!Fiji Fiji is a country, Region - Oceania-Melanesia, Capital - Suva, Population in 2003 - 839,000, Population density - 46 per sq km, Surface area 18,274 sq km, and Currency - dollar. It is a group of islands in the S. Pacific Ocean, known also as the Viti Islands; they lie between 15°-22° S. lat. and 176° E.-178° W. long., and are a dependency of Britain; sighted by Tasman in 1643, though first discovered, properly speaking, by Cook in 1773, came first into prominence in 1858, when the sovereignty was offered to England and declined, but in 1874 were taken over and made a crown colony; remained a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm. A republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups d'état. Islands number over 200, of which Viti Leon and Vanua Leon are by far the largest; sugar, cotton, vanilla, tea, and coffee are cultivated, besides fruit.