Overview
Humans arrived in the Marshall Islands in the first millennium B.C. and gradually created permanent settlements on the various atolls. The early inhabitants were skilled navigators who frequently traveled between atolls using stick charts to map the islands. Society became organized under two paramount chiefs, one each for the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain and the Ralik (Sunset) Chain. Spain formally claimed the islands in 1592. Germany established a supply station on Jaluit Atoll and bought the islands from Spain in 1884, although paramount chiefs continued to rule. Japan seized the Marshall Islands in 1914 and was granted a League of Nations Mandate to administer the islands in 1920. The US captured the islands in heavy fighting during World War II, and the islands came under US administration as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) in 1947. Between 1946 and 1958, the US resettled populations from Bikini and Enewetak Atolls and conducted 67 nuclear tests; people from Ailinginae, Rongelap, and Utrik Atolls were also evacuated because of nuclear fallout, and Bikini and Rongelap remain largely uninhabited. In 1979, the Marshall Islands drafted a constitution separate from the rest of the TTPI and declared independence under President Amata KABUA, a paramount chief. In 2000, Kessai NOTE became the first commoner elected president. In 2016, Hilda HEINE was the first woman elected president.
Geography
- Location
- Oceania, consists of 29 atolls and five isolated islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia; the atolls and islands are situated in two, almost-parallel island chains - the Ratak (Sunrise) group and the Ralik (Sunset) group; the total number of islands and islets is about 1,225; 22 of the atolls and four of the islands are uninhabited
- Total Area
- 181 sq km
- Climate
- tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt
- Terrain
- low coral limestone and sand islands
- Natural Resources
- coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals
- Coastline
- 370.4 km
- Land Borders
- 0 km
People & Society
- Population
- 82,011 (2024 est.)
- Religions
- Protestant 79.3% (United Church of Christ 47.9%, Assembly of God 14.1%, Full Gospel 5%, Bukot Nan Jesus 3%, Salvation Army 2.3%, Reformed Congressional Church 2.2%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.7%, New Beginning Church 1.4%, other Protestant 1.6%), Roman Catholic 9.3%, Church of Jesus Christ 5.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, other 3.3%, none 1.1% (2021 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Marshallese 95.6%, Filipino 1.1%, other 3.3% (2021 est.)
- Life Expectancy
- 75.2 years (2024 est.)
- Literacy Rate
- 95.8% (2021 est.)
- Urbanization
- 78.9% of total population (2023)
Government
- Government Type
- mixed presidential-parliamentary system in free association with the US
- Capital
- Majuro
- Independence
- 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
- Constitution
- effective 1 May 1979
- Legal System
- mixed system of US and English common law, customary law, and local statutes
- Executive Branch
- President Hilda C. HEINE (since 3 January 2023)
Economy
- Economic Overview
- upper middle-income Pacific island economy; US aid reliance; large public sector; coconut oil production as diesel fuel substitute; growing offshore banking locale; fishing rights seller; import-dependent
- GDP (Official Rate)
- $280.358 million (2024 est.)
- Major Industries
- copra, tuna processing, tourism, craft items (from seashells, wood, and pearls)