A traditional Fijian village. Image used under license from Shutterstock.com.
Fiji was originally known as Viti Levu, which translated to “the great island.” Its modern name was the result of an error in communication between the Tonga people and Captain James Cook who visited the island in the 1700s.
The island nation of Fiji can be found in Oceania. It shares no land borders with other countries but its closest neighbors are Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Tuvalu. Fiji is home to some of the most stunning tropical landscapes on the planet and has become a tourist hotspot in recent decades.
Economy
Fiji has little in the way of industrial output or access to natural resources. However, this has not stopped the Fijians from utilizing their beautiful country to their own benefit. Tourism makes up the largest aspect of the Fijian economy bringing in billions of dollars each year.
Agriculture used to be the main source of income for Fiji in decades past but this has slowly fallen into second place. The core of Fijian crops are sugarcane, coconuts, and pineapples.
Culture
Fiji is a fascinating blend of dozens of cultures from around the world. At one time, like many countries within Polynesia, Fiji used to be almost entirely homogenous. This changed when the British colonized the island in the 19th century.
As a part of the British Empire, thousands of British subjects from India flooded into Fiji leaving a profound cultural impact on the island. Modern Fiji represents this diverse history in its three modern languages English, Fijian, and Fiji Hindi.
Finland
The name Finland literally means land of the Finns. The Finns themselves do not call their country Finland but rather Suomi. Suomi is also the word they use to refer to the Finnish people.
Located in the north of Europe, Finland has existed in Europe as a kind of phenomenon for centuries. Its language and culture are incredibly distinct from its neighboring influences of Russia and Scandinavia despite being so entwined with both entities throughout its history.
Economy
The economy of Finland is a mostly free market economy that is highly industrialized and has a high dependence on trade, which accounts for about 33% of its gross domestic product. The Finish economy is incredibly diverse and has been ranked as the 7th most complex economy in the world.
Finland is one of the more productive members of the European Union and has managed to maintain a steadily growing economy for the last handful of decades. Any foreseeable slowdown of its economy will come about from its rapidly aging workforce and low birth rate.
Culture
Finland has a very interesting culture that consists of influences that hail from both Western and Eastern Europe. Finland has often found itself on the border between the two halves of the continent and it shows.
The Finnish language is one of the most unique in the world too. It is considered to be a Uralic language and shares little with either Slavic or Scandinavian languages. The only other Uralic languages in Europe are Estonian and Hungarian.
Although there are only three countries on Earth that begin with the letter F, they are each incredibly interesting and influential places in their own right.
Source link : https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/countries-that-start-with-the-letter-f.html
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Publish date : 2024-04-15 07:00:00
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