Fiji's economic difficulties have been compounded by the effects of four coups since the 1980s.
Emigration Since 1987, when the country was destabilized by
two military coups, Fiji has suffered a very high rate of
emigration, particularly of skilled and professional personnel. More than 70,000 people left the country in the aftermath of the coups, majority of whom were
Indo-Fijians. With the continuing expiration of
land leases and ongoing instability in the aftermath of another
coup in 2000, a further outflow of skilled workers has taken place. A report in 2004 of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published on 29 June 2005, found that 61% of Fiji's skilled workers have either emigrated or gone abroad as guest workers. Fiji's loss of skilled workers was the world's fourth highest, behind
Guyana,
Jamaica,
Haiti, and
Trinidad and Tobago. Fiji's Bureau of Statistics recorded 3595 workers as having left the country between January and August 2004. Of these, 414 held professional or technical jobs, 263 were in administrative or managerial positions, and were clerks, supervisors, or related workers, and 118 were sales workers. Fiji's economy is increasingly reliant on remittances from citizens working overseas. Personal remittances now run to more than F$200 million a year, earning more than traditional sectors like sugar and garment manufacturing. Recruitment of Fijians by foreign
private military companies is a growing source of revenue. By mid-2005, there were over 1,000 Fijians working in
Iraq and
Kuwait as soldiers, security guards, drivers and labourers. In addition in 2006 there were more than 2,000 Fijian soldiers in the
British Army, and in 2004 the British defence ministry even sent recruiting teams to Fiji to do initial fitness and aptitude tests, cutting the costs of selection for poor Fijian villagers who could not afford to fly to London to sign up.
Property laws and investment problems Low investment has been a long-term problem in Fiji, and property rights are sometimes thought to be part of this problem because, by law, five sixths of the land is owned communally by
indigenous Fijians and may only be leased, not purchased outright. However, the leasehold system is often misunderstood. Leasehold tenure has not been a problem for the property sector. Houses all over Fiji on communally owned land are on 99-year leases, which have proved satisfactory as a basis for house ownership. Hotels also enjoy 99-year leases. The prestigious
Denarau development involving major hotels and resorts and luxury properties is situated on communally owned land. It delivers significant income to native owners and secure title to developers and their customers. In agricultural sector, there have been problems even though agricultural leases are mandated at 30 years, following the extension by legislation (the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act or ALTA) of all ten-year leases to thirty years in 1977. The problem experienced in agriculture is the non-renewal leases as landowners have been unhappy with the provisions in the ALTA for indexing of rents to cope with inflation. That is an ongoing problem which calls for urgent attention.
Natural disasters Drought in 1998 further damaged the sugar industry, but its recovery in 1999 contributed to robust GDP growth. Further damage to the economy (estimated at US$30 million) was wrought by a cyclone that hit the northern island of
Vanua Levu in January 2003. Apart from the economic devastation, there were food shortages and outbreaks of disease due to the pollution of the water supply.
Tourism woes The aftermath of the political turmoil in 2000 resulted in a 10-percent shrinkage in the economy, as investor confidence plummeted and tourist numbers dropped more than 15% from 544,000 visitors in 1999 to under 434,000 by the end of 2000. As of 2020 Fiji ranked 90th out of 183 countries on the Human Development Index. == Economic statistics ==