The World Factbook (1990)/Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
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See regional map X
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: 24 nm
- 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: 43,417 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990)
Birth rate: 39 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 43 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 75 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (1990)
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)
Executive branch: president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Nitijela)
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 NA November 1987 (next to be held November 1991); results—President Amata Kabua was reelected;
Parliament—last held NA November 1987 (next to be held November 1991); results—percent of vote NA; seats—(33 total)
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: $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