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$Unique_ID{COW02356}
$Pretitle{294I}
$Title{Marshall Islands
Statistical Profile of the Marshall Islands}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Central Intelligence Agency}
$Affiliation{United States Government}
$Subject{islands
rate
government
million
na
majuro
marshall
copra
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Map of Marshall Islands*0235601.scf
}
Country: Marshall Islands
Book: CIA World Factbook
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Affiliation: United States Government
Date: 1990
[See Map of Marshall Islands]
Statistical Profile of the Marshall Islands
Geography
Total area: 181.3 km2; land area: 181.3 km2; includes the atolls
of Bikini, Eniwetak, and Kwajalein
Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 370.4 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200 meters
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims US-administered 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: 0% arable land; 60% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 40% other
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
Eniwetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II
battleground, is now used as a US missile-test range
People
Population: 42,018 (July 1989), growth rate 3.4% (1989)
Birth rate: 39 births/1,000 population (1989)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1989)
Infant mortality rate: 43 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 75 years female (1989)
Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (1989)
Nationality: noun--Marshallese; adjective--Marshallese
Ethnic divisions: almost entirely Micronesian
Religion: predominantly Christian, mostly Protestant
Language: English universally spoken and is the official language;
two major Marshallese dialects from Malayo-Polynesian family; Japanese
Literacy: 90%
Labor force: 4,800 (1986)
Organized labor: none
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)
Branches: parliamentary type of government with legislative authority
vested in the 33-member Nitijela (parliament) and a Council of Iroij
(or chiefs), a consultative body; supreme court, high court
Leader: Chief of State Head of Government Amata KABUA,
President (since 1979)
Suffrage: universal over age 18
Elections: Nitijela (parliament) elections every four years (last
elections held November 1987)
Political parties and leaders: no formal parties; President Kabua
is chief political (and traditional) leader
Communists: none
Member of: SPF, ESCAP (associate)
Diplomatic representation: Representative Wilfred I. KENDALL;
Representative Office at Suite 1004, 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 223-4952;
US--Representative Samuel B. THOMSEN; US Office at NA address (mailing
address is P. O. Box 680, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960);
telephone 692-9-3348
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
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: $31.9 million, per capita $1,000; real growth rate 6.3% (1981)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.6% (1981)
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: 12,000 kW capacity; 10 million kWh produced, 250 kWh per
capita (1988)
Industries: copra, fish, tourism; craft items from shell, wood, and pearl;
offshore banking (embryonic)
Agriculture: coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits, copra; pigs,
chickens
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
Communications
Highways: macadam and concrete roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein),
otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks
Ports: Majuro
Merchant marine: 2 tankers (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 413,657
GRT/834,690 DWT; note--a flag of convenience registry
Airports: 5 total, 5 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
5 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); stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave;
2 satellite communications system terminals (Majuro and Ebeye); US Government
satellite communications system on Kwajalein
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US