Fiji is located in the center of the South Pacific island world and consists of more than 330 islands, of which more than 100 are permanently inhabited. Compared to other Pacific states, the archipelago is huge: the land area is more than twice as large as that of all the islands of Samoa, French Polynesia, Tonga and the Cook Islands combined. Fiji, which is also called the "hub of the South Pacific", is located in the border area between Polynesia and Melanesia. Here live representatives of European, Chinese and above all Indian cultures. Pope John Paul II once described the peaceful coexistence of the different peoples of Fiji as "hope for the world". After various military coups in the past 15 years, however, there are more frequent ethnic conflicts here. Taveuni is the third largest of the Fiji Islands. It is also known as "Garden Island": 60 percent of the area is covered with tropical rainforest. At the highest point of the island rainfall of up to 10,000 millimeters per year results. This makes Taveuni one of the rainiest regions in the world. The island is located exactly on the 180th longitude.