Marshall Islands

 

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs                                      
June 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Marshall Islands                                           
                                      
  A beach near the village of Laura,                                          
  Marshall Islands, April 25, 2007. [©                                        
  AP Images]                                                                  
                                                                       
  Flag of Marshall Islands is blue with two stripes radiating from the lower  
  hoist-side corner - orange on top and white; there is a white star with four
  large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes.       
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Republic of the Marshall Islands                                            
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 181 sq. km. (about 70 sq. mi.) of land area scattered over 750,000 sq.
  mi. of the Western Pacific.                                                 
  Cities: Capital--Majuro (pop. 25,000 in 2005). Other towns--Ebeye (12,000 in
  2005), Jaluit (1,700 est. 2005).                                            
  Terrain: 29 low-lying coral atolls and five single islands.                 
  Climate: Tropical with a wet season from May to November.                   
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun and adjective--Marshallese.                               
  Population (2005 est.): 56,417. (Figures not adjusted for migration to the  
  U.S., where Marshallese colonies of unknown size exist.)                    
  Annual growth rate (2004): 2.27%.                                           
  Ethnic groups: 90% Marshallese, 10% estimated U.S., Filipino, Chinese, New  
  Zealander, Australian, other Micronesian (FSM), Kiribati, Korean, and Fijian.
  Religions: Christian, mostly Protestant.                                    
  Languages: Two major Marshallese dialects from Malayo-Polynesian family;    
  English;                                                                    
  Education: Literacy (2002)--98% (officially based on question, "Do you read 
  the bible?").                                                               
  Health: Infant mortality rate--(2004) 2.3%, under age 5 mortality rate 4.8%.
  Life expectancy--men 65.7 yrs.; women 69.4 yrs.                             
  Work force (14,677: 66% employed, 34% unemployed): Services, including      
  government--64%; construction and services--18%; agriculture and            
  fishing--18%.                                                               
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Parliamentary democracy in free association with the U.S. A Compact of
  Free Association entered into force in 1986 and an Amended Compact entered  
  into force May 1, 2004.                                                     
  Independence: October 21, 1986 from the U.S.-administered UN trusteeship.   
  Constitution: May 1, 1979.                                                  
  Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), cabinet.                   
  Legislative--unicameral parliament (Nitijela) and consultative Council of   
  Iroij (traditional leaders). Judicial--Supreme Court, high court, district  
  and community courts, traditional rights court.                             
  Political parties: United Democratic and Ailin Kein Ad (Our Islands).       
  Suffrage: Universal at age 18.                                              
  Administrative subdivisions: 24 local governments.                          
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (current market prices, 2004): $135.3 million est.                      
  Natural resources: Marine resources, including mariculture and possible deep
  seabed minerals.                                                            
  Agriculture: Products--Copra (dried coconut meat); taro and breadfruit are  
  subsistence crops.                                                          
  Industry: Types--Copra processing, fish processing, tourism, pearl farming, 
  handicrafts.                                                                
  Trade: Major trading partners--U.S., Japan, Australia, China, Hong Kong, New
  Zealand, Taiwan.                                                            
  Official currency: U.S. dollar.                                             
                                                                       
  GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE                                                        
  The Marshall Islands is comprised of 29 atolls and five single islands, which
  form two parallel groups--the "Ratak" (sunrise) chain and the "Ralik"(sunset)
  chain. Two-thirds of the nation's population lives in Majuro and Ebeye. The 
  outer islands are sparsely populated due to lack of employment opportunities
  and economic development.                                                   
                                                                       
  The Marshallese are of Micronesian origin, which is traced to a combination 
  of peoples who emigrated from Southeast Asia in the remote past. The        
  matrilineal Marshallese culture revolves around a complex system of clans and
  lineages tied to land ownership.                                            
                                                                       
  Virtually all Marshallese are Christian, most of them Protestant. Other     
  Christian denominations include Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist,      
  Mormon, Salvation Army, and Jehovah's Witness. A small Bahai community also 
  exists.                                                                     
                                                                       
  Marshallese is the official language. English is spoken to some extent by   
  most of the adult urban population. However, both the Nitijela (parliament) 
  and national radio use Marshallese.                                         
                                                                       
