More than 90 per cent of Fijians are happy about the state of the nation’s economy. This is based on the Fiji Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey carried out by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau conducted its survey in 6000 households in which 1980 responded from the Central Division, 480 from Eastern Division, 1160 from Northern – making it 5,467 households interviewed.

The survey was funded by the New Zealand Government with technical support from United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, United Population Fund and the Pacific Community.

The permanent secretary for Economy, Shiri Gounder, welcomed the good news. He said Fiji has ‘done quite well’ having to be compared to the region and even international countries.

“We knew this before, but it’s statistically confirmed now that Fiji is a happy country! Not only this, more than two-thirds expect that life will further improve in one year,” he said while officiating the launch of the report in Suva yesterday.”

“As one of the key users of statistics, we very much appreciate the importance of these stats in national planning and policymaking and also find them useful when we want to measure the success or failure of policy interventions.”

Mr Gounder said the report contained a wealth of data on a wide number of indicators including the 28 Sustainable Development Goals.

“There are many indicators that are being produced for the first time, including drinking water quality, learning skills of children and child functioning,” he said.

“This is not only useful for government agencies but also for development partners, civil society, academia and everyone else involved or interested in improving the quality of life of humankind.”

Bureau acting Chief Executive Officer, Maria Musudroka, said the findings provided data on 165 indicators.

“In support of the objective “Leaving No One Behind” of the 2030 Agenda, MICS allows dis-aggregation by wealth quintiles, age, sex, disability and education status. In particular, dis-aggregation by division,” she said.

Findings from the Report

• 95 per cent of households own mobile phones, with about 80 per cent being able to use the internet quite frequently. It is important as the Government uses mobile phones and ICT to expand information access and service delivery with applications like M-PAiSA and MyCash.
•  Neonatal mortality rate (probability of dying in the first month after birth) and under-five mortality rate, Fiji achieved the SDG targets. n Among countries in the region, Fiji has the highest coverage in antenatal care with 98 per cent of women having at least one visit during their recent pregnancy.
•  Attendance in primary school is universal at 98 per cent, 95 per cent for lower secondary and 71 per cent for upper secondary. The participation rate in organised learning at age five is at 92 per cent. School completion rate in primary is 98 per cent, lower secondary 80 per cent and 55 per cent for upper secondary.
•  89 per cent of students between five to 24 years attending school received school-related support : transport assistance, free tuition or free textbooks- the highest in the region.
•  Among children aged 10 – 14 years foundational reading skills (83 per cent) are better compared to numeracy skills (58 per cent).
•  About 80 per cent of mothers engage in activities with children that promote learning and school readiness compared to 45 per cent of fathers.
•  Some form of violent discipline like shaking, slapping, yelling and using offensive words: 81 per cent aged one to 14 years experienced some form of violent discipline and children living in rural areas are most susceptible to violent discipline.
•  Universal access to basic and safely managed drinking water services- more than 85 per cent have access.
•  Health insurance, the coverage is below 10 per cent- an area that needs further intervention.

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