CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Marshall Islands


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!| Background:
 * After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962. The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Reagan Missile Test Site, a key installation in the US missile defense network.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik water: 0 sq km land: 181.3 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 38.89% other: 44.44% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
 * 9 00 N, 168 00 E
 * Oceania
 * total: 181.3 sq km
 * about the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 370.4 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical; hot and humid; wet season from May to November; islands border typhoon belt
 * low coral limestone and sand islands
 * lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
 * coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals
 * arable land: 16.67%
 * 0 sq km
 * infrequent typhoons
 * inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
 * two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 58.7% (male 17,380; female 16,520) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 748; female 809) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 19.6 years female: 19.6 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 26.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 34.19 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 67.77 years female: 71.73 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Marshallese !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 93.7% male: 93.6% female: 93.7% (1999)
 * 57,738 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 38.6% (male 11,347; female 10,934)
 * total: 19.6 years
 * 2.29% (2004 est.)
 * 33.88 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 4.94 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 30.5 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 69.7 years
 * 4.02 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
 * Micronesian
 * Christian (mostly Protestant)
 * English (widely spoken as a second language, both English and Marshallese are official languages), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held NA November 2007) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% !| Legislative branch: elections: last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held not later than November 2007) note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Honolulu FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
 * constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004
 * Majuro
 * 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje
 * 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
 * Constitution Day, 1 May (1979)
 * 1 May 1979
 * based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
 * unicameral Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
 * Supreme Court; High Court
 * 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; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING]
 * NA
 * ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Banny DE BRUM
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Greta N. MORRIS
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 16% services: 70% (2000 est.) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $40 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production is primarily subsistence and is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US has provided more than $1 billion in aid since 1986. Negotiations have continued for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties, and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade.
 * purchasing power parity - $115 million (2001 est.)
 * 1% (2001 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2001 est.)
 * agriculture: 14%
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 2% (2001 est.)
 * 28,700 (1996 est.)
 * agriculture 21.4%, industry 20.9%, services 57.7%
 * 30.9% (1999 est.)
 * revenues: $42 million
 * coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens
 * copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls
 * NA
 * $9 million f.o.b. (2000)
 * copra cake, coconut oil, handicrafts, fish
 * US, Japan, Australia, China (2000)
 * $54 million f.o.b. (2000)
 * foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco
 * US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Singapore, Fiji, China, Philippines (2000)
 * $86.5 million (FY99/00 est.)
 * more than $1 billion from the US, 1986-2002
 * US dollar (USD)
 * USD
 * the US dollar is the legal tender
 * 1 October - 30 September
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: country code - 692; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein (2001) !| Radio broadcast stations: note: additionally, the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Services (Central Pacific Network) operate one FM and one AM station on Kwajalein (2002) !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 4,500 (2003)
 * 600 (2002)
 * general assessment: digital switching equipment; modern services include telex, cellular, internet, international calling, caller ID, and leased data circuits
 * AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0
 * NA
 * 2 (both are US military stations) (2002)
 * NA
 * .mh
 * 6 (2003)
 * 1 (2002)
 * 1,400 (2003)
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!| Highways: paved: 64.5 km unpaved: NA km note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks (2002) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 81, cargo 25, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 7, container 77, liquefied gas 9, multi-functional large load carrier 5, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 149, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 7, vehicle carrier 4 registered in other countries: 50 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: Australia 2, Chile 3, Croatia 2, Cyprus 10, Denmark 2, Germany 119, Greece 82, Hong Kong 12, India 2, Japan 16, Monaco 18, Netherlands 6, New Zealand 1, Norway 5, Poland 11, Singapore 1, Slovenia 1, Switzerland 4, Thailand 2, Turkey 8, United Kingdom 10, United States 92 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: NA km
 * Majuro
 * total: 420 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,954,092 GRT/28,176,762 DWT
 * 15 (2003 est.)
 * total: 4
 * total: 11
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!| Military branches: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: !| Military - note:
 * no regular military forces; Marshall Islands Police
 * NA
 * NA
 * defense is the responsibility of the US
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