Marshall Islands facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ (Marshallese)
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 Seal
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Motto: "Jepilpilin ke ejukaan"
"Accomplishment through joint effort" |
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Anthem: "Forever Marshall Islands"
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_(Polynesia_centered).svg) |
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| Capital and largest city
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Majuro 7°7′N 171°4′E / 7.117°N 171.067°E |
| Official languages |
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| Ethnic groups
(2021)
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| Religion
(2021)
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| Demonym(s) | Marshallese |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency |
| Hilda Heine | |
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• Speaker
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Brenson S. Wase |
| Legislature | Nitijela |
| Independence
from the United States
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• Self-government
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May 1, 1979 |
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• Compact of Free Association
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October 21, 1986 |
| Area | |
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• Total
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181.43 km2 (70.05 sq mi) (189th) |
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• Water (%)
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n/a (negligible) |
| Population | |
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• 2021 census
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42,418 |
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• Density
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233/km2 (603.5/sq mi) (47th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate |
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• Total
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$215 million |
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• Per capita
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$3,789 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
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• Total
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$220 million |
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• Per capita
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$3,866 |
| HDI (2022) |  0.731high · 102nd |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (MHT) |
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• Summer (DST)
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not observed |
| Date format | MM/DD/YYYY |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +692 |
| ISO 3166 code | MH |
| Internet TLD | .mh |
The Marshall Islands (Marshallese: Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Marshallese: Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ), is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 coral atolls and five main islands as well as 1,220 other very small ones, divided across two island chains: Ratak in the east and Ralik in the west. 97.87% of its territory is water, the largest proportion of water to land of any sovereign state. The country shares maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and the Federated States of Micronesia to the west. The capital and largest city is Majuro, home to approximately half of the country's population. The Marshall Islands are one of only four atoll based nations in the entire world.
Contents
History
Austronesian settlers reached the Marshall Islands as early as the 2nd millennium BC and introduced Southeast Asian crops, including coconuts, giant swamp taro, and breadfruit, as well as domesticated chickens, which made the islands permanently habitable. Several Spanish expeditions visited the islands in the mid-16th century, but Spanish galleons usually sailed a Pacific route farther north and avoided the Marshalls. European maps and charts named the group for British captain John Marshall, who explored the region in 1788. American Protestant missionaries and Western business interests began arriving in the 1850s. German copra traders dominated the economy in the 1870s and 1880s, and the German Empire annexed the Marshalls as a protectorate in 1885.
The Empire of Japan occupied the islands in the autumn of 1914 at the beginning of World War I. After the war, the Marshalls and other former German Pacific colonies north of the equator became the Japanese South Seas Mandate. The United States occupied the islands during World War II and administered them as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands after the war. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll.
The U.S. government formed the Congress of Micronesia in 1965, a plan for increased self-governance of Pacific islands. In May 1979, the United States gave the Marshall Islands independence by recognizing its constitution and president, Amata Kabua. Full sovereignty or self-government was achieved in a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Marshall Islands has been a member of the Pacific Community (PC) since 1983 and a United Nations member state since 1991.
Geography
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The Marshall Islands sit atop ancient submerged volcanoes rising from the ocean floor, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States of Micronesia, and south of the disputed U.S. territory of Wake Island, to which it also lays claim. The atolls and islands form two groups: the Ratak (sunrise) and the Ralik (sunset). The two island chains lie approximately parallel to one another, running northwest to southeast, comprising about 750,000 square miles (1,900,000 km2) of ocean but only about 70 square miles (180 km2) of land mass. Each includes 15 to 18 islands and atolls.
The country consists of a total of 29 atolls and five individual islands situated in about 180,000 square miles (470,000 km2) of the Pacific. The largest atoll with a land area of 6 square miles (16 km2) is Kwajalein. It surrounds a 655-square-mile (1,700 km2) lagoon.
Twenty-four of the atolls and islands are inhabited. The remaining atolls are uninhabited due to poor living conditions, lack of rain, or nuclear contamination. The uninhabited atolls are:
- Ailinginae Atoll
- Bikar (Bikaar) Atoll
- Bikini Atoll
- Bokak Atoll
- Erikub Atoll
- Jemo Island
- Nadikdik Atoll
- Rongerik Atoll
- Toke Atoll
- Ujelang Atoll
The average altitude above sea level for the entire country is 7 feet (2.1 m).
Shark sanctuary
In October 2011, the government declared that an area covering nearly 2,000,000 square kilometers (772,000 sq mi) of ocean shall be reserved as a shark sanctuary. This is the world's largest shark sanctuary, extending the worldwide ocean area in which sharks are protected from 2,700,000 to 4,600,000 square kilometers (1,042,000 to 1,776,000 sq mi). In protected waters, all shark fishing is banned and all by-catch must be released. However, some have questioned the ability of the Marshall Islands to enforce this zone.
Territorial claim on Wake Island
The Marshall Islands also lays claim to Wake Island based on oral legends. While Wake Island has been administered by the United States since 1899, the Marshallese government refers to it by the name Ānen Kio (new orthography) or Enen-kio (old orthography). The United States does not recognize this claim.
Climate
The climate has a relatively dry season from December to April and a wet season from May to November. Many Pacific typhoons begin as tropical storms in the Marshall Islands region and grow stronger as they move west toward the Mariana Islands and the Philippines.
