Marshall Islands

• 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

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

highest point:

East-central Airik Island, Maloelap Atoll 14 m

lowest point:

Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation:

2 m

• the islands of Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites;
• Kwajalein atoll, famous as a World War II battleground, surrounds the world's largest lagoon and is used as a US missile test range;
• 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

noun:

Marshallese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Marshallese

total:

25.1 years (2023 est.)

male:

25 years

female:

25.2 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.96 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

21.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

24.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

17.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

74.9 years (2023 est.)

male:

72.7 years

female:

77.3 years

total:

28.5% (2020 est.)

male:

48.7% (2020 est.)

female:

8.3% (2020 est.)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

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

urban population:

78.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.61% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

7.21 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

0.14 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

0.03 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

8,614 tons (2013 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

2,653 tons (2007 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

30.8% (2007 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of the Marshall Islands

conventional short form:

Marshall Islands

local long form:

Republic of the Marshall Islands

local short form:

Marshall Islands

former:

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Marshall Islands District

abbreviation:

RMI

etymology:

named after British Captain John MARSHALL, who charted many of the islands in 1788

name:

• Majuro;
• note - the capital is an atoll of 64 islands;
• governmental buildings are housed on three fused islands on the eastern side of the atoll:
  • Djarrit,
  • Uliga,
  • and Delap

geographic coordinates:

7 06 N, 171 23 E

time difference:

UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

Majuro means "two openings" or "two eyes" and refers to the two major northern passages through the atoll into the Majuro lagoon

history:

effective 1 May 1979

amendments:

• proposed by the National Parliament or by a constitutional convention;
• passage by Parliament requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the total membership in each of two readings and approval by a majority of votes in a referendum;
• amendments submitted by a constitutional convention require approval of at least two thirds of votes in a referendum;
• amended several times, last in 2018

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of the Marshall Islands

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President David KABUA (since 13 January 2020); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President David KABUA (since 13 January 2020)

cabinet:

Cabinet nominated by the president from among members of the Nitijela, appointed by Nitijela speaker

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by the Nitijela from among its members for a 4-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 6 January 2020 (next to be held in 2024)

election results:

David KABUA elected president; National Parliament vote - David KABUA 20, Hilda C. HEINE 12

description:

unicameral National Parliament consists of:;

• Nitijela (33 seats; members in 19 single- and 5 multi-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms);
• note - the Council of Iroij, a 12-member group of tribal leaders advises the Presidential Cabinet and reviews legislation affecting customary law or any traditional practice);
• members appointed to serve 1-year terms

elections:

last held on 18 November 2019 (next to be held on 20 November 2023)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - independent 33;
• composition - men 31, women 2, percent of women 6.1%

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 2 associate justices)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges appointed by the Cabinet upon the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (consists of the chief justice of the High Court, the attorney general and a private citizen selected by the Cabinet) and upon approval of the Nitijela;
• the current chief justice, appointed in 2013, serves for 10 years;
• Marshallese citizens appointed as justices serve until retirement at age 72

subordinate courts:

• High Court;
• District Courts;
• Traditional Rights Court;
• Community Courts

• 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

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Dixie LOMAE (since 1 September 2023)

chancery:

2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-5414

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-3236

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.rmiembassyus.org/

consulate(s) general:

Honolulu, Springdale (AR)

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lance POSEY (since 18 August 2023)

embassy:

Mejen Weto, Ocean Side, Majuro

mailing address:

4380 Majuro Place, Washington DC 20521-4380

telephone:

[692] 247-4011

FAX:

[692] 247-4012

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://mh.usembassy.gov/

• blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white;
• a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays appears on the hoist side above the two stripes;
• blue represents the Pacific Ocean, the orange stripe signifies the Ralik Chain or sunset and courage, while the white stripe signifies the Ratak Chain or sunrise and peace;
• the star symbolizes the cross of Christianity, each of the 24 rays designates one of the electoral districts in the country and the four larger rays highlight the principal cultural centers of Majuro, Jaluit, Wotje, and Ebeye;
• the rising diagonal band can also be interpreted as representing the equator, with the star showing the archipelago's position just to the north

name:

"Forever Marshall Islands"

lyrics/music:

Amata KABUA

note: adopted 1981

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site

• 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

total:

26% (2019 est.)

male:

31%

female:

14.2%

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

• the National Telecommunications Act, through Bill No. 66, ushered in a new era in telecommunications in the Marshall Islands;
• this will enable an open, competitive market for telecommunications that is regulated by a Telecommunications Commissioner;
• telecom officials announced that they would be able to offer satellite internet services beginning in mid-2023;
• the World Bank has been promoting telecommunications reform here for a decade and has a multi-million-dollar telecommunications reform grant program in progress (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line roughly 5 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular is nearly 38 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 692;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean);
• US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein

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

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 3

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

24,313 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

130,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

2,028 km (2007)

paved:

75 km (2007)

unpaved:

1,953 km

total:

4,042 (2022)

by type:

bulk carrier 1,879 container ship 276, general cargo 62, oil tanker 1023, other 802

• no regular military forces;
• the national police (Marshall Islands Police Department, MIPD), local police forces, and the Sea Patrol (maritime police) maintain internal security;
• the MIPD and Sea Patrol report to the Ministry of Justice;
• local police report to their respective local government councils (2023)

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List — Marshall Islands does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so;
• officials identified a labor trafficking victim, conducted awareness-raising activities, and continued to investigate a government official allegedly complicit in trafficking;
• however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous reporting period, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity;
• the government did not prosecute any traffickers for the third consecutive year and has not convicted any traffickers since 2011;
• officials did not use standard operating procedures to identify trafficking victims and penalized victims for immigration offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked;
• law enforcement officials, who have a limited understanding of trafficking, did not receive anti-trafficking training, nor did the government provide adequate financial and technical resources for anti-trafficking efforts;
• therefore, Marshall Islands was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2023)

trafficking profile:

• human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in the Marshall lslands, as well as Marshallese victims abroad;
• traffickers, including hotel and bar staff and family members, recruit and transport Marshallese and East Asian women and girls and exploit them in sex trafficking in the Marshall Islands with foreign construction workers and crew members of foreign fishing and commercial ships;
• traffickers exploit some foreign fishermen under conditions indicative of forced labor on ships in Marshallese waters;
• foreign women, including some Chinese nationals, are recruited with promises of work, are forced into commercial sex in establishments frequented by crew members of China-affiliated and other foreign fishing vessels;
• traffickers exploit Chinese nationals in Chinese-owned businesses;
• some wealthier or more powerful family members use traditional cultural practices to exploit impoverished Marshallese from outer Islands to serve as indentured labor;
• limited reports indicate some Marshallese searching for work in the US experience indicators of trafficking, such as passport confiscation, excessive work hours, and fraudulent recruitment, while some Marshallese children are transported to the US and exploited in situations of sexual abuse with indicators of sex trafficking (2023)