Fijian households are facing multiple, overlapping challenges, with new survey findings showing that hardship is both widespread and deeply interconnected.
The Dialogue Fiji National Budget 2026–2027 Public Priorities Survey found that nearly half of respondents — 49.8 per cent — struggled to pay for food and basic items over the past 12 months.
“This directly corroborates earlier findings on food price pressures,” the report noted, pointing to a consistent pattern of financial strain across households.
The data also revealed that only 5.8 per cent of respondents reported experiencing none of the listed problems, meaning the vast majority of Fijians faced at least one major challenge — and many experienced several at the same time.
Poor road conditions were reported by 38.4 per cent of respondents, while 32.4 per cent cited crime or insecurity and 29.5 per cent reported water supply interruptions.
“These figures indicate structural service delivery failures affecting large segments of the population,” the report stated.
Economic pressures remain significant, with 27.6 per cent reporting job loss or reduced income, while 23.1 per cent said they had difficulty accessing health services.
Climate or disaster-related impacts affected 19.1 per cent of households, while 16.1 per cent cited education costs as a key pressure.
Dialogue Fiji said the findings highlight a “multi-dimensional” burden on households, where economic, social and infrastructure challenges intersect.
The report warned that the scale and overlap of these issues underscore the need for coordinated policy responses, particularly as the Government prepares its 2026–2027 National Budget.
“The results paint a picture of pervasive hardship,” the report said, adding that addressing one issue in isolation would not be sufficient to ease the pressures facing Fijian families.
