A NATIONWIDE survey has found that the rising cost of living is the overwhelming concern for Fijians ahead of the 2026–2027 National Budget.
The study, conducted by Dialogue Fiji between March and April 2026, surveyed 1266 respondents across all four divisions through field interviews and online participation to inform pre-budget consultations.
“The cost of living was selected by 49.2 per cent of respondents – nearly one in two Fijians,” the survey report stated.
“This result reflects a near-consensus national diagnosis: the primary economic problem facing the country is the erosion of household purchasing power.”
The report highlighted a significant gap between the top concern and other issues.
“The gap between this and the second-ranked concern (crime and drugs, 18.0 per cent) is striking: cost of living commands more than two and a half times the response rate of the next-ranked issue.”
Crime and drugs emerged as the second biggest concern.
“Crime and drugs ranked second at 18.0 per cent, signalling that law and order has become a major community concern alongside economic pressures.”
Unemployment followed as the third key issue.
“Unemployment and lack of jobs ranked third (9.6 per cent), completing a triad of economic and social stressors.”
The survey also pointed to regional variations, with cost-of-living dominating concerns in the Central, Western and Northern divisions.
“In the Central Division, cost of living (50.7 per cent) and crime/drugs (17.8 per cent) dominate,” adding that similar trends were observed across other divisions.
The findings will be submitted to the Ministry of Finance to support inclusive and evidence-based budget planning.
