Central Division

Central Division contains Suva—Fiji's capital, largest city, and administrative-academic hub on Viti Levu's southeastern coast. The division concentrates government functions, the University of the South Pacific (the region's premier institution), banking, and commercial services. While Western Division captures tourism dollars, Central Division captures state-building functions: ministries, courts, foreign embassies, and the machinery of Pacific regional governance. Fiji's economy recovered fully from the pandemic by 2024, with tourism driving 3.4% projected GDP growth, but the pattern has plateaued: ANZ Research forecasts 2.8% growth in 2025 and 2.6% in 2026, with stronger performance from 2027 when new tourism capacity comes online. Remittances surged to FJD 1.231 billion in 2024 (up 12.3%), reflecting a counter-trend: over 25,000 Fijians (3% of the population) emigrated in the year to 2023—the highest since records began. Central Division experiences this brain drain acutely, losing professionals to Australia and New Zealand's labor mobility schemes. With Fiji's population at ~950,000 (2025), the division anchors a small-island developing state that punches above its weight regionally but struggles to retain the talent it educates.