Marshall Islands
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Majuro
- Population
- 82,011 (2024 est.)
- Area
- 181 sq km
- Government
- mixed presidential-parliamentary system in free association with the US
- Religions
- Protestant 79.3% (United Church of Christ 47.9%, Assembly of God 14.1%, Full Gospel 5%, Bukot Nan Jesus 3%, Salvation Army 2.3%, Reformed Congressional Church 2.2%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.7%, New Beginning Church 1.4%, other Protestant 1.6%), Roman Catholic 9.3%, Church of Jesus Christ 5.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, other 3.3%, none 1.1% (2021 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Marshallese 95.6%, Filipino 1.1%, other 3.3% (2021 est.)
- Life Expectancy
- 75.2 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .mh
- Climate
- tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt
- Terrain
- low coral limestone and sand islands
- Natural Resources
- coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals
- Major Exports
- ships, refined petroleum, fish, natural gas, stone processing machines (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
Humans arrived in the Marshall Islands in the first millennium B.C. and gradually created permanent settlements on the various atolls. The early inhabitants were skilled navigators who frequently traveled between atolls using stick charts to map the islands.