Marshall Islands

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

Border Countries:

Terrain:

low coral limestone and sand islands

Geography:

the Marshall Islands Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is used as a US missile test range; island city of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the Pacific

Capital:

Majuro

About Marshall Islands

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.

Population:

63,174 (July 2008 est.)

Language:

Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)

Religion:

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)

Phone Service:

digital switching equipment; modern services include telex, cellular, Internet, international calling, caller ID, and leased data circuits

Currency:

US dollar (USD)

Climate:

tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt

Natural Hazards:

infrequent typhoons