Every figure below carries its named source and year. The Eco Index scores twelve pillars on the same scale everywhere; seven are measured from published data with fixed thresholds, five are assessed from the named sources.
Fiji at a Glance.
The score, and the four numbers that set the tone. 12 equally-weighted pillars, every pillar sourced.
Compare with:
Renewable power
64%
of electricity
Food imported
19%
of merchandise imports · ~US$616m a year
The Eco Index across 12 pillars · scored 0 to 5 · World Bank, OWID, WHO/UNICEF JMP, FiBL, Protected Planet, IUCN, UNESCO (2023-24)
Water
Food & farming
Plant-based
Organic
Conservation
Wildlife
Materials
Pollution
Recycling
Energy
Culture
Heritage
Facts That Surprise People About Fiji.
The numbers and firsts that change how you see Fiji, the sobering and the remarkable. Every one is dated and linked to its source.
SoberingHealth
More than a third die early from chronic disease
In 2021, a 30 year old in Fiji had a 37.9% chance of dying before 70 from heart disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic lung disease.
SoberingHealth
One in six adults has diabetes
In 2024, 16.6% of adults in Fiji had diabetes, about 90,300 people.
SoberingFood
Two in three adults are overweight
In 2022, 65.8% of adults in Fiji were overweight, according to WHO estimates published by the World Bank.
Source: World Bank, Prevalence of overweight (% of adults): Fiji · 2022
SoberingHealth
Most people lack safely managed water
In 2024, only 42.1% of people in Fiji used safely managed drinking water services.
RemarkableEnvironment
One of the first to ratify the Paris Agreement
Fiji signed and ratified the Paris climate agreement on 22 April 2016, the day it opened for signature. It was one of 15 states the UN lists as ratifying on that first day.
Source: United Nations Treaty Collection, Paris Agreement status · 2016
RemarkableNature
Forests have grown by a fifth since 1990
Fiji's forest area rose from about 9,400 km² in 1990 to about 11,300 km² in 2024, an increase of around 20%.
Source: World Bank, Forest area (sq. km): Fiji · 2024
RemarkableEnvironment
Most electricity comes from renewables
Renewable sources produced 60.1% of Fiji's electricity in 2021.
The History of Fiji.
Fiji sustains vigorous living iTaukei heritage alongside Indo-Fijian traditions. The meke, a combined dance and chant accompanied by the lali drum, remains central to community life, and the yaqona or kava ceremony is a daily living ancestral practice.
Where the name comes from
The Fijian name is Viti. 'Fiji' is the Tongan pronunciation, Fisi, which Europeans took up and spelled their own way. Source: national and regional toponymic records.
The land itself: mountainous islands of volcanic origin, ringed by reef. Its high point is Tomanivi, 1,324 m. Source: national mapping and survey records.
Where it starts
Three thousand years of ocean
The Lapita settlement at Bourewa on the south west coast of Viti Levu was founded around 1100 BC and lived in for roughly five hundred years, the earliest known in Fiji. Its people built stilt houses between a reef and a lagoon, and produced shell jewellery in quantity, slicing large cone shells and grinding them into bracelets and rings. Their dentate stamped pottery links Fiji to a voyaging tradition that runs back from here into the Bismarck archipelago.
How it got here
Drua, cession, indenture
Confederacies formed across the islands, with double-hulled drua capable of long ocean voyages and trade with Tonga and Samoa. Dutch and then British ships recorded the islands in 1643 and 1774. Fiji was ceded to Britain in 1874. Between 1879 and 1916 around 60,000 indentured labourers were brought from India, reshaping the population. Fiji became independent in 1970, and a new constitution in 2013 established a common national identity for all citizens.
The timeline
c. 1200 BC
Bourewa.
A Lapita settlement on the south-west coast of Viti Levu, first set up on an offshore island perhaps as early as 1220 BC. It is the oldest known in Fiji. Source
1874
Cession.
On 10 October 1874 Cakobau and the other chiefs cede Fiji to the British Crown under the Deed of Cession. Source
1879 to 1916
Indenture.
More than 60,000 indentured labourers are brought from India to Fiji. Source
1970
Independence, to the day.
Fiji becomes independent on 10 October 1970, ninety-six years to the day after the Deed of Cession. The date was set in the Fiji Independence Bill debated at Westminster that July. Source
2013
Constitution.
A new constitution declares that all citizens of Fiji shall be known as Fijians, with equal status and identity. Source
Nature and Biodiversity in Fiji.
Formal protection is low, with terrestrial protected areas covering about 3.9% of land and marine protected areas about 0.9% of territorial waters (World Bank). The stronger conservation story is customary, as most inshore fishing grounds are managed as qoliqoli by the clans that hold them. The Great Sea Reef was designated the Ramsar wetland Qoliqoli Cokovata on 16 January 2018, with the first community marine protected area declared in 2002 and nine more added in 2004.
Is wild Fiji protected? 3.9% of the land is, against a 30% target for 2030
How protected is nature in Fiji?
Forest cover61.7%
Terrestrial protected area3.9%
Marine protected area0.9%
119 listed as threatened.
Found only here. Fiji crested iguana, orange dove and collared lory, all found only in Fiji.
The watchlist
ThreatenedFiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (bird).
ThreatenedHawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (turtle).
ThreatenedHammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray).
ThreatenedFiji Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (reptile).
ThreatenedElaeocarpus kambi Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (plant).
ThreatenedGiant clam (Tridacna gigas) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (species).
ThreatenedSymmetromphalus hageni Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (species).
What is still here, and what is gone?
Tap a species for the honest status.
Closest to being lost, by name
Fiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Fiji. GBIF holds 2 verified occurrence records.
Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Fiji. GBIF holds 57 verified occurrence records.
Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Fiji. GBIF holds 436 verified occurrence records.
Fiji Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Fiji. GBIF holds 20 verified occurrence records.
Species named here are drawn from GBIF occurrence records for Fiji filtered to the IUCN Red List threatened categories. Species are listed where GBIF holds occurrence records for them in this country. Record counts are not published here because the figure cannot be reproduced from a public GBIF query.
Who is putting it back
National park in Central, mapped and named in the open record for Fiji. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Western, mapped and named in the open record for Fiji. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Northern, mapped and named in the open record for Fiji. OpenStreetMap.
Nature reserve in Western, mapped and named in the open record for Fiji. OpenStreetMap.
Water and Ocean in Fiji.
Fiji's volcanic high islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, carry rivers fed by heavy rainfall, so raw freshwater is abundant on the main islands. About 95.5% of the population has at least basic drinking water, but only 41.9% has a safely managed, contamination-free supply (World Bank/JMP, 2022). Smaller islands and outer atolls depend on rainwater catchment that runs short in the dry season.
