Languages: Marshallese 98% (two major dialects from the
Malayo-Polynesian family), English widely spoken as a second
language (both official); Japanese
Religions: Protestant 55%, Assembly of God 26%, Roman
Catholic 8%, Bukot nan Jesus 3%, Mormon 2%, other Christian 4%, none
2% (1999)
Literacy rate: 94% (1999)
Economic summary:GDP/PPP (2001
est.): $115 million; per capita $1,600. Real growth rate: 1%.
Inflation: 2%. Unemployment: 30.9% (1999 est.).
Arable land: 11%. Agriculture: coconuts, tomatoes,
melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens. Labor
force: 28,700 (1996 est); agriculture 21.4%, industry 20.9%,
services 57.7% (1997). Industries: copra, tuna processing,
tourism, craft items from seashells, wood, and pearls. Natural
resources: coconut products, marine products, deep seabed
minerals. Exports: $9 million (f.o.b., 2000): copra cake,
coconut oil, handicrafts, fish. Imports: $54 million (f.o.b.,
2000): foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages, and
tobacco. Major trading partners: U.S., Japan, Australia,
China, New Zealand, Singapore, Fiji, Philippines (2004).
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 4,186 (2001); mobile cellular: 489 (2001). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2002).
Radios: n.a. Television broadcast stations: 2 (both
are US military stations) (2002). Televisions: n.a.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2002). Internet
users: 900 (2002).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km.
Highways: total: n.a.; paved: 64.5 km; unpaved: n.a.; note:
paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-,
coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks (2002). Ports and
harbors: Majuro. Airports: 15 (2002).
International disputes: claims U.S.
territory of Wake Island.
The Marshall Islands, east of the Carolines, are divided into two
chains: the western, or Ralik, group, including the atolls Jaluit,
Kwajalein, Wotho, Bikini, and Eniwetok; and the eastern, or Ratak, group,
including the atolls Mili, Majuro, Maloelap, Wotje, and Likiep. The
islands are of the coral-reef type and rise only a few feet above sea
level. The Marshall Islands comprise an area slightly larger than
Washington, DC.
Government
Constitutional government in free association with the U.S.
History
Micronesian peoples were the first inhabitants of the archipelago. The
islands were explored by the Spanish in the 16th century and were named
for a British captain in 1788. Germany unsuccessfully attempted to
colonize the islands in 1885. Japan claimed them in 1914, but after
several battles during World War II, the U.S. seized them from the
Japanese. In 1947, the UN made the island group, along with the Mariana
and Caroline archipelagos, a U.S. trust territory.
U.S. nuclear testing took place between 1946 and 1958 on the islands of
Bikini and Eniwetok. The people of Bikini were removed to another island,
and a total of 23 U.S. atomic and hydrogen bomb tests were conducted.
Despite cleanup attempts, the islands remain uninhabited today because of
nuclear contamination. The U.S. paid the islands $183.7 million in damages
in 1983, and in 1999, the U.S. approved a one-time $3.8-million payment to
the relocated people of Bikini atoll.
The United States and the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free
Association in 1986, which meant the islands became self-governing but
would receive U.S. military and economic aid, roughly $65 million a year.
The Marshall Islands were admitted to the UN on Sept. 17, 1991.
Kwajalein atoll is the site of an American military base and has been
used for missile defense testing since the 1960s.
In 2000, Kessai Note became the first commoner to become
president—his predecessors had been island chiefs. He ran on an
anticorruption ticket and is attempting to make his small nation more
self-sufficient. In 2003, the U.S. and the Marshall Islands agreed on a
new Compact of Free Association, an extension of the lease to use the
Kwajalein military base in exchange for economic aid. In Jan. 2004,
parliament reelected President Note.
