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 247,685 – more than a quarter of the nation's total – at the 2017 census. It covers a land area of , the largest of any 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.
Demographics Ba Province includes 109 villages and 152 settlements across the 8 districts. The city of Lautoka in Vuda District and the Yasawa Archipelago, off the western coast of Viti Levu, are also in Ba Province.
2017 Census Tikina(District) Ethnicity Total iTaukei % Indo-Fijian % Other % Ba 14,590 37.1 24,343 61.8 439 1.1 39,372 Magodro 3,568 74.2 1,227 25.5 11 0.2 4,806 Nadi 27,555 46.1 28,916 48.4 3,246 5.4 59,717 Naviti 2,833 97.4 54 1.9 23 0.8 2,910 Nawaka 9,020 56.0 6,897 42.8 204 1.30 16,121 Tavua 13,466 57.9 9,374 40.3 429 1.8 23,269 Vuda 49,602 50.0 45,770 46.1 3,892 3.9 99,264 Yasawa 2,191 98.4 21 0.9 14 0.56 2,226 Province 122,825 49.6 116,602 47.1 8,258 3.3 247,685
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.
The province is governed by a Provincial Council, which is chaired by Ratu Meli Tora Tavaiqia.
References