  The public school system provides education through grade 12, although      
  admission to secondary school is selective. The elementary program employs a
  bilingual/bicultural curriculum. English is introduced in the fourth grade. 
  Many Marshallese and American observers have lamented the poor state of the 
  public education system as a major stumbling block to economic development. 
  The Marshall Islands' largest secondary institution--the 2-year College of  
  the Marshall Islands--has experienced U.S. accreditation problems since 2003.
  However, thanks to an increase in funding, it has shown steady improvement  
  since and is heading toward full accreditation. The University of the South 
  Pacific offers courses at a small campus on Majuro.                         
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  Little is clearly understood about the prehistory of the Marshall Islands.  
  Researchers agree on little more than that successive waves of migratory    
  peoples from Southeast Asia spread across the Western Pacific about 3,000   
  years ago and that some of them landed on and remained on these islands. The
  Spanish explorer de Saavedra landed there in 1529. They were named for      
  English explorer John Marshall, who visited them in 1799. The Marshall      
  Islands were claimed by Spain in 1874.                                      
                                                                       
  Germany established a protectorate in 1885 and set up trading stations on the
  islands of Jaluit and Ebon to carry out the flourishing copra (dried coconut
  meat) trade. Marshallese Iroij (high chiefs) continued to rule under indirect
  colonial German administration.                                             
                                                                       
  At the beginning of World War I, Japan assumed control of the Marshall      
  Islands. Their headquarters remained at the German center of administration,
  Jaluit. U.S. Marines and Army troops took control from the Japanese in early
  1944, following intense fighting on Kwajalein and Enewetak atolls. In 1947, 
  the United States, as the occupying power, entered into an agreement with the
  UN Security Council to administer Micronesia, including the Marshall Islands,
  as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.                              
                                                                       
  On May 1, 1979, in recognition of the evolving political status of the      
  Marshall Islands, the United States recognized the constitution of the      
  Marshall Islands and the establishment of the Government of the Republic of 
  the Marshall Islands. The constitution incorporates both American and British
  constitutional concepts.                                                    
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT                                                                  
  The legislative branch of the government consists of the Nitijela           
  (parliament) with an advisory council of high chiefs. The Nitijela has 33   
  members from 24 districts elected for concurrent 4-year terms. Members are  
  called senators. The president is elected by the Nitijela from among its    
  members. Presidents pick cabinet members from the Nitijela. Amata Kabua was 
  elected as the first president of the republic in 1979. Subsequently, he was
  re-elected to 4-year terms in 1983, 1987, 1991, and 1996. After Amata Kabua's
  death in office, his first cousin, Imata Kabua, won a special election in   
  1997. The current president's party was re-elected in the general elections 
  of November 2003, and President Note was reaffirmed in office in January    
  2004.                                                                       
                                                                       
  The Republic of the Marshall Islands has four court systems: Supreme Court, 
  high court, district and community courts, and the traditional rights court.
  Trial is by jury or judge. Jurisdiction of the traditional rights court is  
  limited to cases involving titles or land rights or other disputes arising  
  from customary law and traditional practice.                                
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  Head of State--President Kessai H. Note                                     
  Minister of Foreign Affairs--Gerald Zackios                                 
  Ambassador to the U.S.--Banny de Brum                                       
  Ambassador to the UN--vacant                                                
                                                                       
  The Republic of the Marshall Islands maintains an embassy at 2433           
  Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-234-5414). It has a 
  consulate at 1888 Lusitana St., Suite 301, Honolulu, HI 96813 (tel.         
  808-545-7767), and small embassies in Tokyo, Suva, and Taipei.              
                                                                       
  The Marshall Islands' mission to the United Nations is located at the News  
  Building, 220 E. 42nd St., 31st Floor, New York, NY 10017 (tel.             
  212-983-3040).                                                              
                                                                       
  POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                                        
  Citizens of the Marshall Islands live with a relatively new democratic      
  political system combined with a hierarchical traditional culture. The first
  two presidents were chiefs. Current President Kessai Note is a commoner.    
                                                                       
  There have been a number of local and national elections since the Republic 
  of the Marshall Islands was founded, and in general, democracy has functioned
  well. The United Democratic Party, running on a reform platform, won the 1999
  parliamentary election, taking control of the presidency and cabinet.       
  Elections on November 17, 2003 elected a new Nitijela that took office in   
  January 2004.                                                               
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  The government is the largest employer, employing 64% of the salaried work  
  force. GDP is derived mainly from payments made by the United States under  
  the terms of the Compact of Free Association. Direct U.S. aid accounted for 
  60.2% of the Marshall Islands' $124.6 million budget for FY 2007.           
                                                                       
  The economy combines a small subsistence sector and a modern urban sector. In
  short, fishing and breadfruit, banana, taro, and pandanus cultivation       
  constitute the subsistence sector. On the outer islands, production of copra
  and handicrafts provides some cash income. The modern service-oriented      
  economy is located in Majuro and Ebeye. It is sustained by government       
  expenditures and the U.S. Army installation at Kwajalein Atoll. The airfield
  there also serves as a second national hub for international flights.       
                                                                       