Does Fiji have enough fresh water? Yes, with headroom
42.1% of people here have safely managed drinking water at home (2024, WHO/UNICEF JMP). Coverage is well short of universal, so a visitor should not assume the tap is safe.
Cleanest water: Highland rivers of the Viti Levu interior; the Yaqara Valley artesian aquifer supplies bottled Fiji Water.
How much fresh water does Fiji have, per person?
31,052 m³
Fiji
1,000 m³
the UN “water scarce” line
Fiji withdraws about 85 million cubic metres of fresh water a year (2022). That is 0.3% of the fresh water actually available to it, which FAO counts as no water stress. Of what is taken, farming takes 59%, homes and towns 30%, industry 11%. Source: FAO AQUASTAT.
What are the rules on Fiji beaches?
·Tap water: Varies.
✓Plastic rules: Single-use plastic bags banned since 2020, with a levy from 2017..
✓Solo travel: rated easy on the record for this destination.
✕Marine protection: 0.9% of the sea is protected. The 30x30 pledge for 2030 is not met yet.
Named on the open map: Barefoot beach, Big Tribune Bay, Cuvu Beach, Honeymoon Beach, Little Tribune Bay, Manta Beach. That is 21 named beaches in the public record for Fiji, each one a place you can look up before you go. OpenStreetMap.
Where does the sewage go?
48.5%
of people have safely managed sanitation
48.5% of people here use a safely managed sanitation service, meaning waste is contained, emptied and treated rather than reaching the ground or the sea untreated (2024, World Bank / WHO-UNICEF JMP, SDG 6.2.1). The rest is what the rivers and the coast receive.
How is the sea around Fiji doing?
One cross-section, every answer measured.
Surface
What the coast carries
Cyclone season Nov–Apr; the dry season May–Oct is the sweet spot.
Nearshore
Protected water
0.9% of territorial waters are protected, against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Cleanest
Where the water is cleanest
Highland rivers of the Viti Levu interior; the Yaqara Valley artesian aquifer supplies bottled Fiji Water..
The record
Measured
Fiji's volcanic high islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, carry rivers fed by heavy rainfall, so raw freshwater is abundant on the main islands. About 95.5% of the population has at least basic drinking water, but only 41.9% has a safely managed, contamination-free supply (World Bank/JMP, 2022).
Fiji scored 76 out of 100 on the Ocean Health Index in its 2025 assessment, above the global average of 72, and ranked 48th of 220 coastal regions. The index team says it is no longer updating scores, so the 2025 figures may be the last.
Sea protected
0.9%
Against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Threatened species
119
Mammals, birds, fish and higher plants on the IUCN list.
Is the tap water safe in Fiji?
42.1% of people have safely managed drinking water at home (2024, WHO/UNICEF JMP). Renewable fresh water works out at about 31,052 cubic metres per person a year (World Bank).
How hard is the water supply being pushed?
Of every 10 buckets nature refills, 0 are already taken. Withdrawals run at 0.3% of what Fiji renews internally each year (2022, World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT). That is inside the 25% mark generally treated as water stress, so the supply has headroom.
When is the best time to visit Fiji? Tap your month.
Tap your month.
How much fresh water does Fiji actually have?
Nature renews about 31,052 cubic metres of fresh water per person per year here. That ranks Fiji 191 of 208 countries measured, placing it among the 20 best-watered countries measured. The UN treats anything under 1,000 cubic metres as water scarce, and this is above that line. World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT.
Food and Drink in Fiji.
Food made up about 19.5% of Fiji's merchandise imports in 2022 (World Bank), a moderate level for a Pacific state that still ships in rice and flour. Against this, subsistence and smallholder farming of root crops, along with sugar cane and reef fishing, remain widespread. Domestic production covers much of the fresh diet even where staple grains are imported.
Where does the food in Fiji come from?
19.0% imported
about US$616m a year
On the plate: Dalo (taro), cassava, breadfruit, yams, kumala, plus Indo-Fijian dhal, roti and curries.
2 of 10
bites are imported
The island buys in more food energy than it eats. About US$616m a year leaves the country to pay for it. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
About 19% of everything Fiji buys in from abroad is food, roughly 2 in every 10 imported items on the dock (2024, World Bank). Farming itself is 14% of the economy and 17.1% of the land is agricultural, of which 4.2% is arable. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
What is killing people in Fiji? The imported diet.
Cause of death, and the diet behind it.
Non-communicable diseases, all combined67.3%
Diabetes16.6%
Fiji's Ministry of Health and Medical Services said in July 2015 that there is a diabetes related amputation every 12.6 hours in Fiji, and that half of those patients did not know they had diabetes. A ministry release in August 2015 put it at one amputation every twelve hours. Source: Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
Adults living with overweight or obesity. 65.8%.
Can Fiji feed itself?
4.2%
Arable land
17.1%
Agricultural land
139,096
Farmers
189,777
Arable acres
14.1%
Agriculture, share of GDP
Harvest: Root crops and tropical fruit year round; the sugar cane crushing season runs roughly June to December.
Feeding itself
Food made up about 19.5% of Fiji's merchandise imports in 2022 (World Bank), a moderate level for a Pacific state that still ships in rice and flour. Against this, subsistence and smallholder farming of root crops, along with sugar cane and reef fishing, remain widespread.
Certification
Certified organic land covered about 4.5% of Fiji's agricultural area, some 19,303 hectares, in 2020 (FiBL). That share is high for the region and reflects organic coconut and other export certification.
Water for crops
Fiji's volcanic high islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, carry rivers fed by heavy rainfall, so raw freshwater is abundant on the main islands. About 95.5% of the population has at least basic drinking water, but only 41.9% has a safely managed, contamination-free supply (World Bank/JMP, 2022).
Why the organic number looks like that. Certification covers only part of what is grown cleanly, so a small certified share is a gap in the paperwork rather than proof that nothing is. What the official land record does show: 17.1% of the country is agricultural land and 4.2% is arable (2023, World Bank). Certification is paid for per farm per year by a foreign body, which prices out smallholders, so the organic number reads worse than the practice.
What actually grows here
SugarcaneCassavaTaroVegetablesCoconutsGingerSweet potatoes
The food that already fits
The plant-based kitchen here is not an import. By tonnage, the largest crops grown in Fiji are sugarcane, cassava and taro (FAO, FAOSTAT crop production, 2024). That is what the land itself puts on a plate.
