Marshall Islands

Airports

17 total, 16 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Highways

paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks

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

Ports

Majuro

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

Note

defense is the responsibility of the US

Agriculture

coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits, copra; pigs, chickens

Budget

revenues $55 million; expenditures NA, including capital expenditures of NA (1987 est.)

Currency

US currency is used

Economic aid

under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US is to provide approximately $40 million in aid annually

Electricity

42,000 kW capacity; 80 million kWh produced, 1,840 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

US currency is used

Exports

$2.5 million (f.o.b., 1985) commodities: copra, copra oil, agricultural products, handicrafts partners: NA

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

1 October - 30 September

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $63 million, per capita $1,500; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)

Imports

$29.2 million (c.i.f., 1985) commodities: foodstuffs, beverages, building materials partners: NA

Industrial production

growth rate NA%

Industries

copra, fish, tourism; craft items from shell, wood, and pearls; offshore banking (embryonic)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA

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.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

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

Coastline

370.4 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Washington, DC

Disputes

claims US territory of Wake Island

Environment

occasionally subject to typhoons; two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands

Land area

181.3 km2; includes the atolls of Bikini, Eniwetok, and Kwajalein

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 0%; permanent crops 60%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 40%

Maritime claims

Contiguous zone: 24 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals

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

Terrain

low coral limestone and sand islands

Total area

181.3 km2

Administrative divisions

none

Capital

Majuro

Constitution

1 May 1979

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

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)

Executive branch

president, Cabinet

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

Independence

21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship; formerly the Marshall Islands District of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government: President Amata KABUA (since 1979)

Legal system

based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws

Legislative branch

unicameral Nitijela (parliament)

Long-form name

Republic of the Marshall Islands

Member of

AsDB, ESCAP (associate), ICAO, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD

National holiday

Proclamation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1 May (1979)

Political parties and leaders

no formal parties; President KABUA is chief political (and traditional) leader

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986

Birth rate

47 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

almost entirely Micronesian

Infant mortality rate

52 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

4,800 (1986)

Languages

English universally spoken and is the official language; two major Marshallese dialects from Malayo-Polynesian family; Japanese

Life expectancy at birth

61 years male, 64 years female (1992)

Literacy

93% (male 100%, female 88%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)

Nationality

noun - Marshallese (singular and plural); adjective - Marshallese

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

none

Population

50,004 (July 1992), growth rate 3.9% (1992)

Religions

predominantly Christian, mostly Protestant

Total fertility rate

7.0 children born/woman (1992)