Marshall Islands

Geography

Location: Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean. Area: 181.3 sq. km (This includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik). Princi­pal cities: Majuro. Tourist attrac­tions: Alele Museum & Public Library, Arno Atoll and Laura. Time zone: GMT+12 hours.

People

Population: 61,815 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 2.207% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 1.04 male(s)/fe-male (2007 est.). Religions: Christian (mostly Protestant). Languages: English (widely spoken as a second language, both English and Marshallese are official languages), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese. Literacy rate: Total 93.7%, Male 93.6%, Female 93.7% (1999). Infant mortality rate: 27.3 deaths/ 1000 live births. (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 70.61 years, Male 68.61 years, Female 72.71 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Majuro. National anthem:
Forever Marshall Islands. Government type: Constitutional government in free association with the US. Independence: 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship). Legal system: Based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws. Executive branch: Chief of state: President Kessai Hesa Note (since 5 January 2004). The president is both the chief of state and head of govern­ment. Legislative branch: Marshall Is­lands has a unicameral parliament or Nitijela of 33 seats. Judicial branch: Su­preme court; High court and tradi­tional rights court.

Economy

Currency: US Dollar. Currency con­version: US dollar per Indian rupee— 0.0248 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$1 15 million (2001 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 3.5% (2007 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$2,900 (2005 est.). Inflation rate: 3% (2005 est.). Exports: $9.1 million f.o.b. (2000). Imports: $54.7 million f.o.b. (2000). External debt: $86.5 million (FY99/00 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: None. Roads: 64.5 km. Airports: Marshall Islands International Airports. Telephones: 4,500 (2003). Mobile cellular: 1,198 (2004). Internet users: 2,000 (2005). Internet country code: .mh. ISD code: 692.