Fiji, formally the Republic of Fiji, is a South Pacific Ocean island republic located in Melanesia. It is located around 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 kilometers; 1,300 miles) northeast of New Zealand. Fiji is an archipelago comprising about 330 islands, 110 of which are regularly inhabited, and over 500 islets, with a total land area of around 18,300 square kilometers (7,100 sq mi). Ono-i-Lau is the most remote island group. The two biggest islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu are home to about 87 percent of the total population of 883,483. Approximately three-quarters of Fijians reside on Viti Levu's coastlines, either in Suva, the capital city, or in smaller urban areas such as Nadi, where tourism is the main local economy, or in Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is prominent. Because of the terrain, the interior of Viti Levu is sparsely populated.
The volcanic activity built the bulk of Fiji's islands roughly 150 million years ago. Some geothermal activity may still be seen on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni today. The geothermal systems of Viti Levu are non-volcanic in origin, with low-temperature surface discharges (between 35 and 60 degrees Celsius (95 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit).
Since the second millennium BC, humans have lived in Fiji, initially as Austronesians, then as Melanesians, with some Polynesian influences. Fiji was first visited by Europeans in the 17th century. After a short spell as an independent nation, the British founded the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970 when it achieved independence and became the Dominion of Fiji. Following a series of coups, the military administration that had acquired control proclaimed it a republic in 1987. Commodore Frank Bainimarama took control in a coup in 2006. The Fijian High Court found in 2009 that the military leadership was unconstitutional. At that moment, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who had been designated as the nominal head of state by the military, legally repealed the 1997 Constitution and re-installed Bainimarama as temporary prime minister. Ratu Epeli Nailatikau replaced Iloilo as president later that year. After years of delay, a democratic election was held on September 17, 2014. International observers considered the election genuine after Bainimarama's FijiFirst party received 59.2 percent of the vote.
Because of its enormous timber, mineral, and seafood resources, Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific. The Fijian dollar is the official currency, and the primary sources of foreign cash include tourism, remittances from Fijians working abroad, bottled water exports, and sugar cane. Fiji's local government, which takes the form of city and town councils, is overseen by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development.