|
Description Marshall Islands by rbd.me
|
|
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.
|
|
Location
|
|
Oceania, two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia
|
|
Area - comparative
|
|
about the size of Washington, DC
|
|
Natural resources Marshall Islands
|
|
low coral limestone and sand islands
|
|
Population Marshall Islands
|
|
65,859 (July 2010 est.)
|
|
Religions Marshall Islands
|
|
Protestant 54.8%, Assembly of God 25.8%, Roman Catholic 8.4%, Bukot nan Jesus 2.8%, Mormon 2.1%, other Christian 3.6%, other 1%, none 1.5% (1999 census)
|
|
Languages
|
|
Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
|
|
Education Marshall Islands expenditures
|
|
11.8% of GDP (2004)
|
|
Government Marshall Islands type
|
|
constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force on 21 October 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004
|
|
Independence
|
|
21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
|
|
Marshall Islands Economy - overview
|
|
US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. The Marshall Islands received more than $1 billion in aid from the US from 1986-2002. Agricultural production, primarily subsistence, 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 Amended Compact of Free Association, the US will provide millions of dollars per year to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2023, at which time a Trust Fund made up of US and RMI contributions will begin perpetual annual payouts. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism, and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade.
|
|
Investment Marshall Islands
|
|
coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens
|
|
Industries Marshall Islands
|
|
4,400 (2008)
|
|
Airports Marshall Islands
|
|
|
