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Marshall Islands

  • Capital Majuro (7°7´N 171°4´E)
  • International airport(s) Marshall Islands International Airport, Majuro; the Bucholz Army Airfield, Kwajalein
  • Official language(s) Marshallese, English
  • Currency United States dollar (USD)
  • Time UTC +12
  • Region Pacific
GeographyClimateEconomyCulture
The Marshall Islands are situated approximately between the Philippines and Hawaii. More than 1 200 islands and islets in two parallel chains of coral atolls constitute the country: the Ralik, to the west and the Ratak to the east. The chains lie about 200 km apart and extend some 1 287 km northwest to southeast. Most of the atolls consists of irregular, oval‐shaped coral reefs surrounding a lagoon; the islets lie along the coral reef. The islands and islets of the Ratak chain tend to be more heavily wooded than those of the Ralik. The main vegetation consists of coconut and pandanus palms and breadfruit trees. Soils are generally sandy and of poor quality. Several of the northern atolls are uninhabited owing to insufficient rainfall.
The climate is tropical. The average temperature is very stable, with a monthly average of 28 °C through the year. Average annual rainfall in the Marshall Islands is below 2 800 mm and varies from 500 to 800 mm in the north, to 4 000 mm in the southern atolls. September, October and November tend to be the most humid months with a rainfall of more than 280 mm per month, while a drier season occurs between December and April. -—
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Many pacific typhoons begin as tropical storms in the Marshall Islands region and grow stronger as they move west toward the Mariana Islands and the Philippines.
Main activities in the islands include agriculture, fishing, shipping, tourism and farming. The Marshall Islands is among the three leading countries in foreign ship registrations after Panama and Liberia, making ship registration, along with fishing license fees, an important source of revenues. Pig and poultry farming are important agricultural activities, as are the major food crops: coconut, pandanus, breadfruit and taro. Copra is the chief source of income for the outer islands. Key export destinations include Poland, Denmark, Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Cyprus. The country is dependent on imported food, machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods and fuels; primarily from the United States of America, Japan and Australia. Remittances are important, accounting for almost 15 per cent of GDP -—
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. In 2018, inbound tourism expenditure reached almost 10 per cent over GDP. EVI of the Marshall Islands is the second highest among the SIDS and in the world -—
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Extended families and clan systems are common on the islands. Marshallese society is matrilineal where land is passed down from generation to generation through the mother.

Local food specialties include breadfruit, coconut, bananas, papaya, seafood, pandanus and bwiro. Food preservation has been a historic part of Marshallese culture and continues to be practiced today.

Throughout the years of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, United Nations day was an important holiday, but that has now been replaced by Marshall Islands Independence Day. Other important celebrations commemorate the end of suffering during World War II and Kurijmoj (Christmas), a ritual event of up to four months in duration, celebrated by all (not only church members).

The most popular sports in the Marshall Islands are softball and baseball. Both sports are growing at a fast pace. The Marshall Islands achieved a silver medal in men's 200 m and two bronze medals in women's 100 m and 200 m in the Micronesian Games in 2014.
Land areakm2
Arable land%
Forest area%
Coastline
lengthkm
Exclusive economic zonekm2
Nearest
neighbourkm
Economic trendsMaritime transportPopulationInternational tradeEnvironmentInformation and communications technology
Gross domestic product
US dollars at constant prices (2015) in millions
GDP per capita

2019

US$

Productive Capacity Index

2018

Economic and environmental vulnerability index

2019

Consumer Price Index growth

2019

%

Unemployment
rate

Total %
Female %, Male %
Main economic sectors, 2019
Percentage of GDP
Tourist arrivals
Thousands of tourists, percentage of GDP
External financial resources
Percentage of GDP
Public debt as % of GDP

2018

%

Fleet size
Number of ships
Ship type20112019
Total fleet1 4071 407
Oil tankers264266
Bulk carriers311333
General cargo16177
Container ships5249
Other types of ships619682
Port performance
Ranked by 2019 data within SIDS group
Indicators2019SIDS Ranking
Number of port calls10132
Median time in port (days)18
Average age of vessels1521
Average size (GT) of vessels11 55622
Container port throuput

2019

TEU

Bilateral connectivity index, 2019
Top 5 partners
Liner shipping connectivity index
Maximum China Q1 2006=100
Total population
Thousands of people, share of urban population
Population development indicators
IndicatorsPeriodValue
Poverty headcount (% of population)....
Human development index20180.7
Human assets index202079
Adult literacy rate (15+ years, both sexes %)....
Gender inequality index20100.6
Life expectancy at birth

years

Population density

2019

persons per km2
Dependency
ratio

2019

Child:
Old-age:
Age structure by gender, 2019
Percentage of total population
Merchandise and services trade
US dollars in millions
Indicators20052010201520192019 (% of GDP)
Merchandise exports2532525523.2
Merchandise imports941501086828.6
Services exports00000
Services imports00000
Trade openness
Goods and services

% of GDP

Export concentration index

2019

Food import
dependency
Average 2015-2019

Top 5 partners in merchandise trade, 2019
Exports in millions US dollars
Merchandise exports by product group, 2019
Services exports by category, 2019
CO2 emissions per capita
Kg per capita
CO2 emissions per GDP
Kg per 2010 US$ of GDP
Renewable energy share in total energy consumption, 2017
Percentage of total energy consumption
Material
footprint
per capita

2016

kg

Terrestrial
protected
area

2018

%

Marine
protected
area

2018

%

Disasters indicators
Data not available
Trade in ICT goods

Exports: %
Imports: %
Trade in ICT services

Exports: %
Imports: %
Share of
internet users

%

Fixed broadband vs Mobile broadband subscriptions
Number of subscriptions per 100 people
Sources
Source of data: -—
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except indicators listed below.
References
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