Buy direct where residents buy: Dreketi Market, Holy Family Flea Market, Labasa Market, Lautoka Market, Levuka Market, Nabouwalu Market. Each is a mapped, named marketplace, so the money stays with the seller rather than the importer. OpenStreetMap.
Not yet checked by us. Plant based kitchens listed publicly: Veggie Restaurant, vegetarian restaurant on Bau Street, Suva: dumplings, noodles, tofu, quinoa burgers, hummus and some Italian dishes; Sun Smiles Café, vegetarian café in the FNPF Downtown Boulevard mall, Suva: a health focused vegan menu of pita sandwiches, veggie burgers and a daily set of four dishes; Govinda Vegetarian Restaurant, vegetarian restaurant on Marks Street, Renwick Road and at Sports City, Suva: Indian curries and desserts, with vegan dishes on request; Hare Krishna Vegetarian Restaurant, vegetarian restaurant on Pratt Street, Suva: a changing, low priced menu of Indian curries. Tell us how they are.
Is this grown in Fiji?
Tap a food for the honest answer.
CassavaBreadfruitYamsKumalaCoconutIndo-Fijian dhal
World Bank Open Data · FAO, FAOSTAT crop production · World Health Organization · FAO AQUASTAT · Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Get checked for improved knowledge of your health (July 2015) · Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Health Ministry continues to address diabetes (August 2015) · HappyCow, Find Vegan Options in Suva · Fiji Pocket Guide, Where to Find Vegan and Vegetarian Food in Suva (updated 2 October 2024)
Climate and Energy in Fiji.
Fiji's fossil CO2 emissions are very low at about 1.6 tonnes per person in 2024, and it is a widely recognised climate leader that was the first nation to ratify the Paris Agreement and presided over the COP23 summit. Roughly half of its electricity comes from renewables, chiefly hydropower at the Monasavu scheme, with the remainder still supplied by imported diesel. Fiji targets 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 and has legislated a net-zero pathway. Its very low emissions and strong policy are tempered by continuing diesel reliance, which holds it at 4.
What powers Fiji?
Renewable 63.5%Fossil 36.5%
Energy Fiji Limited runs the main grid. It began in 1966 as the Fiji Electricity Authority and was turned into a public company limited by shares on 16 April 2018, with the stated aim of letting Fijians share in its gains through a listing on the South Pacific Stock Exchange. Under the Electricity Act 2017, in force since 1 October 2019, the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission became the regulator on 30 September 2019, and it announced a new EFL tariff on 19 December 2025. In 2020 hydro supplied about 50 per cent of Fiji's electricity and fossil fuels 42 per cent.
Climate pollution per person
The safe amount, what the planet can absorb
2 tonnes
One person here
1.62 tonnes
The world average, for comparison
4.7 tonnes
The worst it ever got
2.26 tonnes
The grid
Fiji's fossil CO2 emissions are very low at about 1.6 tonnes per person in 2024, and it is a widely recognised climate leader that was the first nation to ratify the Paris Agreement and presided over the COP23 summit. Roughly half of its electricity comes from renewables, chiefly hydropower at the Monasavu scheme, with the remainder still supplied by imported diesel.
Pollution
Fiji banned single-use plastic bags in 2020, having introduced a levy in 2017. Air is very clean, with mean PM2.5 of about 6.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2020 (World Bank), far below most of the world.
Water stress
Fiji's volcanic high islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, carry rivers fed by heavy rainfall, so raw freshwater is abundant on the main islands. About 95.5% of the population has at least basic drinking water, but only 41.9% has a safely managed, contamination-free supply (World Bank/JMP, 2022).
What pollutes most here
1The grid The share of electricity still generated from fossil fuel.39.9%
2Industry Reef-damaging activities and coral, shell or turtle-product souvenirs, plus poorly run shark-feeding dives..named
3Air Modelled annual mean against a WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.6.1
4On the record Fiji banned single-use plastic bags in 2020, having introduced a levy in 2017.
What has Fiji promised on climate?
Net zero, whole economy2050
Electricity renewable today60.1% (2021)
Land protected, against a 30% target3.9% by 2025
Sea protected, against a 30% target0.9% by 2025
The net-zero target year on file with Climate Watch is 2050, status: in law; in policy document. Measured against it, 60.1% of electricity is already renewable (2021, World Bank), so 39.9% of the grid is still to be converted. The pledge on file is measured here against what has actually been delivered, not taken on its own (UNFCCC NDC Registry, CBD Kunming-Montreal Target 3).
The biggest line item
One return flight against a whole year of living.
A resident's entire year1.62 t CO2e
Safe-climate budget, per year2 t CO2e
Paris return, economy2.98 t CO2e
Frankfurt return, economy2.95 t CO2e
London return, economy2.94 t CO2e
Johannesburg return, economy2.55 t CO2e
Dubai return, economy2.54 t CO2e
How much CO2 does flying to Fiji emit?
Tap where you would fly from. One return flight, economy.
Firsts on climate finance. The Reserve Bank of Fiji says that in October 2017 Fiji became the first emerging economy to offer a sovereign green bond. The FJ$100 million bond was floated in four tranches, the first on 25 October 2017 and the rest by July 2018, and drew bids of more than FJ$162.4 million. The bank says this made Fiji only the third country in the world, and the first developing country, to issue a green bond. The Green Climate Fund lists 10 projects involving Fiji, worth US$99.7 million, including an urban water supply and wastewater project with the Asian Development Bank (FP008), forest landscape restoration with FAO (FP306) and a coral reef resilience project with WWF (FP316).
Climate Watch (WRI) · UNFCCC NDC Registry · World Bank Open Data · UK DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors · Energy Fiji Limited, About us · Energy Fiji Limited, Corporate profile · Energy Fiji Limited, FCCC announces new EFL tariff (19 December 2025) · Wikipedia, Energy in Fiji · Reserve Bank of Fiji, Fiji Sovereign Green Bond Impact Report 2018 · Green Climate Fund, Fiji
AI and Data Centres in Fiji.
Every prompt runs on a machine in a building on somebody’s grid. What that costs the planet depends less on the prompt than on what is burning to power it. Here is what would power one in Fiji.
Data centres
0
Registered colocation and interconnection facilities, PeeringDB, 2026
Grid renewable
63.5 %
What a machine here runs on.
What powers a data centre in Fiji?
A machine here runs mostly on renewables, but not entirely.
Renewable 63.5%Fossil 36.5%
Cooling water. Every one of those halls runs on the national grid, which is 60.1% renewable today (World Bank). A data centre is only as clean as the electricity behind it, so the same figure that decides this country's climate score also decides the footprint of the AI running inside it. Cooling water use is not separately published by facility, and no operator here reports it.
