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 atolls between 1947 and 1962. The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll Reagan Missile Test Site, a key installation in the US missile defense network. Kwajalein also hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas (the others are on Ascension (Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha), Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), and at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US)) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system.

Oceania, two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia

9 00 N, 168 00 E

Oceania

about the size of Washington, DC

0 km

370.4 km

tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt

low coral limestone and sand islands

highest point: East-central Airik Island, Maloelap Atoll 14 m

coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals

arable land 7.8%; permanent crops 31.2%; permanent pasture 11.7%

0 sq km (2012)

most people live in urban clusters found on many of the country's islands; more than two-thirds of the population lives on the atolls of Majuro and Ebeye

infrequent typhoons

inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels

the islands of Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein atoll, famous as a World War II battleground, surrounds the world's largest lagoon and is used as a US missile test range; the island city of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the Pacific

74,539 (July 2017 est.)

Marshallese 92.1%, mixed Marshallese 5.9%, other 2% (2006)

Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)

Protestant 54.8%, Assembly of God 25.8%, Roman Catholic 8.4%, Bukot nan Jesus 2.8%, Mormon 2.1%, other Christian 3.6%, other 1%, none 1.5% (1999 census)

1.55% (2017 est.)

24.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

4.2 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

-4.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

most people live in urban clusters found on many of the country's islands; more than two-thirds of the population lives on the atolls of Majuro and Ebeye

MAJURO (capital) 31,000 (2014)

20.7 years

3.03 children born/woman (2017 est.)

44.6% (2007)

17.1% of GDP (2014)

0.46 physicians/1,000 population (2012)

2.7 beds/1,000 population (2010)

urban: 93.5% of population

rural: 97.6% of population

total: 94.6% of population

urban: 6.5% of population

rural: 2.4% of population

total: 5.4% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 84.5% of population

rural: 56.2% of population

total: 76.9% of population

urban: 15.5% of population

rural: 43.8% of population

total: 23.1% of population (2015 est.)

NA

NA

NA

52.9% (2016)

presidential republic in free association with the US

24 municipalities; Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikini & Kili, Ebon, Enewetak & Ujelang, Jabat, Jaluit, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namdrik, Namu, Rongelap, Ujae, Utrik, Wotho, Wotje

21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

Constitution Day, 1 May (1979)

effective 1 May 1979; amended several times, last in 1995 (2016)

mixed legal system of US and English common law, customary law, and local statutes

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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 - Aelon Kein Ad Party [Michael KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING]

NA

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO

blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays appears on the hoist side above the two stripes; blue represents the Pacific Ocean, the orange stripe signifies the Ralik Chain or sunset and courage, while the white stripe signifies the Ratak Chain or sunrise and peace; the star symbolizes the cross of Christianity, each of the 24 rays designates one of the electoral districts in the country and the four larger rays highlight the principal cultural centers of Majuro, Jaluit, Wotje, and Ebeye; the rising diagonal band can also be interpreted as representing the equator, with the star showing the archipelago's position just to the north

a 24-rayed star; national colors: blue, white, orange

US assistance and lease payments for the use of Kwajalein Atoll as a US military base are the mainstay of this small island country. Agricultural production, primarily subsistence, is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. Tourism holds some potential. The islands and atolls have few natural resources, and imports exceed exports.

The Marshall Islands received roughly $1 billion in aid from the US during the period 1986-2001 under the original Compact of Free Association (Compact). In 2002 and 2003, the US and the Marshall Islands renegotiated the Compact's financial package for a 20-year period, 2004 to 2024. Under the amended Compact, the Marshall Islands will receive roughly $1.5 billion in direct US assistance. Under the amended Compact, the US and Marshall Islands are also jointly funding a Trust Fund for the people of the Marshall Islands that will provide an income stream beyond 2024, when direct Compact aid ends.

$182 million (2016 est.)

$177 million (2015 est.)

$171 million (2014 est.)

$194 million (2016 est.)

2% (2016 est.)

1.9% (2015 est.)

-0.4% (2014 est.)

$3,400 (2016 est.)

$3,300 (2015 est.)

$3,200 (2014 est.)

coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens

copra, tuna processing, tourism, craft items (from seashells, wood, and pearls)

NA%

10,670 (2013 est.)

36% (2006 est.)

30.9% (2000 est.)

NA%

63.8% of GDP (2013 est.)

1.5% of GDP (2013 est.)

32.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

34.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

1 October - 30 September

-1.5% (2016 est.)

-2.2% (2015 est.)

$17 million (2016 est.)

$26.62 million (2015 est.)

$53.7 million (2013 est.)

$47.21 million (2015 est.)

copra cake, coconut oil, handicrafts, fish

$133.7 million (2013 est.)

$120.9 million (2015 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages, tobacco

$97.96 million (2013 est.)

$87 million (2008 est.)

the US dollar is used

620 million kWh (2015 est.)

576.6 million kWh (2015 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

52,000 kW (2015 est.)

80.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

19.2% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

2,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

2,060 bbl/day (2014 est.)

300,000 Mt (2013 est.)

no TV broadcast station; a cable network is available on Majuro with programming via videotape replay and satellite relays; 4 radio broadcast stations; American Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) provides satellite radio and television service to Kwajalein Atoll (2009)

.mh

V7 (2016)

15 (2013)

no regular military forces; Marshall Islands Police (2012)

defense is the responsibility of the US

claims US territory of Wake Island