Population has outstripped the supply of fresh water, usually from rainfall. The northern atolls get 50 inches (1,300 mm) of rainfall annually; the southern atolls about twice that. The threat of drought is commonplace throughout the island chains.
Fauna
Birds
Most birds found in the Marshall Islands, with the exception of those few introduced by humans, are either sea birds or migratory species. There are about 70 species of birds, including 31 seabirds. 15 of these species actually nest locally. Sea birds include the black noddy and the white tern. The only land bird is the house sparrow, introduced by humans.
Marine
There are about 300 species of fish, 250 of which are reef fish.
- Turtles: green turtles, hawksbill, Leatherback sea turtles, and Olive ridley sea turtles.
- Sharks: There are at least 22 shark species including: Blue shark, Silky shark, Bigeye thresher shark, Pelagic thresher shark, Oceanic whitetip shark, and Tawny nurse shark.
Arthropods
- Scorpions: dwarf wood scorpion, and Common house scorpion. Pseudoscorpions are occasionally found.
- Spiders: Two: a scytodes, Dictis striatipes; and Jaluiticola, a genus of jumping spiders endemic to the Marshall Islands. Its only species is Jaluiticola hesslei.
- Amphipod: One – Talorchestia spinipalma.
- Orthoptera: cockroaches, American cockroaches, short-horned grasshopper, crickets.
- Crabs include hermit crabs, and coconut crabs.
Demographics
Most residents of the Marshall Islands are Marshallese. Marshallese people are of Micronesian origin and are believed to have migrated from Asia to the Marshall Islands several thousand years ago.
The official languages of the Marshall Islands are English and Marshallese. Both languages are widely spoken.
Almost the entire population of the islands practices some religion: three-quarters of the country follows either the United Church of Christ – Congregational in the Marshall Islands (UCCCMI) or the Assemblies of God.
Government
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Politically, the Marshall Islands is a parliamentary republic with an executive presidency in free association with the United States, with the U.S. providing defense, subsidies, and access to U.S.-based agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the United States Postal Service. In January 2016, senator Hilda Heine was elected by Parliament as the first female president of the Marshall Islands.
Legislative power lies with the Nitijela. The Council of Iroij is an advisory body comprising twelve paramount chiefs. The executive branch consists of the President and the Presidential Cabinet, which consists of ten ministers appointed by the President with the approval of the Nitijela. The twenty-four electoral districts into which the country is divided correspond to the inhabited islands and atolls.
Economy
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The islands have few natural resources, and their imports far exceed exports. Agricultural products include coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits, pigs and chickens. Industry is made of the production of copra and craft items, tuna processing and tourism.
In 2018, the Republic of Marshall Islands passed the Sovereign Currency Act, which made it the first country to issue their own cryptocurrency; the currency is called the "Sovereign".
The country uses the United States dollar as its currency. In 2018, it also announced plans for a new cryptocurrency to be used as legal tender.
The Marshall Islands plays a vital role in the international shipping industry as a flag of convenience for commercial vessels.
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Culture
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Although the ancient skills are now in decline, the Marshallese were once able navigators, using the stars and stick-and-shell charts.
Sports
Major sports played in the Marshall Islands include volleyball, basketball (primarily by men), baseball, soccer and a number of water sports. The Marshall Islands has been represented at the Olympics at all games since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Marshall Islands were represented by two swimmers.
Association football
The Marshall Islands have a small club league, including Kobeer as the most successful club. One tournament was held by Play Soccer Make Peace. There is a small Football Association on the island of Majuro. The sport of association football is new to the Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands is the only country in the world that does not have a national football team. The Marshall Islands is therefore the only sovereign country in the world that does not have a record of a national football match.
Marshall Islands Baseball / Softball Federation
Softball and baseball are held under one sports federation in the Marshall Islands. The President is Jeimata Nokko Kabua. Both sports are growing at a fast pace, with hundreds of Marshallese people behind the Marshall Islands Baseball / Softball Federation. The Marshall Islands achieved a silver medal in the Micronesian Games in 2012, as well as medals in the SPG Games.
Interesting facts about the Marshall Islands
- Marshallese people are of Micronesian origin and are believed to have migrated from Asia to the Marshall Islands several thousand years ago.
- The official languages of the Marshall Islands are English and Marshallese. Both languages are widely spoken.
- In 2018, the Republic of Marshall Islands passed the Sovereign Currency Act, which made it the first country to issue their own cryptocurrency and certify it as legal tender; the currency is called the "Sovereign".
- The Marshall Islands plays a vital role in the international shipping industry as a flag of convenience for commercial vessels.
- In January 2016, Senator Hilda Heine was elected by Parliament as the first female president of the Marshall Islands.
Images for kids
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Offices of the Pacific Navigation Co. at Jaluit Atoll in the late 1880s
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German colonial administration building at Jaluit Atoll in 1886
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South Seas Government branch office, Jaluit, c. 1932
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Battle of Kwajalein in 1944
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Bikini Islanders being forcibly relocated from Bikini Atoll in March 1946 before the U.S. Operation Crossroads atomic bomb testing commenced
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Marshall Islanders sailing, with sails brailed (reefed), c. 1899–1900
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Battle of Kwajalein in 1944
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Bikini Islanders departing from Bikini Atoll in March 1948
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Panorama of Majuro, capital and largest city of Marshall Islands
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Christians in the Marshall Islands
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See also
In Spanish: Islas Marshall para niños