The rules. Fiji has 0 colocation and interconnection facilities on the public PeeringDB register, alongside 1 internet exchange (Fiji-IXP).
Where the cables land. 3 landing points · Natadola, Savusavu, Suva
Economy and Tourism in Fiji.
49% residents to 51% visitors across a year. 969,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 933,154 people who live here (2025, World Bank / UN Tourism).
Where a visitor dollar goes in Fiji
168k
Visitors a year
0.2
Visitors per resident
How deep in debt is Fiji?· for every $100 Fiji earns in a year, it owes…
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · the 2022 peak
$ 92The worst year on the IMF record. Fiji owed $92 for every $100 it earned.
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2022signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · today
$ 82What is owed now, for every $100 of national income (2026).
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · projected 2031
$ 76The IMF's own forecast has this falling to $76 by 2031.
IMF World Economic Outlook projection, 2031signed, the forecast
For every $100 Fiji earns in a year, it owes $82 (2026, IMF World Economic Outlook). The interest on that is paid before schools, clinics or coastline get their turn.
Where does a tourist dollar actually go in Fiji?
Play one tourist dollar around the board. Every square is a measured fact from this page.
START!
1
GO: a visitor lands
$100 goes on the table. 969,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 933,154 residents, 1.0 visitors for every resident (World Bank / UN Tourism).
$100 in play2
The bed
Who owns the largest places to stay in Fiji is not published in the records we can check, so this square is left open rather than guessed. Where a listing names its owner, it is shown in the ownership table below.
not published3
The plate
Food is 19% of everything Fiji imports (2024, World Bank), so a large part of every restaurant bill is paid to a supplier abroad. Eating what the land here actually grows, sugarcane, cassava, taro, vegetables, coconuts, ginger, sweet potatoes, keeps that money with the grower.
sails in4
The power
60.1% of the electricity is renewable (2021, World Bank), so the energy on the bill is mostly generated inside the country rather than shipped in.
made at home5
What actually stays
On the parts that can be measured, the plate leaves and the power stays. It is genuinely a coin toss, decided by what you book.
split6
Pay the bank first
Fiji owes $82 for every $100 it earns (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). The interest is paid before anything else on this board.
$82 per $1007
No plan B
26.5% of everything Fiji sells abroad is mineral fuels and oils (2023, UN Comtrade). One market moving takes the whole board with it.
26.5% one export8
Community chest
Tourism earns 17.8% of everything Fiji makes from exports (2020, World Bank / UN Tourism). That is how much of the economy depends on the game continuing.
17.8% of exports9
The flight
Getting here is usually the biggest single line on the bill. From Paris a return economy seat is 2.98 t CO2, on the UK Government's published conversion factors. It is the one part of the trip this board cannot reduce.
2.98 t CO210
Back to GO
The economy turns over about US$6 billion a year (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). Every lap of this board is a choice about how much of it stays.
US$6bnGDPUS$6.2bn
Agriculture, share of GDP14.1%
Visitors a year168,000
Visitors per resident0.2
Residents~933,154
Agriculture
Farming is 14.1% of the economy. Food made up about 19.5% of Fiji's merchandise imports in 2022 (World Bank), a moderate level for a Pacific state that still ships in rice and flour.
Natural materials
Masi, Fijian barkcloth beaten from paper-mulberry bark, is still made and remains central to ceremony and gift-giving. Women weave mats from pandanus and voivoi, including the prized kuta mats of Bua on Vanua Levu, and make rope from coconut fibre.
Energy
Fiji's fossil CO2 emissions are very low at about 1.6 tonnes per person in 2024, and it is a widely recognised climate leader that was the first nation to ratify the Paris Agreement and presided over the COP23 summit. Roughly half of its electricity comes from renewables, chiefly hydropower at the Monasavu scheme, with the remainder still supplied by imported diesel.
Who owns the biggest hotels in Fiji?
By rooms · company records and press.
Matangi Private Island · ~12 roomsIndependentnot published
Jean-Michel Cousteau · ~25 roomsIndependentnot published
Turtle Island · ~14 roomsIndependentnot published
Visitors, over time
2015869k
2016963k
20171,027k
20181,058k
2019969k
2020168k
International tourism receipts run at about US$0.24 billion in 2020 (World Bank / UN Tourism). That is 17.8% of everything the country earns from exports.
How much of your money actually stays here?
Tap the holiday you are planning.
Visiting Fiji, whoever you are.
Resort guest, villa renter, family, nomad or backpacker. The honest playbook for each, from the same sourced numbers.
Already booked a resort? · the rescue list
Five swaps that move your money back on-island
1. Eat where the country eats Choose kitchens cooking what the land here grows, sugarcane, cassava, taro, vegetables, coconuts, ginger and sweet potatoes, over an imported menu.
2. Book with a local operator Never the lobby desk. The margin on a tour is the part that stays.
3. Stay somewhere locally owned Ownership decides where the room rate books. Eco stays
4. Use the transport residents use Domestic flights and ferries link the islands, while buses, taxis and shared carriers serve Viti Levu's Coral Coast and towns.
5. Buy the craft, not the souvenir Natural-materials work made here pays the maker directly; imported gifts pay a shipping line.
Swipe
First time here
Fiji is a 300-island Pacific archipelago where volcanic high islands carry rivers and rainforest, most land is held communally by iTaukei clans, and inshore reefs are still managed through customary qoliqoli tenure.
Best time: Dry season, cooler and drier with lower cyclone risk.
Getting around
Domestic flights and ferries link the islands, while buses, taxis and shared carriers serve Viti Levu's Coral Coast and towns.
Transport is where the fare either stays or leaves.
Eating here
The everyday plate that actually grows here is sugarcane, cassava, taro, vegetables, coconuts, ginger and sweet potatoes. Ordering those keeps the money with the grower and cuts the imported share of the meal.
Eating what the country grows is the cheapest way to cut the import bill.
Good to know
Cards in resorts, cash in villages; FJD. Kava ceremony etiquette matters.
Rate my hotel. Tap yours for the honest verdict.
Ownership from company records and press.
Who owns the big hotels
Matangi Private IslandIndependent · 12 rooms
Jean-Michel CousteauIndependent · 25 rooms
Turtle IslandIndependent · 14 rooms
None of the 3 properties listed here publishes who ultimately owns it, so no claim is made either way. Ownership is what decides how much of a room rate stays in the country, which is why we show it when a listing states it.
Society and Governance in Fiji.
