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MARSHALL ISLANDS

@Marshall Islands:Geography

 Location: Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific
 Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea

 Map references: Oceania

 Area:
 total area: 181.3 sq km
 land area: 181.3 sq km
 comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
 note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Eniwetak, and Kwajalein

 Land boundaries: 0 km

 Coastline: 370.4 km

 Maritime claims:
 contiguous zone: 24 nm
 exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
 territorial sea: 12 nm

 International disputes: claims US territory of 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:
 arable land: 0%
 permanent crops: 60%
 meadows and pastures: 0%
 forest and woodland: 0%
 other: 40%

 Irrigated land: NA sq km

 Environment:
 current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water
 natural hazards: occasional typhoons
 international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law
 of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

 Note: two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands;
 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

@Marshall Islands:People

 Population: 56,157 (July 1995 est.)

 Age structure:
 0-14 years: 51% (female 13,950; male 14,547)
 15-64 years: 47% (female 12,801; male 13,470)
 65 years and over: 2% (female 740; male 649) (July 1995 est.)

 Population growth rate: 3.86% (1995 est.)

 Birth rate: 46.03 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Death rate: 7.48 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Infant mortality rate: 48 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

 Life expectancy at birth:
 total population: 63.49 years
 male: 61.94 years
 female: 65.11 years (1995 est.)

 Total fertility rate: 6.89 children born/woman (1995 est.)

 Nationality:
 noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
 adjective: Marshallese

 Ethnic divisions: Micronesian

 Religions: Christian (mostly Protestant)

 Languages: English (universally spoken and is the official language),
 two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family,
 Japanese

 Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
 total population: 93%
 male: 100%
 female: 88%

 Labor force: 4,800 (1986)
 by occupation: NA

@Marshall Islands:Government

 Names:
 conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
 conventional short form: Marshall Islands
 former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific
 Islands)

 Digraph: RM

 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)

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

 Constitution: 1 May 1979

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

 Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

 Executive branch:
 chief of state and head of government: President Amata KABUA (since
 1979); election last held 6 January 1992 (next to be held NA); results
 - President Amata KABUA was reelected
 cabinet: Cabinet; president selects from the parliament

 Legislative branch: unicameral
 Parliament (Nitijela): elections last held 18 November 1991 (next to
 be held November 1995); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (33
 total) independents 33

 Judicial branch: Supreme Court

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

 Member of: AsDB, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTELSAT
 (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, WHO

 Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission: Ambassador Wilfred I. KENDALL
 chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414
 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236
 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Los Angeles

 US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission: Ambassador David C. FIELDS
 embassy: address NA, Majuro
 mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall
 Islands 96960-1379
 telephone: [692] 247-4011
 FAX: [692] 247-4012

 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. The US Government provides
 about 70% of the budget.

 National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $75 million (1992
 est.)

 National product real growth rate: 6% (1992)

 National product per capita: $1,500 (1992 est.)

 Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1992 est.)

 Unemployment rate: 16% (1991 est.)

 Budget:
 revenues: $106 million
 expenditures: $128.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
 (1993)

 Exports: $3.9 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities: coconut oil, fish, live animals, trichus shells
 partners: US, Japan, Australia

 Imports: $62.9 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
 commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, beverages and
 tobacco, fuels
 partners: US, Japan, Australia

 External debt: $NA

 Industrial production: growth rate NA%

 Electricity:
 capacity: 42,000 kW
 production: 80 million kWh
 consumption per capita: 1,840 kWh (1990)

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

 Agriculture: coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits, pigs, chickens

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

 Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

 Exchange rates: US currency is used

 Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

@Marshall Islands:Transportation

 Railroads: 0 km

 Highways:
 total: NA
 note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise
 stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks

 Ports: Majuro

 Merchant marine:
 total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,205,275 GRT/4,263,247
 DWT
 ships by type: bulk carrier 23, cargo 1, combination ore/oil 1, oil
 tanker 12

 Airports:
 total: 16
 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
 with paved runways under 914 m: 5
 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6

@Marshall Islands:Communications

 Telephone system: 570 telephones (Majuro) and 186 telephones (Ebeye);
 telex services
 local: NA
 intercity: islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used mostly for
 government purposes)
 international: 2 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth stations; US
 Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein

 Radio:
 broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
 radios: NA

 Television:
 broadcast stations: 1
 televisions: NA

@Marshall Islands:Defense Forces

 Branches: no regular military forces; Police

 Note: defense is the responsibility of the US


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