Airports [time series]

5 total, 5 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Merchant marine [time series]

23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,654,871 GRT/3,236,549 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 3 container, 7 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 11 bulk carrier; note--a flag of convenience registry

Ports [time series]

Majuro

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

telephone network--570 lines (Majuro) and 186 (Ebeye); telex services; islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used mostly for government purposes); stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein

Note [time series]

defense is the responsibility of the US

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

US currency is used

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

US currency is used

Exports [time series]

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

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$NA

Fiscal year [time series]

1 October-30 September

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

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

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate NA%

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

5.6% (1981)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 [time series]

NA%

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

370.4 km Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Washington, DC

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

claims US territory of Wake Island

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals

Note [time series]

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 Eniwetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range

Terrain [time series]

low coral limestone and sand islands

Area (Total area) [time series]

181.3 km2; land area: 181.3 km2; includes the atolls of Bikini, Eniwetak, and Kwajalein

Administrative divisions [time series]

none

Capital [time series]

Majuro

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

none

Constitution [time series]

1 May 1979

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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 680, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-4380); telephone 692-4011

Executive branch [time series]

president, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State and Head of Government--President Amata KABUA (since 1979)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Nitijela

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of the Marshall Islands

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

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

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 President--last held NA November 1987 (next to be held November 1991); results--President Amata KABUA was reelected; Parliament--last held NA November 1987 (next to be held November 1991); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(33 total)

Government type (Type) [time series]

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

Birth rate [time series]

47 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

almost entirely Micronesian

Infant mortality rate [time series]

53 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

4,800 (1986)

Languages (Language) [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

61 years male, 64 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun--Marshallese; adjective--Marshallese

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

none

Population [time series]

48,091 (July 1991), growth rate 3.9% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

predominantly Christian, mostly Protestant

Total fertility rate [time series]

7.1 children born/woman (1991)