How well is Fiji actually run?
Governance, measured · World Bank WGI
Four measured answers, none of them opinion. Averaged across corruption control, delivery and accountability, Fiji scores 62 out of 100 (2024, World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators). That is a state that generally does what it says it will do, which is what makes a climate pledge worth reading.
What is daily life in Fiji really like? Measured
Getting around, breathing, throwing away, learning. The honest checklist.
TransportAirWaterWastePower
✓How you get around Domestic flights and ferries link the islands, while buses, taxis and shared carriers serve Viti Levu's Coral Coast and towns.
99.1%
literacy. Public spending on education runs at 4.2% of GDP and 13.8% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment stands at 98.1% gross (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2023 to 2025).
Made in Fiji.
Masi, Fijian barkcloth beaten from paper-mulberry bark, is still made and remains central to ceremony and gift-giving. Women weave mats from pandanus and voivoi, including the prized kuta mats of Bua on Vanua Levu, and make rope from coconut fibre. Every step of processing done at home is value that stops leaving the country.
What Fiji actually sells the world
The single biggest thing Fiji sells the world is mineral fuels and oils, 26.5% of all exports in 2023 (about US$0.28 billion, UN Comtrade). The next four are beverages, spirits and vinegar at 15.7%, sugar and sugar confectionery at 6.7%, fish and seafood at 5.8%, pearls, gemstones and precious metals at 4.3%.
Sells now · 26.5% of exports
Mineral fuels and oils
Mineral fuels and oils is 26.5% of everything Fiji sold abroad in 2023, worth about US$0.28 billion. UN Comtrade.
Sells now · 15.7% of exports
Beverages, spirits and vinegar
Beverages, spirits and vinegar is 15.7% of everything Fiji sold abroad in 2023, worth about US$0.17 billion. UN Comtrade.
Sells now · 6.7% of exports
Sugar and sugar confectionery
Sugar and sugar confectionery is 6.7% of everything Fiji sold abroad in 2023, worth about US$0.07 billion. UN Comtrade.
Sells now · 5.8% of exports
Fish and seafood
Fish and seafood is 5.8% of everything Fiji sold abroad in 2023, worth about US$0.06 billion. UN Comtrade.
Sells now · 4.3% of exports
Pearls, gemstones and precious metals
Pearls, gemstones and precious metals is 4.3% of everything Fiji sold abroad in 2023, worth about US$0.05 billion. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 9.4% of imports
Machinery and mechanical appliances
Fiji imported US$0.29 billion of machinery and mechanical appliances in 2023, 9.4% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 6.9% of imports
Electrical machinery and electronics
Fiji imported US$0.21 billion of electrical machinery and electronics in 2023, 6.9% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 6.4% of imports
Vehicles
Fiji imported US$0.20 billion of vehicles in 2023, 6.4% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 3.9% of imports
Optical, medical and precision instruments
Fiji imported US$0.12 billion of optical, medical and precision instruments in 2023, 3.9% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
The maths for an entrepreneur. Fiji produces about US$6 billion a year, which is roughly US$6,642 per person (2025, World Bank). Farming is 14% of that, while food is 19% of everything the country imports. The country buys in more food than its own farms contribute to the economy, and every point of that gap is a business someone could build here rather than ship in.
See the verified makersCulture in Fiji.
Vilavilairevo firewalking of Beqa
The Sawau people of Beqa Island hold the gift of firewalking, and young men of Beqa still walk on heated stones, today mostly for visitors.
Does Fiji protect its heritage by law?
Partly, and the gaps say as much as the protections.
What is kept alive. Fiji sustains vigorous living iTaukei heritage alongside Indo-Fijian traditions. The meke, a combined dance and chant accompanied by the lali drum, remains central to community life, and the yaqona or kava ceremony is a daily living ancestral practice. The vilavilairevo firewalking of Beqa Island continues as an ancestral ritual, and masi barkcloth making endures as a living craft.
Who it belongs to. About 86% of Fiji's land is held communally by iTaukei clans and cannot be sold, which keeps village life and customary authority intact. Visitors to a village present kava in the sevusevu ceremony, and the meke dance still carries oral history. Community-run and village-stay tourism means culture here is lived rather than staged.
Only here. The Great Sea Reef (Cakaulevu), the world's third-longest continuous barrier reef, protected as the Ramsar site Qoliqoli Cokovata..
The Future of Fiji.
Three futures for Fiji, every one run forward from measured data.
Where the making actually happens
Named cultural and craft sites on the open map: Fiji Museum (Suva), Library/Museum (Levuka). OpenStreetMap.
Every measured trend on one line
Run forward at the pace already recorded.
World Bank open data, recorded series
How much forest is left?
Forest cover moved from 53.3% to 61.7% across 29 recorded years.
How clean is the grid?
Renewable electricity moved from 76.1% to 60.1% across 21 recorded years.
How much climate pollution per person?
CO2 per person moved from 1.39 t to 1.62 t across 29 recorded years.
How many people visit?
Tourist arrivals moved from 476k to 168k across 25 recorded years.
How much land is protected?
Protected land moved from 4.4% to 3.9% across 12 recorded years.
How many people still farm?
Farm workforce moved from 34.4% to 35.6% across 30 recorded years.
How much sea is protected?
Protected sea moved from 0.9% to 0.9% across 12 recorded years.
How much land is farmed?
Agricultural land moved from 22.4% to 17% across 29 recorded years.
How fast is it urbanising?
Urban population moved from 45.7% to 59.5% across 30 recorded years.
Is the air getting cleaner?
Air pollution moved from 5.32 µg/m³ to 6.45 µg/m³ across 28 recorded years.
Is water getting scarcer?
Fresh water per person moved from 35,744 m³ to 31,052 m³ across 27 recorded years.
Is diet-related disease rising?
Adult overweight moved from 51.4% to 65.8% across 27 recorded years.
Who has power?
Electricity access moved from 66.9% to 95.9% across 28 recorded years.
Is income rising?
GDP per person moved from 2,467 to 6,642 across 30 recorded years.
How fast is it growing?
Population moved from 799k to 933k across 30 recorded years.
What share of all energy is renewable?
Renewable energy use moved from 58.4% to 28.4% across 27 recorded years.
How much land and sea is protected together?
Protected area, total moved from 1% to 1% across 12 recorded years.
How long do people live?
Life expectancy moved from 66 yrs to 67.5 yrs across 29 recorded years.
How much does a hectare of cereal produce?
Cereal yield moved from 2,651 kg/ha to 3,065 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How much fertiliser goes on the land?
