Formerly a British colony, Fiji has been independent since 10 October 1970 as part of the British Commonwealth. Internal ethnic conflict has led to a number of coups, the latest of which brought about the establishment of a military regime led by General Bainimarama. The army, which is controlled by Fijian nationalists, has in fact intervened several times in the politics of the country to prevent excessive domination by the Indian minority (represented by the Labor Party). Following the latest legislative elections held in 2014, the country was readmitted to the Commonwealth (since 26 September 2014). According to the 2013 Constitution, the President of the Republic is appointed by Parliament with a mandate of three years and is re-eligible for one further term. Legislative power lies in the hand of a single-chamber Parliament of 50 members (51 from 2018), elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term. The Prime Minister, who is the head of government, is the leader of the political party with more than 50% of the total number of seats in Parliament; he appoints the cabinet ministers, which must be all members elected to Parliament.

Population by age and gender (% - 2017)
	75+ 60-74 45-59 30-44 15-29 0-14
MALE	AGE	FEMALE

Ethnic tensions have led to large-scale emigration of the Indian population, and the Melanesian population has once again become the largest ethnic group in the archipelago.

The main activities are farming (sugar cane, coconuts, cassava) and fishing (tuna).
The sugar industry is driven by the export market.
Tourism is an important source of foreign currency, as are remittances from emigrants.