phone (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: $63 million, per capita $1,500; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)
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, 240 kWh per capita (1989)
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: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 475,968 GRT/949,888 DWT; includes 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 bulk carrier; 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 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the
US
Martinique (overseas department of France)
_Martinique.jpg)
See regional map III
Geography
Total area: 1,100 km²; land area: 1,060
km²
Comparative area: slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 290 km
Maritime claims:
- Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
Natural resources: coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land
Land use: 10% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 30% meadows and pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 26% other; includes 5% irrigated
Environment: subject to hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity that result in an average of one major natural disaster every five years
Note: located 625 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea
People
Population: 340,381 (July 1990), growth
rate 0.9% (1990)
Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 11 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)
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