Fertiliser use moved from 120 kg/ha to 96.9 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How many people still live rurally?
Rural population moved from 54.3% to 40.5% across 30 recorded years.
How much value per cubic metre of water?
Water productivity moved from 48.5 $/m3 to 57.3 $/m3 across 27 recorded years.
How much goes on health?
Health spending moved from 3.42% to 3.62% across 23 recorded years.
How much forest is there in total?
Forest area moved from 9,731 km2 to 11,366 km2 across 30 recorded years.
How have agriculture emissions moved?
Agriculture emissions moved from 0.95 to 0.57 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have building emissions moved?
Building emissions moved from 0.07 to 0.1 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have electricity/heat emissions moved?
Electricity/Heat emissions moved from 0.06 to 0.29 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have energy emissions moved?
Energy emissions moved from 0.68 to 1.67 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have industrial processes emissions moved?
Industrial Processes emissions moved from 0.04 to 0.19 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have manufacturing/construction emissions moved?
Manufacturing/Construction emissions moved from 0.09 to 0.27 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have transportation emissions moved?
Transportation emissions moved from 0.41 to 1.0 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
Worst caseCurrent pathBest case
Worst case
Every measured decline continues at the pace already recorded. The weakest pillar, conservation at 1/5, is the one that gives way first.
Computed from: recorded series extended with no policy change
What the best case actually asks for
Lift conservation
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Fiji's record. Formal protection is low, with terrestrial protected areas covering about 3.9% of land and marine protected areas about 0.9% of territorial waters (World Bank).
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift recycling
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Fiji's record. Fiji has no published national municipal recycling rate. Recycling is limited and largely informal, with PET, aluminium and scrap metal collected for export while most household waste goes to landfill or open dumps around the urban centres.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift food and farming
It scores 2 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Fiji's record. Food made up about 19.5% of Fiji's merchandise imports in 2022 (World Bank), a moderate level for a Pacific state that still ships in rice and flour.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Government and Goals in Fiji.
Who is in charge of Fiji now · Office-holders from the UN Protocol and Liaison Service public list of Heads of State and Heads of Government, 20 October 2026. Legislature and election dates from IFES ElectionGuide. Constitution dates from the Constitute Project. Governance scores from the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2024.
Sitiveni Rabuka
Prime Minister
Sitiveni Rabuka is the head of government of Fiji, in office since 24 December 2022. Every climate, protection and energy pledge on this page is delivered, or not, under this administration.
Public opinion, measured
Voice and accountability, the freedom to question government scores 61.7 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Unchanged from 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Control of corruption scores 58.8 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Unchanged from 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Political stability and absence of violence scores 82.8 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 79.9 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Rule of law scores 65.5 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Unchanged from 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Regulatory quality scores 56.1 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Unchanged from 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Sitiveni RabukaPrime Minister
ParliamentLegislature, unicameral
Last election14 December 2022
Constitution2013
Government typeparliamentary republic
Fiji national goals: climate commitments on record · as recorded by Climate Watch, World Resources Institute
Plain Answers About Fiji.
The questions people actually type, answered in full sentences from the sourced data above.
Swipe
Is Fiji sustainable?
Fiji scores 62 out of 100 on the Throne Eco Index, across twelve equally weighted pillars. Fiji is a 300-island Pacific archipelago where volcanic high islands carry rivers and rainforest, most land is held communally by iTaukei clans, and inshore reefs are still managed through customary qoliqoli tenure.
Is the water in Fiji safe and plentiful?
Fiji's volcanic high islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, carry rivers fed by heavy rainfall, so raw freshwater is abundant on the main islands. About 95.5% of the population has at least basic drinking water, but only 41.9% has a safely managed, contamination-free supply (World Bank/JMP, 2022). Smaller islands and outer atolls depend on rainwater catchment that runs short in the dry season.
Can Fiji feed itself?
Food made up about 19.5% of Fiji's merchandise imports in 2022 (World Bank), a moderate level for a Pacific state that still ships in rice and flour. Against this, subsistence and smallholder farming of root crops, along with sugar cane and reef fishing, remain widespread. Domestic production covers much of the fresh diet even where staple grains are imported.
Is it easy to eat plant-based in Fiji?
Traditional Fijian meals are built on root crops such as dalo (taro), cassava, breadfruit, yams and kumala, alongside coconut and tropical fruit. The large Indo-Fijian community adds an everyday vegetarian layer of dhal, roti and vegetable curries. Plant-based eating is easy, though iTaukei cooking also leans heavily on fish and meat.
How much of Fiji is actually protected?
Formal protection is low, with terrestrial protected areas covering about 3.9% of land and marine protected areas about 0.9% of territorial waters (World Bank). The stronger conservation story is customary, as most inshore fishing grounds are managed as qoliqoli by the clans that hold them. The Great Sea Reef was designated the Ramsar wetland Qoliqoli Cokovata on 16 January 2018, with the first community marine protected area declared in 2002 and nine more added in 2004.
What wildlife is left in Fiji?
Fiji is home to species found nowhere else, including the Fiji crested iguana and endemic birds such as the orange dove, the golden dove and the collared lory. Reefs are exceptionally rich; the Great Sea Reef alone shelters endangered fish, green turtles and spinner dolphins. The World Bank, using IUCN data, records 119 threatened species, made up of 7 mammals, 14 birds, 20 fish and 78 higher plants (2018).
Is Fiji on clean energy?
Fiji's fossil CO2 emissions are very low at about 1.6 tonnes per person in 2024, and it is a widely recognised climate leader that was the first nation to ratify the Paris Agreement and presided over the COP23 summit. Roughly half of its electricity comes from renewables, chiefly hydropower at the Monasavu scheme, with the remainder still supplied by imported diesel. Fiji targets 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 and has legislated a net-zero pathway.
How polluted is Fiji?
Fiji banned single-use plastic bags in 2020, having introduced a levy in 2017. Air is very clean, with mean PM2.5 of about 6.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2020 (World Bank), far below most of the world. Solid-waste handling and marine litter remain weak spots, especially around the main towns.
Does recycling work in Fiji?
Fiji has no published national municipal recycling rate. Recycling is limited and largely informal, with PET, aluminium and scrap metal collected for export while most household waste goes to landfill or open dumps around the urban centres. The 2020 plastic-bag ban tackles litter at source rather than through kerbside recycling.
Is the farming in Fiji organic?
Certified organic land covered about 4.5% of Fiji's agricultural area, some 19,303 hectares, in 2020 (FiBL). That share is high for the region and reflects organic coconut and other export certification. It sits in the strong band for a small island economy.
