It lies on Suva Point between the mouth of the Rewa River (east) and Suva Harbour (west), a regular stop for transpacific shipping. The city has road and air connections with Nadi (Nandi), some 130 miles (210 km) west, the site of an international airport. Suva's economic activities include tourism (encouraged by its status as a free port) and light manufacturing such as cigarette making and soapmaking, copra crushing, baking, and brewing. The government is by far the largest local employer. The Government Buildings (1939), which today house most state ministries, were once headquarters for Britain's South Pacific colonies.

The city is home to the country's newspaper and periodical publishers and its broadcasting facilities. Media are available in Fijian, Hindi, and English, reflecting the city's mixed population. Suva is the site of the Fiji School of Medicine (1885), the main campus of the University of the South Pacific (1968), the Pacific Theological College (1966, Protestant), and the Pacific Regional Seminary (1972, Roman Catholic), all of which serve a large area of the South Pacific. The city also has a teachers' training college, an institute of technology, and hospitals. Diplomatic missions are based in Suva, as are several regional organizations, such as the Pacific Islands Forum and a regional office of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (Pacific Community, Secretariat of the). The Fiji Museum houses notable historical and ethnological collections. Pop. (2007) city, 86,178; urban agglom., 219,759.