A total of 884,887 persons were enumerated in the 2017 Population and Housing Census, These Fiji residents were living in 191,910 Private Households and 1,224 Institutions on Census night, the 17th of September, 2017. The count was 5.7% (47,616) higher than the 837,271 persons enumerated in 2007. Other data sources indicate coverage of around 99.5%, hence the findings will more or less provide a complete picture of Fiji’s population and housing situation at the time of the Census. Information on economic activity reflects the situation in the week before September 17.
The average annual rate of population growth over the decade up to September 2017 was 0.6%. The annual rate of population growth has been decreasing that is from 2% in 1986, 0.8% in 1996, and 0.6% in 2017. The decline is mainly due to lower birth rates and outmigration. The Median Age of the Population is 27.5 years, which means that half of Fiji’s population is below that age. The Median Age was 17.8 in 1976, 20.6 in 1986, 21.2 in 1996, and 25.1 in 2007. The proportion of Fiji’s urban population continued to increase. The proportion of Fiji’s population living in urban areas was 37.2% in 1976, 38.7% in 1986, 46.4% in 1996, 50.7% in 2007 and 55.9% in 2017. The significant growth between 1986 and 1996 was partly due to the extension of Urban Boundaries which is the case for 2017 as well.