages, such as Tongan. There are many dialects, but the official standard is the speech of Bau, the most politically and militarily powerful of the many indigenous kingdoms of the 19th Century.

Related Topics:
Austronesian - Polynesian languages - Tongan - Bau

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"Hindustani" is considered an umbrella term in India for the standard languages Hindi (preferred by Hindus) and Urdu (preferred by Muslims), as well as many closely related tongues that are sometimes considered separate languages. Fijian Hindustani descends from one of the eastern forms of Hindustani, called Awadhi. It has developed some unique features that differentiate it from the Awadhi spoken on the Indian subcontinent, although not to the extent of hindering mutual understanding. It is spoken by nearly the entire Indo-Fijian community regardless of ancestry, except for a few elders.

Related Topics:
Hindi - Hindus - Urdu - Muslims - Fijian Hindustani - Awadhi - Indian subcontinent

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In addition to the three official languages, several other languages are spoken. On the island of Rotuma, Rotuman, is used; this is more distantly related to the Polynesian languages than Fijian. Some Fijian dialects, especially in the west of the country, differ markedly from the official Bau standard, and would be considered separate languages if they had a codified grammar or a literary tradition. Among the Indo-Fijian community, there is a small {{ll|Gujarati}}-speaking community, and a few older Indo-Fijians still speak Telugu and Tamil, with smaller numbers of Bihari, Bengali, and others.

Related Topics:
Rotuma - Rotuman - Telugu - Tamil - Bihari - Bengali

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In the Fijian alphabet, some of the letters have unique values. For one, the "c" is a voiced "th" sound, {{IPA|}}. (For example, the name of Fiji-born New Zealand rugby player Joe Rokocoko is often mis-pronounced. The correct pronunciation is IPA: .) Another difference is that the letters "b" and "d" are always pronounced with a nasal before them, {{IPA|}}, even at the beginning of a word. The "q" is pronounced like a "g" with a nasal "ng" before it, {{IPA|}} as in the word "finger", while the "g" is pronounced like the "ng" of the word "singer", {{IPA|}}.

Related Topics:
Rugby - Joe Rokocoko - IPA - Nasal

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Religion

Religion is one of the faultlines between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, with the former overwhelmingly Christian (99.2 percent at the 1996 census), and the latter mostly Hindu (76.7 percent) or Muslim (15.9 percent).

Related Topics:
Religion - Indigenous Fijians - Indo-Fijian - 1996 - Census - Hindu - Muslim

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The largest Christian denomination is the Methodist Church. With 36.2 percent of the total population (including almost two-thirds of ethnic Fijians), its share of the population is higher in Fiji than in any other nation. Roman Catholics (8.9 percent), the Assemblies of God (4 percent), and Seventh-day Adventists (2.9 percent) are also significant. These and others denominations also have small numbers of Indo-Fijian members; Christians of all kinds comprise 6.1 percent of the Indo-Fijian population.

Related Topics:
Methodist Church - Roman Catholics - Assemblies of God - Seventh-day Adventists

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Hindus belong mostly to the Sanatan sect (74.3 percent of all Hindus) or else are unspecified (22 percent). The small Arya Samaj sect claims the membership of some 3.7 percent of all Hindus in Fiji. Muslims are mostly Sunni (59.7 percent) or unspecified (36.7 percent), with an Ahmadiya minority (3.6 percent) regarded as heretical by more orthodox Muslims.

Related Topics:
Sanatan - Arya Samaj - Sunni - Ahmadiya - Heretical

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The Sikh faith comprises 0.9 percent of the Indo-Fijian population, or 0.4 percent of the national population in Fiji. Their ancestors came from the Punjab region of India.

Related Topics:
Sikh - Punjab

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