Are there natural materials and craft in Fiji?
Masi, Fijian barkcloth beaten from paper-mulberry bark, is still made and remains central to ceremony and gift-giving. Women weave mats from pandanus and voivoi, including the prized kuta mats of Bua on Vanua Levu, and make rope from coconut fibre. This is a living materials tradition rather than a museum craft.
Is there living culture in Fiji?
About 86% of Fiji's land is held communally by iTaukei clans and cannot be sold, which keeps village life and customary authority intact. Visitors to a village present kava in the sevusevu ceremony, and the meke dance still carries oral history. Community-run and village-stay tourism means culture here is lived rather than staged.
What heritage does Fiji keep alive?
Fiji sustains vigorous living iTaukei heritage alongside Indo-Fijian traditions. The meke, a combined dance and chant accompanied by the lali drum, remains central to community life, and the yaqona or kava ceremony is a daily living ancestral practice. The vilavilairevo firewalking of Beqa Island continues as an ancestral ritual, and masi barkcloth making endures as a living craft.
So is Fiji actually green? The measured answer
What is working: renewable electricity at 60.1%.
What is not: land protected at 3.9% against a 30% mark, sea protected at 0.9% against a 30% mark.
How Fiji Ranks, region and world.
Where Fiji sits on the Eco Index, against its Oceania neighbours and the 77 destinations scored worldwide.
The global top 10 of the 77 destinations scored
1Switzerland78
2France78
3Finland77
4Slovenia77
5Australia77
6Portugal75
7Germany75
8New Zealand75
9Italy73
10Spain73
50Fiji · this page62
Fiji sits 50 of 77 at 62/100. Every name links to its own destination page, built exactly like this one. The full ranking
What is Fiji particularly good at?
✓ Culture, scored 5/5. About 86% of Fiji's land is held communally by iTaukei clans and cannot be sold, which keeps village life and customary authority intact. Visitors to a village present kava in the sevusevu ceremony, and the meke dance still carries oral history. Community-run and village-stay tourism means culture here is lived rather than staged.
✓ Heritage, scored 5/5. Fiji sustains vigorous living iTaukei heritage alongside Indo-Fijian traditions. The meke, a combined dance and chant accompanied by the lali drum, remains central to community life, and the yaqona or kava ceremony is a daily living ancestral practice. The vilavilairevo firewalking of Beqa Island continues as an ancestral ritual, and masi barkcloth making endures as a living craft. The vanua system of ancestral kinship and land still shapes everyday custom.
✓ Plant-based eating, scored 4/5. Traditional Fijian meals are built on root crops such as dalo (taro), cassava, breadfruit, yams and kumala, alongside coconut and tropical fruit. The large Indo-Fijian community adds an everyday vegetarian layer of dhal, roti and vegetable curries. Plant-based eating is easy, though iTaukei cooking also leans heavily on fish and meat.
Where does Fiji score worst?
✕ Conservation, scored 1/5. Formal protection is low, with terrestrial protected areas covering about 3.9% of land and marine protected areas about 0.9% of territorial waters (World Bank). The stronger conservation story is customary, as most inshore fishing grounds are managed as qoliqoli by the clans that hold them. The Great Sea Reef was designated the Ramsar wetland Qoliqoli Cokovata on 16 January 2018, with the first community marine protected area declared in 2002 and nine more added in 2004.
✕ Recycling, scored 1/5. Fiji has no published national municipal recycling rate. Recycling is limited and largely informal, with PET, aluminium and scrap metal collected for export while most household waste goes to landfill or open dumps around the urban centres. The 2020 plastic-bag ban tackles litter at source rather than through kerbside recycling.
✕ Food and farming, scored 2/5. Food made up about 19.5% of Fiji's merchandise imports in 2022 (World Bank), a moderate level for a Pacific state that still ships in rice and flour. Against this, subsistence and smallholder farming of root crops, along with sugar cane and reef fishing, remain widespread. Domestic production covers much of the fresh diet even where staple grains are imported.
A note from the lens of mother natureSwipe
Conservation, 1/5
Formal protection is low, with terrestrial protected areas covering about 3.9% of land and marine protected areas about 0.9% of territorial waters (World Bank). The stronger conservation story is customary, as most inshore fishing grounds are managed as qoliqoli by the clans that hold them.
Consequence: It is the lowest-scoring part of Fiji's record, so it is where the score moves first.
Recycling, 1/5
Fiji has no published national municipal recycling rate. Recycling is limited and largely informal, with PET, aluminium and scrap metal collected for export while most household waste goes to landfill or open dumps around the urban centres.
Food and farming, 2/5
Food made up about 19.5% of Fiji's merchandise imports in 2022 (World Bank), a moderate level for a Pacific state that still ships in rice and flour. Against this, subsistence and smallholder farming of root crops, along with sugar cane and reef fishing, remain widespread.
The Fiji Directory.
Everything on Hold The Throne that sits in Fiji, checked and listed.
How the rest of the world scores Fiji
Independent global indices, for calibration.
Forest cover
61.7
World Bank, 2024.
Protected land
3.9
World Bank, 2025.
Protected sea
0.9
World Bank, 2025.
Renewable grid
60.1
World Bank, 2021.
CO2 per person
1.6t
World Bank, 2024.
Threatened species
119
Recorded figure, sourced on this page.
Control of corruption
58.8 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Government effectiveness
63.2 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Rule of law
65.5 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Political stability
82.8 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Voice and accountability
61.7 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Environmental Performance Index
35.5 / 100 · 118 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 118 of 177 countries assessed.
Ecosystem vitality
29.8 / 100 · 156 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 156 of 177 countries assessed.
Biodiversity and habitat
13.5 / 100 · 164 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 164 of 177 countries assessed.
Air quality
31.8 / 100 · 104 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 104 of 177 countries assessed.
Terrestrial biomes protected
8.1 / 100 · 167 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 167 of 177 countries assessed.
Marine habitat protected
21.2 / 100 · 55 of 111
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 55 of 111 countries assessed.
How Fiji Is Scored. The Throne Standard.
Every destination on the index is scored the same way, so a 4 in Barbados means exactly what a 4 means in Iceland. No self-declared data and no brochure claims are accepted. Seven pillars are scored from published measurements with the same fixed thresholds everywhere: energy (low-carbon share of electricity, 90% or more scores 5, 70% 4, 50% 3, 25% 2), conservation (land and sea protected), water (safe drinking water, wastewater treated, water stress), organic farmland, recycling, food import dependence and air quality. Where a measurement is not published for a place, that pillar keeps its source-assessed score and is labelled as such. Wildlife, culture, heritage, materials and plant-based eating have no comparable measurement and are assessed from the named sources. The Eco Index is the average of the twelve pillar scores multiplied by 20. Every figure on this page carries its named source and year, and the history on each page names what empire took as plainly as it scores the present.
