| Background: |
After almost four
decades under US administration as the easternmost part of
the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall
Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of
Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result
of US nuclear testing on some of the islands between 1947
and 1962. |
| Location: |
Oceania, group of
atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half
of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
9 00 N, 168 00 E |
| Area: |
total:
181.3 sq km
land: 181.3 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak,
and Kwajalein |
| Area
- comparative: |
about the size of
Washington, DC |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
wet season from
May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt |
| Terrain: |
low coral
limestone and sand islands |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
| Natural
resources: |
phosphate
deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
0%
permanent crops: 60%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 40% |
| Natural
hazards: |
occasional
typhoons |
| Environment
- current issues: |
inadequate
supplies of potable water |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the
Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol |
| Geography
- note: |
two archipelagic
island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and
Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the
famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US
missile test range |
| Population: |
70,822 (July 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
49.29% (male 17,808; female 17,101)
15-64 years: 48.61% (male 17,573; female
16,853)
65 years and over: 2.1% (male 707; female 780)
(2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
3.88% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
45.07
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
6.23 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
39.82
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 65.84 years
male: 64.04 years
female: 67.73 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
6.55 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Marshallese (singular and plural)
adjective: Marshallese |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Micronesian |
| Religions: |
Christian (mostly
Protestant) |
| Languages: |
English
(universally spoken and is the official language), two major
Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family,
Japanese |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93%
male: 100%
female: 88% (1980 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
conventional short form: Marshall Islands
former: Marshall Islands District (Trust
Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
| Government
type: |
constitutional
government in free association with the US; the Compact of
Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986 |
| Administrative
divisions: |
33
municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur,
Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit,
Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap,
Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae,
Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje |
| Independence: |
21 October 1986
(from the US-administered UN trusteeship) |
| National
holiday: |
Constitution Day,
1 May (1979) |
| Legal
system: |
based on adapted
Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal,
common, and customary laws |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January
2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE
(since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the
chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from
among the members of Parliament
elections: president elected by Parliament from
among its own members for a four-year term; election last
held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003)
election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected
president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular
vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 November 1999 (next to
be held NA November 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - NA
note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body
that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court;
High Court |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
traditionally
there have been no formally organized political parties;
what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest
groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal
platforms, or party structures; the following two
"groupings" have competed in legislative balloting
in recent years - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United
Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ACP, AsDB, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca,
SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Banny DE BRUM
chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414
FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236
consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Joan M. PLAISTED
embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island,
Majuro
mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro,
Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379
telephone: [692] 247-4011
FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
| Flag
description: |
blue with two
stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange
(top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays
and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes |
| Economy
- overview: |
US Government
assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy.
Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and
the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes,
melons, and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to
handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist
industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing
less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for
future added income. The islands have few natural resources,
and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the
Compact of Free Association, the US provides roughly $65
million in annual aid. Negotiations were underway in 1999
for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a
drop in construction, and the decline in tourism and foreign
investment due to the Asian financial difficulties caused
GDP to fall in 1996-98. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $105 million (1998 est.), supplemented by
approximately $65 million annual US aid |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
-5% (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $1,670 (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
15%
industry: 13%
services: 72% (1995) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
5% (1997) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture NA%,
industry NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
16% (1991 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$80.1 million
expenditures: $77.4 million, including capital
expenditures of $19.5 million (FY95/96 est.) |
| Industries: |
copra, fish,
tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls, offshore
banking (embryonic) |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA% |
| Agriculture
- products: |
coconuts,
tomatoes, melons, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs,
chickens |
| Exports: |
$28 million
(f.o.b., 1997 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
fish, coconut
oil, trochus shells |
| Exports
- partners: |
US, Japan,
Australia |
| Imports: |
$58 million
(f.o.b., 1997 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs,
machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco |
| Imports
- partners: |
US, Japan,
Australia, NZ, Guam, Singapore |
| Debt
- external: |
$125 million
(FY96/97 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
approximately $65
million annually from the US |
| Currency: |
US dollar (USD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
the US dollar is
used |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 October - 30
September |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
3,000 (1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
365 (1996) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: telex services
domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein
islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones;
other islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone
(used mostly for government purposes)
international: satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite
communications system on Kwajalein |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 3, FM 4,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
3 (of which two
are US military stations) (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.mh |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
500 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro,
Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced
roads and tracks |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Majuro |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,768,406 GRT/16,242,699
DWT
ships by type: bulk 63, cargo 9, chemical
tanker 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 29, liquefied
gas 10, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum
tanker 87, vehicle carrier 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships
registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 1, Germany
1, Japan 1, US 6 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
12
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
no regular
military forces (a coast guard may be established); Police
Force |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Military
- note: |
defense is the
responsibility of the US |
| Disputes
- international: |
claims US
territory of Wake Island |
|
