Fiji - Economy



Agriculture, mining and fishing have dominated the economy in the past, but manufacturing and tourism are becoming progressively more important in Fiji. The first five years after independence (1970–75) were years of high growth for Fiji, when growth averaged 5.9%, driven by primary commodities. In the next five years, growth continued but at a slower rate—about3.5% per year. In 1980–86, Fiji suffered the effects of high inflation, especially in energy prices. It also endured three recessions. In 1986, growth rebounded, with GDP increasing8.1%. This was immediately stopped by the 1987 coup. From 1987 to 1996 the economy grew at average annual rate of 2.5%; counting from independence to 1996, the average annual growth rate for GDP was 3.3%. In 1996, the economy grew 3%, but then, caught in the Asian financial crisis, it declined 3.9% in 1997 and grew at only 1.4% in 1998. 1999 saw a burst of recovery, as GDP shot up 9.7% (7.8% in real terms), only to be cut short, as happened in 1987, by a coup that sent the economy into recession, registers a 2.85% fall in GDP for 2000. Amid continued high political tensions the GDP increased in real terms only 1% in 2001, an improvement attributed mainly to some recovery in tourism.

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