Claim: The capital of Fiji is Suva on the island Viti Levu.

Suva -LRB- -LSB- ˈsuβa -RSB- -RRB- is the capital and second largest municipality and largest municipality with city status in Fiji . It is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu , in the Rewa Province , Central Division .   Suva is Fiji 's political and administrative capital . It is the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the southern Pacific Ocean and has become an important regional centre . Students from the Pacific region and a growing expatriate community make up a significant portion of the city 's population . According to the Authority of Local Government Act , Suva is governed and administratively looked after by the Suva City Council .   In 1877 , it was decided to make Suva the capital of Fiji , as the geography of former main European settlement at Levuka on the island of Ovalau , Lomaiviti province proved too restrictive . The administration of the colony was moved from Levuka to Suva in 1882 .   At the 2007 census , the city of Suva had a population of 85,691 . Including independent suburbs , the population of the Greater Suva urban area was 172,399 at the 2007 census . Suva , along with the bordering towns of Lami , Nasinu , and Nausori have a total urban population of around 330,000 , over a third of the nation 's population . This urban complex -LRB- not including Lami -RRB- is known also as the Suva -- Nausori corridor .