Country Partnership Strategy: Fiji, 2019–2023—Achieving Sustained, Inclusive, Private Sector-Led Growth

Abstract

Fiji achieved its ninth consecutive year of growth in 2018. Growth averaged 3.1% per annum during 2010–2018, despite a downturn in 2016 because of Tropical Cyclone Winston, which caused damage and losses equivalent to 29.2% of gross domestic product (GDP). The economic base is narrow and remains heavily reliant on the tourism sector. Major challenges for sustained and inclusive growth in Fiji include (i) relatively low levels of private investment and reliance on public investment to drive economic growth, (ii) constrained access to quality services and economic opportunities caused in part by infrastructure deficits, and (iii) vulnerability to climate and disaster risks and other external shocks that erode fiscal buffers and cause economic volatility. These challenges are exacerbated by the country’s relative smallness and remoteness despite it being one of the larger and more developed Pacific island countries. Fiji has opportunities to further leverage (i) its central position in the Pacific, which makes it a natural regional hub; and (ii) its relatively well-educated, English-speaking workforce, beyond temporary labor migration.