Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of fully or partially South Asian descent, including descendants who trace their heritage from various regions of the Indian subcontinent.
Are people from Fiji considered Polynesian?
Fiji is now classified as both Polynesian and Melanesian.
Are Indo-Fijians Pacific Islanders?
Fijian-Indians living in New Zealand are opposing moves by the government to classify them as Asians and not Pacific Islanders. The 2018 Census shows just over 15,000 people identify with the Fijian-Indian ethnic group - an increase of about 5,000 from the 2013 count.Apr 1, 2021
Where did Indians from Fiji come from?
Indians were first introduced to Fiji in the 1880s, and between 1879 and 1916 over 60,000 indentured labourers came from various parts of India to work in the cane plantations. Many other Pacific islanders came at the same time, but most returned.
Are Indo-Fijians Polynesian?
The population consists of two principal ethnic groups: the indigenous Melanesian population or those of mixed Melanesian-Polynesian origin (subsequently referred to as indigenous Fijians), who now constitute a majority of the population (475,739, 56.8 per cent), and the Indo-Fijian (commonly referred to as Indian)
What race are Fiji Indians?
Although the indigenous Fijian people are usually classified as ethnically Melanesian, their social and political organization is closer to that of Polynesia, and there has been a high level of intermarriage between Fijians from the Lau group of islands of eastern Fiji and the neighbouring Polynesian islands of Tonga.
What is the most common ethnicity in Fiji?
Demographics of Fiji
--------------------
Major ethnic
Minor ethnic
Language
Official
What is the percentage of Hindu in Fiji?
Most Indian Fijians, who account for 37 percent of the total population, are Hindu, while an estimated 20 percent are Muslim and 6 percent Christian.
Are there Indian people in Fiji?
The Indians in Fiji are the third and fourth generation descendants of the British crown colony. India's relations with Fiji commenced in 1879 when Indian labourers were taken there under indentured system to work on sugarcane plantations. Fiji has a small but growing Indian expatriate (around 400) population.Jan 5, 2006