  The modern sector consists of wholesale and retail trade; restaurants;      
  banking and insurance; construction, repair, and professional services; and 
  copra processing. Copra cake and oil are by far the nation's largest exports.
  A tuna loining plant that will employ 500 workers--starting at $1.50 per    
  hour--should reopen in 2007. Copra production, the most important single    
  commercial activity for the past 100 years, now depends on government       
  subsidies. The subsidies, more a social policy than an economic strategy,   
  help reduce migration from outer atolls to densely populated Majuro and     
  Ebeye.                                                                      
                                                                       
  Marine resources, including fishing, aquaculture, tourism development, and  
  agriculture, are top government development priorities. The Marshall Islands
  sells fishing rights to other nations as a source of income. Since 1990, the
  Marshall Islands has offered ship registrations under the Marshall Islands  
  flag. It now registers about 1,400 vessels, the fourth-largest fleet in the 
  world, and receives an income of approximately a million dollars annually. As
  a small nation, the Marshall Islands must import a wide variety of goods,   
  including foodstuffs, consumer goods, machinery, and petroleum products.    
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  While the Government of the Marshall Islands is free to conduct its own     
  foreign relations, it does so under the terms of the Compact of Free        
  Association. Since independence, the Republic of the Marshall Islands has   
  established relations with 67 nations, including most other Pacific Island  
  nations. Regional cooperation, through membership in various regional and   
  international organizations, is a key element in its foreign policy.        
                                                                       
  The Marshall Islands became a member of the United Nations in September 1991.
  The Marshall Islands maintains embassies in the U.S., Fiji, Japan, and      
  Taiwan.                                                                     
                                                                       
  U.S.-MARSHALLESE RELATIONS                                                  
  The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a sovereign nation in "free         
  association" with the United States. After more than a decade of negotiation,
  the Marshall Islands and the United States signed the Compact of Free       
  Association on June 25, 1983. The people of the Marshall Islands approved the
  Compact in a UN-observed plebiscite on September 7, 1983. The U.S. Congress 
  subsequently approved the Compact, adding several amendments which were     
  accepted by the Government of the Marshall Islands, and the Compact entered 
  into force on October 21, 1986. In 1999-2003, the two nations negotiated an 
  Amended Compact that entered into force on May 1, 2004. Under the Amended   
  Compact, the U.S. will provide the Marshall Islands at least $57 million    
  every year until 2023, including contributions to a jointly managed Trust   
  Fund. Marshallese will continue to have access to many U.S. programs and    
  services. A Joint Economic Management and Financial Accountability Committee
  (JEMFAC) comprised of representatives of both governments will ensure that  
  Compact assistance funds are spent effectively.                             
                                                                       
  Under the Compact, the United States has full authority and responsibility  
  for security and defense of the Marshall Islands, and the Government of the 
  Marshall Islands is obligated to refrain from taking actions that would be  
  incompatible with these security and defense responsibilities.              
                                                                       
  The Department of Defense, under a subsidiary government-to-government      
  agreement of the original Compact, has use of the lagoon and several islands
  on Kwajalein Atoll. The atoll consists of approximately 90 islets around the
  largest lagoon in the world. The original agreement allowed the United States
  continued use of the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) missile test range   
  until 2016. An amendment to that agreement, extending U.S. rights until 2066
  with an option until 2086, was negotiated in conjunction with the Amended   
  Compact. Another major subsidiary agreement of the original Compact provides
  for settlement of all claims arising from the U.S. nuclear tests conducted at
  Bikini and Enewetak Atolls from 1946 to 1958. Under the terms of free       
  association, more than 40 U.S. Government agencies such as the Federal      
  Aviation Administration, U.S. Postal Service, the Small Business            
  Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency operate programs
  or render assistance to the Marshall Islands.                               
                                                                       
  The United States and the Marshall Islands have full diplomatic relations.  
  The Marshall Islands has expressed an interest in attracting U.S. investment.
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Embassy Officials                                            
  Ambassador--Clyde Bishop                                                    
  Deputy Chief of Mission/Consul--Doug Morris                                 
  IPO/General Services Officer--Thomas B. De Mott                             
  Office Manager--Darlene Korok                                               
  Political/Economic Officer--Adam Mitchell                                   
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy in the Marshall Islands is located on Long Island, Majuro  
  (tel. 692-247-4011, fax 692-247-4012). Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1379,      
  Majuro, MH 96960-1379.                                                      
                                                                       
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  Further Electronic Information                                              
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