Ba is a province of Fiji, occupying the north-western sector of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is one of fourteen provinces in the nation of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu. It is Fiji's most populous province, with a population of 247,708 – more than a quarter of the nation's total – at the 2017 census.[1] It covers a land area of 2,634 km2 (1,017 sq mi), the largest of any province.
Ba Province includes 109 villages and 152 settlements across the 21 districts including Yasawa, Savatu, Qaliyalatina, Nadi, Rukuruku, Sabeto, Vitogo and Vuda.
The city of Lautoka and the Yasawa Archipelago, off the western coast of Viti Levu, are also in Ba Province.
Notable residents of Ba Province include Fiji's former president, Ratu Josefa Iloilo and the former Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, Ratu Ovini Bokini. Former prime ministers Timoci Bavadra and Mahendra Chaudhry, both of whom were deposed in coups and Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, were also from Ba Province.
Vuda Point, in Ba Province, is the traditional landing of the canoes that brought the Melanesian ancestors of the Fijian people to the islands. .
The province is governed by a Provincial Council, which is chaired by Ratu Meli Tora Tavaiqia.
References
- ↑ Fiji Bureau of Statistics (5 January 2018). "2017 Population and Housing Census". Census 2017. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
