Fiji is located in the Southern Hemisphere, surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean and lies 5,100 km (3,169 miles) southwest of Hawaii and 8,850 km (5,500 miles) from Los Angeles, 3,150 km (1,957 miles) northeast of Sydney, Australia and 1,770 km (1,100 miles) north of New Zealand. Fiji is one of the first countries to welcome a new day and even though the 180th degree meridian line cuts right through the Fijian archipelago, the International Date Line goes around it to the east, so the whole country can share the same date and time, UTC/GMT +12 hours.
Located at 18 00 S, 175 00 E, with a total land area of 18,274 square km, most of Fiji is mountainous of volcanic origin. With 332 islands, of which approximately 110 are uninhabited, Fiji’s coastline spans 1,129 km. The highest elevation in the country is 1,324 metres and more than half of the country is forest.
Viti Levu, the largest island, covers about 57% of the nation’s land area, hosting two cities, the capital Suva and Lautoka, and most other major towns including Nadi, the site of the international airport.
Vanua Levu, 64 km to the north of Viti Levu, covers just over 30% of the land area. Its main towns are Labasa and Savusavu.