Tourism has expanded rapidly since the early 1980s and is the leading economic activity in the islands. Approximately 445,000 people visited Fiji in 2004. About one-third came from Australia, with large contingents also coming from New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. More than 70,000 of the tourists were American, a number that has steadily increased since the start of regularly scheduled nonstop air service from Los Angeles. In 2004, Fiji's gross earnings from tourism were about $430 million, an amount double the revenue from its two largest goods exports (sugar and garments). Gross earnings from tourism continue to be Fiji's major source of foreign currency.

Fiji runs a persistently large trade deficit, although its tourism revenue yields a services surplus. Australia accounts for between 35% and 45% of Fiji's trade, with New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan varying year-by-year between 5% and 15% each. Fiji's two largest exports are sugar and garments, with each accounting for about one-quarter of export revenue in 2004--roughly $145 million each. The potential collapse of Fiji's sugar industry, due to quality concerns, poor administration, and the phasing out of a preferential price agreement with the European Union possibly beginning in 2005, also poses a major threat to Fiji's already uncertain economic well-being. The Fijian garment industry has developed rapidly since the introduction of tax exemptions in 1988. The industry's output has increased nearly ten-fold since that time, but the lower labor costs of Chinese competitors, the softening of a trade preference agreement with Australia, and elimination of quota restrictions imposed on competing nations by the U.S., have resulted in closures of most garment factories in the country.

Other important export crops include coconuts and ginger, although production levels of both are declining. Fiji has extensive mahogany timber reserves, which are only now being exploited. Fishing is an important export and local food source. Gold and silver are also exported.  The most important manufacturing activities are the processing of sugar and fish. Since 2000 the export of still mineral water, mainly to the United States, has expanded rapidly. By mid-2004, it was more than $35 million per year.

Since the 1960s, Fiji has had a high rate of emigration, particularly of Indo-Fijians in search of better economic opportunities. This has been particularly true of persons with education and skills. The economic and political uncertainty following the 1987 and 2000 coups added to the outward flow by persons of all ethnic groups. In recent years, indigenous Fijians also have begun to emigrate in large numbers, often to seek employment as home health care workers. Unemployment is high, and wages are very low. Advertised white-collar job openings often attract hundreds of applicants, many of whom are well-qualified. 

Other long-term economic problems include low investment rates and uncertain property rights. Investment laws are being reviewed to make them more business-friendly, including a relaxation of work permit requirements. Investor confidence in Fiji dropped significantly immediately after the coup in 2000. However, in April 2002, Moody's Investor's Service upgraded its Ba2 sovereign rating of Fiji from negative to stable, noting that despite continuing domestic political uncertainties, the country's external financial position had weathered the past 2 year's volatility without significant deterioration. External liquidity remained adequate.