Marshall Islands

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. <br><br>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.

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

9 00 N, 168 00 E

Oceania

about the size of Washington, D.C.

370.4 km

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

low coral limestone and sand islands

coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals

0 sq km (2022)

most people live in urban clusters on many of the country's islands; more than two thirds of the population lives on the atolls of Majuro and Ebeye

infrequent typhoons

Kwajalein atoll surrounds the world's largest lagoon; the island city of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the Pacific

Marshallese 95.6%, Filipino 1.1%, other 3.3% (2021 est.)

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.)

1.22% (2025 est.)

20.81 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-4.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

most people live in urban clusters on many of the country's islands; more than two thirds of the population lives on the atolls of Majuro and Ebeye

31,000 MAJURO (capital) (2018)

155 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.62 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.28 (2025 est.)

0.47 physicians/1,000 population (2012)

52.9% (2016)

11.9% (2017 est.)

68.3% (2022 est.)

inadequate potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels; sea-level rise

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

293,700 metric tonnes of CO2 (2017 est.)

7.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

mixed presidential-parliamentary system in free association with the US

24 municipalities; Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikini &amp; Kili, Ebon, Enewetak &amp; Ujelang, Jabat, Jaluit, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Ujae, Utrik, Wotho, Wotje

mixed system of US and English common law, customary law, and local statutes

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, WHO

21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

Constitution Day, 1 May (1979)

<strong>description:</strong> blue with an orange stripe and a white stripe radiating from the lower-left corner to the upper-right corner; a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays appears on the left side above the two stripes<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> blue stands for the Pacific Ocean, orange for the Ralik Chain (or sunset and courage), and white for the Ratak Chain (or sunrise and peace); the star symbolizes the Christian cross, with a small ray for each electoral district and a larger ray for the principal cultural centers of Majuro, Jaluit, Wotje, and Ebeye; the diagonal stripes can also be interpreted as representing the equator, with the star showing the archipelago's position

a 24-rayed star

blue, white, orange

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

$280.358 million (2024 est.)

coconuts (2023)

copra, tuna processing, tourism, craft items (from seashells, wood, and pearls)

-2.8% (2023 est.)

7.2% (2019 est.)

17.2% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

UK 16%, Germany 13%, Denmark 10%, Ghana 9%, Cyprus 9% (2023)

ships, refined petroleum, fish, natural gas, stone processing machines (2023)

China 47%, Japan 15%, Germany 5%, Brazil 4%, Cyprus 4% (2023)

ships, refined petroleum, additive manufacturing machines, iron structures, crude petroleum (2023)

<p>the US dollar is used</p>

no TV broadcast station; a cable network is available on Majuro with programming via videotape replay and satellite relays; 4 radio broadcast stations; US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) provides satellite radio and TV service to Kwajalein Atoll (2019)

.mh

V7

33 (2025)

Marshall Islands Police Department (includes a Sea Patrol Division)

defense is the responsibility of the US; in 1982, the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US, which granted the Marshall Islands financial assistance and access to many US domestic programs in exchange for exclusive US military access and defense responsibilities; the COFA entered into force in 1986; the Marshall Islands hosts a US Army missile test site <br><br>the Marshall Islands has a "shiprider" agreement with the US, which allows local maritime law enforcement officers to embark on US Coast Guard (USCG) and US Navy (USN) vessels, including to board and search vessels suspected of violating laws or regulations within its designated exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the high seas; "shiprider" agreements also enable USCG personnel and USN vessels with embarked USCG law enforcement personnel to work with host nations to protect critical regional resources (2025)