:Marshall Islands Geography

Total area:
    181.3 km2
Land area:
    181.3 km2; includes the atolls of Bikini, Eniwetok, and Kwajalein
Comparative area:
    slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
    none
Coastline:
    370.4 km
Maritime claims:
  Contiguous zone:
    24 nm
  Exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    claims US territory of Wake Island
Climate:
    wet season May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt
Terrain:
    low coral limestone and sand islands
Natural resources:
    phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals
Land use:
    arable land 0%; permanent crops 60%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and
    woodland 0%; other 40%
Environment:
    occasionally subject to typhoons; two archipelagic island chains of 30
    atolls and 1,152 islands
Note:
    located 3,825 km southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific Ocean, about
    two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and Papua New Guinea; Bikini and
    Eniwetok are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War
    II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range

:Marshall Islands People

Population:
    50,004 (July 1992), growth rate 3.9% (1992)
Birth rate:
    47 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    52 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    61 years male, 64 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    7.0 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Marshallese (singular and plural); adjective - Marshallese
Ethnic divisions:
    almost entirely Micronesian
Religions:
    predominantly Christian, mostly Protestant
Languages:
    English universally spoken and is the official language; two major
    Marshallese dialects from Malayo-Polynesian family; Japanese
Literacy:
    93% (male 100%, female 88%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
Labor force:
    4,800 (1986)
Organized labor:
    none

:Marshall Islands Government

Long-form name:
    Republic of the Marshall Islands
Type:
    constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of
    Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986
Capital:
    Majuro
Administrative divisions:
    none
Independence:
    21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship; formerly the
    Marshall Islands District of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Constitution:
    1 May 1979
Legal system:
    based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal,
    common, and customary laws
National holiday:
    Proclamation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1 May (1979)
Executive branch:
    president, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    unicameral Nitijela (parliament)
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State and Head of Government:
    President Amata KABUA (since 1979)
Political parties and leaders:
    no formal parties; President KABUA is chief political (and traditional)
    leader
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18
Elections:
  President:
    last held 6 January 1992 (next to be held NA; results - President Amata
    KABUA was reelected
  Parliament:
    last held 18 November 1991 (next to be held November 1995); results -
    percent of vote NA; seats - (33 total)
Member of:
    AsDB, ESCAP (associate), ICAO, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Wilfred I. KENDALL; Chancery at 2433 Massachusetts Avenue, NW,
    Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-5414
  US:
    Ambassador William BODDE, Jr.; Embassy at NA address (mailing address is P.
    O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379); telephone
    (011) 692-4011; FAX (011) 692-4012
Flag:
    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

:Marshall Islands Economy

Overview:
    Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the economy. Agricultural
    production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial
    crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. A few cattle ranches
    supply the domestic meat market. Small-scale industry is limited to
    handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry is the primary
    source of foreign exchange and employs about 10% of the labor force. The
    islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. In 1987
    the US Government provided grants of $40 million out of the Marshallese
    budget of $55 million.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $63 million, per capita $1,500; real growth rate
    NA% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    NA
Unemployment rate:
    NA%
Budget:
    revenues $55 million; expenditures NA, including capital expenditures of NA
    (1987 est.)
Exports:
    $2.5 million (f.o.b., 1985)
  commodities:
    copra, copra oil, agricultural products, handicrafts
  partners:
    NA
Imports:
    $29.2 million (c.i.f., 1985)
  commodities:
    foodstuffs, beverages, building materials
  partners:
    NA
External debt:
    $NA
Industrial production:
    growth rate NA%
Electricity:
    42,000 kW capacity; 80 million kWh produced, 1,840 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
    copra, fish, tourism; craft items from shell, wood, and pearls; offshore
    banking (embryonic)
Agriculture:
    coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits, copra; pigs, chickens
Economic aid:
    under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US is to provide
    approximately $40 million in aid annually
Currency:
    US currency is used
Exchange rates:
    US currency is used
Fiscal year:
    1 October - 30 September

:Marshall Islands Communications

Highways:
    paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-,
    or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks
Ports:
    Majuro
Merchant marine:
    32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,347,312 GRT/4,630,172 DWT; includes
    2 cargo, 1 container, 9 petroleum tanker, 18 bulk carrier, 2 combination
    ore/oil; note - a flag of convenience registry
Airports:
    17 total, 16 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with runways
    1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    telephone network - 570 lines (Majuro) and 186 (Ebeye); telex services;
    islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used mostly for government
    purposes); broadcast stations - 1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 2 Pacific
    Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; US Government satellite communications system
    on Kwajalein

:Marshall Islands Defense Forces

Note:
    defense is the responsibility of the US