214 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
214 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
MARSHALL ISLANDS
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 181.3 km2; land area: 181.3 km2; includes the atolls
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of Bikini, Eniwetak, and Kwajalein
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Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 370.4 km
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Maritime claims:
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Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
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Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Disputes: claims US territory of Wake Island
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Climate: wet season May to November; hot and humid; islands border
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typhoon belt
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Terrain: low coral limestone and sand islands
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Natural resources: phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed
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minerals
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Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 60%; meadows and pastures
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0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 40%
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Environment: occasionally subject to typhoons; two archipelagic
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island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands
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Note: located 3,825 km southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific
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Ocean, about two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and Papua New Guinea;
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Bikini and Eniwetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the
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famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range
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PEOPLE
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Population: 48,091 (July 1991), growth rate 3.9% (1991)
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Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 53 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 64 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Marshallese; adjective--Marshallese
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Ethnic divisions: almost entirely Micronesian
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Religion: predominantly Christian, mostly Protestant
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Language: English universally spoken and is the official language;
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two major Marshallese dialects from Malayo-Polynesian family; Japanese
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Literacy: 93% (male 100%, female 88%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1980)
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Labor force: 4,800 (1986)
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Organized labor: none
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of the Marshall Islands
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Type: constitutional government in free association with the US;
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the Compact of Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986
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Capital: Majuro
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Administrative divisions: none
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Independence: 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN
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trusteeship; formerly the Marshall Islands District of the Trust
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Territory of the Pacific Islands)
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Constitution: 1 May 1979
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Legal system: based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the
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legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
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National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic of the Marshall
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Islands, 1 May (1979)
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Executive branch: president, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: unicameral Nitijela
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State and Head of Government--President Amata KABUA
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(since 1979)
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Political parties and leaders: no formal parties; President KABUA
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is chief political (and traditional) leader
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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President--last held NA November 1987 (next to be held November
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1991); results--President Amata KABUA was reelected;
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Parliament--last held NA November 1987 (next to be held November
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1991); results--percent of vote NA;
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seats--(33 total)
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Communists: none
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Member of: ESCAP (associate), ICAO, SPC, SPF, UN
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Wilfred I. KENDALL;
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Chancery at 2433 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20008;
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telephone (202) 234-5414;
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US--Ambassador William BODDE, Jr.; Embassy at NA address
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(mailing address is P. O. Box 680, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall
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Islands 96960-4380); telephone 692-4011
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Flag: blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side
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corner--orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large
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rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the economy.
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Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and the most
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important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and
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breadfruit. A few cattle ranches supply the domestic meat market.
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Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and
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copra. The tourist industry is the primary source of foreign exchange and
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employs about 10% of the labor force. The islands have few natural
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resources, and imports far exceed exports. In 1987 the US Government
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provided grants of $40 million out of the Marshallese budget of
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$55 million.
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GDP: $63 million, per capita $1,500; real growth rate NA%
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(1989 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.6% (1981)
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Unemployment rate: NA%
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Budget: revenues $55 million; expenditures NA, including capital
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expenditures of NA (1987 est.)
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Exports: $2.5 million (f.o.b., 1985);
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commodities--copra, copra oil, agricultural products, handicrafts;
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partners--NA
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Imports: $29.2 million (c.i.f., 1985);
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commodities--foodstuffs, beverages, building materials;
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partners--NA
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External debt: $NA
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Industrial production: growth rate NA%
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Electricity: 42,000 kW capacity; 80 million kWh produced, 1,840 kWh
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per capita (1990)
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Industries: copra, fish, tourism; craft items from shell, wood, and
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pearl; offshore banking (embryonic)
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Agriculture: coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits, copra;
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pigs, chickens
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Economic aid: under the terms of the Compact of Free Association,
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the US is to provide approximately $40 million in aid annually
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Currency: US currency is used
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Exchange rates: US currency is used
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Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Highways: macadam and concrete roads on major islands (Majuro,
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Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and
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tracks
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Ports: Majuro
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Merchant marine: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,654,871
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GRT/3,236,549 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 3 container, 7 petroleum, oils, and
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lubricants (POL) tanker, 11 bulk carrier; note--a flag of convenience
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registry
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Airports: 5 total, 5 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
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5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: telephone network--570 lines (Majuro) and 186
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(Ebeye); telex services; islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used
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mostly for government purposes); stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave;
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2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; US Government satellite
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communications system on Kwajalein
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
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