Fiji’s population increases to 884,887 according to last year’s census

Fiji’s population has increased to 884,887 according to last year’s census compared to 837,271 in 2007.

The Fiji Bureau of Statistics says this is an increase of 47,616 or 5.7%.

The average annual population growth is 0.6%, due to low birth rates and out-migration.

It has also confirmed that 55.9% of Fiji’s population resides in urban areas, an increase from 50.7% in 2007.

The urban population stood at 494,252, an increase of 69,406 or 16.3% from 2007.

The Fiji Bureau of Statistics says that this is attributed to the extension of town boundaries and also due to movement of people from rural to urban areas.

It stated that 44.1% of Fiji’s population resides in rural areas, a decrease from 49.3% in 2007.

Rural population stood at 390,635, a decline of 21,790 or 5.3% from 2007.

The unemployment rate was down to 4.5%, the lowest recorded in 20 years.

This is lower than the 5.5% unemployment rate estimated from the 2015‑2016 Employment and Unemployment Survey.

The 2017 census has also confirmed that 69% of Fiji’s population is below the age of 40 years.

It highlights that 62.7% of the population aged 15 years and older have bank accounts.

This represents a total of 392,148 individuals.

The Fiji Bureau of Statistics says that the median age of the population is 27.5 years which means that half of our population is below the age of 27.5 years.

It adds that men make up 50.7% of the population while women make up 49.3%.

While the proportion of males was higher below the age of 59 years, the female population was higher in the age groups above 60, indicating greater female longevity.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Statistics has also revealed that the Labour Force Participation Rate is 57.1% adding that 13.7% of the population aged three and above reported at least one disability.

The international benchmark is 15%.

The Fiji Bureau of Statistics has stated that other information from the census is still being compiled and will be released progressively over the coming months.