The 12 pillars every destination is scored on, equally weighted
01
Water
Safe drinking water, wastewater treated and water stress. Measured.
02
Food & farming
How much of the import bill is food: whether the place feeds itself. Measured.
03
Plant-based
How easy it is to eat plant-based, from documented sources.
04
Organic
Certified organic share of farmland. Measured.
05
Conservation
Land and sea legally protected, against the 30 by 30 goal. Measured.
06
Wildlife
What survives, what is endemic, what is lost, from documented sources.
07
Materials
Local natural fibres and craft, from documented sources.
08
Pollution
Air quality (PM2.5, measured) and plastics and waste policy.
09
Recycling
Share of municipal waste recycled. Measured.
10
Energy
Low-carbon share of electricity, nuclear included. Measured.
11
Culture
Living culture and community-led visits, from documented sources.
12
Heritage
What the law keeps standing, from documented sources.
What each 0 to 5 pillar score means, in plain words
0
Absent
nothing verifiable exists
1
Failing
measurably going the wrong way
2
Weak
claims outrun delivery
3
Fair
real effort, mixed results
4
Strong
genuinely good, evidence named
5
Leading
world class, and the trend holds
Where the numbers come from.
The institutions above are the ones cited on this page, ranked by how many of its figures they carry. This same sectioned page renders for all 77 scored destinations, each with its own researched history, comparison charts and three-way future. Read the full methodology
Every figure on this page, and where it came from: 74 sources across 25 institutions
World Bank18 FIGURES
- Forest area (% of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, Fiji, 2022 (63.1%) check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, Fiji, 2024 (3.9%) check
- Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, Fiji, 2023 (0.9%) check
- Renewable electricity output (% of total) EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, Fiji, 2021 (60.1%) check
- Food imports (% of merchandise imports) TM.VAL.FOOD.ZS.UN, Fiji, 2024 (18.96%) check
- PM2.5 air pollution mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic metre) EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3, Fiji, 2020 (6.1) check
- CO2 emissions per capita EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, 2024 check
- GDP (current US$) NY.GDP.MKTP.CD, 2025 check
- International tourist arrivals ST.INT.ARVL, 2020 check
- Agricultural land (% of land area) AG.LND.AGRI.ZS, 2023 check
- Arable land (% of land area) AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, 2023 check
- Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS, 2025 check
- Renewable internal freshwater per capita (m3) ER.H2O.INTR.PC, 2022 check
- Safely managed sanitation (% of population) SH.STA.SMSS.ZS, 2024 check
- Overweight prevalence, adults (%) SH.STA.OWAD.ZS, 2022 check
- Central government debt (% of GDP) GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS, 1994 check
- Population total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 check
- What a Waste 2.0 country-level dataset check
IUCN Red List14 FIGURES
- Fiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi), Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (bird). check
- Fiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi) corroboration check
- Fiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi) corroboration check
- Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (turtle). check
- Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) corroboration check
- Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini), Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray). check
- Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) corroboration check
- Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) corroboration check
- Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) corroboration check
- Fiji Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) corroboration check
- Cyphosperma tanga, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Fiji in GBIF occurrence data (plant). check
- Cyphosperma tanga corroboration check
- Cyphosperma tanga corroboration check
- Cyphosperma tanga corroboration check
Republic of Fiji6 FIGURES
- Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Ministry of Waterways and Environment), Fiji is home to species found nowhere else, including the Fiji crested iguana and endemic birds such as the or check
- Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Ministry of Waterways and Environment) corroboration check
- Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Ministry of Waterways and Environment) corroboration check
- Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Ministry of Waterways and Environment) corroboration check
- Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Ministry of Waterways and Environment) corroboration check
- Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Ministry of Waterways and Environment) corroboration check
UNESCO Institute for Statistics4 FIGURES
- public data API, indicator XGDP.FSGOV (Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP), Public spending on education runs at 4.2% of GDP and 13.8% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment check
- public data API, indicator XGDP.FSGOV (Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP) corroboration check
- public data API, indicator XGDP.FSGOV (Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP) corroboration check
- public data API, indicator XGDP.FSGOV (Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP) corroboration check
BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC3 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Fiji, 2025 (11.2%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, marine Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_MRN_MPA, Fiji, 2025 (16.5%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_FRHWTR, Fiji, 2025 (0.13%), country-reported check
Government of Fiji3 FIGURES
- Fiji Climate Change Portal, Plastic Bag Ban Frequently Asked Questions, Fiji banned single-use plastic bags in 2020, having introduced a levy in 2017. check
- Fiji Climate Change Portal, Plastic Bag Ban Frequently Asked Questions corroboration check
- Fiji Climate Change Portal, Plastic Bag Ban Frequently Asked Questions corroboration check
Convention on Biological Diversity2 FIGURES
FAO2 FIGURES
FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment2 FIGURES
IUCN2 FIGURES
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme2 FIGURES
World Bank / WHO-UNICEF JMP2 FIGURES
WWF-Pacific2 FIGURES
- The Great Sea Reef: Weaving Together Communities for Conservation (case study, 2012), Reefs are exceptionally rich; the Great Sea Reef alone shelters endangered fish, green turtles and spinner dol check
- The Great Sea Reef: Weaving Together Communities for Conservation (case study, 2012) corroboration check
Climate Change Tracker1 FIGURE
- Fiji greenhouse gas progress and recent impact. check
Climate Watch (WRI)1 FIGURE
- Net-Zero Tracker check
Constitute Project1 FIGURE
- Fiji 2013 check
Fiji Museum1 FIGURE
- national heritage and antiquities authority check
First community MPA declared 20021 FIGURE
- nine more added 2004; Ramsar designation 16 Jan 2018 check
IFES ElectionGuide1 FIGURE
- Fiji elections and chambers check
Our World in Data1 FIGURE
- Fiji energy country profile. check
UN Protocol and Liaison Service1 FIGURE
- Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, public list dated 20 October 2026 check
UN Statistics Division, Energy Balances1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, renewable share of total final energy consumption (%) EG_FEC_RNEW, Fiji, 2024 (28.5%), modelled estimate check
University of the South Pacific1 FIGURE
- national research institution for Fiji check
World Bank / IUCN Red List1 FIGURE
- threatened species by taxon, Fiji, 2018: mammals 7, birds 14, fish 20, higher plants 78 (total 119) check