Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Indo-Fijian emigration discussed in Suva

Posted at 04:45 on 27 November, 2009 UTC

A symposium at the University of the South Pacific in Suva has been told emigration and declining fertility rates have caused the Indo-Fijian population to plummet.

The population decreased by 13 per cent from 1966 to 2007 and there are predictions it could fall another 26 per cent by 2030.

Fiji Times reports that a USP economic lecturer, Dharma Chandra released the figures at a population and development symposium this week.

She says fewer women over 40 are having children while many between the ages of 15 and 25 are leaving the country to seek opportunities, including marriage.