Editing Marshall Islands

{{Short description|Country near the equator in the Pacific Ocean}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of the Marshall Islands
| common_name            = the Marshall Islands
| native_name            = {{native name|mh|Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ}}
| image_flag             = Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg
| image_coat             = Seal of the Marshall Islands.svg
| symbol_type            = Seal
| national_motto         = "{{native phrase|mh|Jepilpilin ke ejukaan|paren=no}}"<br />"Accomplishment through joint effort"
| national_anthem        = "[[Forever Marshall Islands]]"<div style="padding-top:0.5em;" class="center">[[File:National Anthem of Marshall Islands by US Navy Band.ogg]]</div>
| image_map              = Marshall Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
| image_map2             = 
| status  = [[Member states of the United Nations|UN member state]] under a [[Compact of Free Association]] with the [[United States]]<ref>[https://www.doi.gov/oia/compacts-of-free-association Compacts of Free Association] - [[United States Department of the Interior]]</ref>
| capital                = [[Majuro]]<ref>[http://population.mongabay.com/population/marshall-islands The largest cities in Marshall Islands, ranked by population] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903015000/http://population.mongabay.com/population/marshall-islands |date=September 3, 2011 }}. population.mongabay.com. Retrieved May 25, 2012.</ref>
| coordinates            = {{Coord|7|7|N|171|4|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = {{unbulleted list | [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]] | [[English language|English]]}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{unbulleted list |95.6% [[Micronesians#Marshallese people|Marshallese]]|4.4% others}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021<ref name="2021census">{{cite web |url=https://sdd.spc.int/news/2023/05/30/marshall-islands-2021-census-report-basic-tables |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands 2021 Census Report, Volume 1: Basic Tables and Administrative Report |date=May 30, 2023 |publisher=[[Pacific Community]] (SPC): Statistics for Development Division |access-date=September 27, 2023 |archive-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020115031/https://sdd.spc.int/news/2023/05/30/marshall-islands-2021-census-report-basic-tables |url-status=live }}</ref>
| religion               = {{ublist
|item_style=white-space;
|{{Tree list}}
* 96.2% [[Christianity]]
** 79.9% [[Protestantism]]
** 9.3% [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
** 7.0% other [[Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
  |1.1% [[Irreligion|no religion]]
  |2.7% others
  }}
| religion_year          = 2021<ref name="2021census"/>
| demonym                = Marshallese
| government_type        = Unitary [[parliamentary republic with an executive presidency]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of the Marshall Islands|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Hilda Heine]]
| leader_title2          = [[Legislature of the Marshall Islands|Speaker]]
| leader_name2           = [[Brenson S. Wase]]
| legislature            = [[Legislature of the Marshall Islands|Nitijela]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[Independence]]
| sovereignty_note       = from the [[United States]]
| established_event1     = Self-government
| established_date1      = May 1, 1979
| established_event2     = [[Compact of Free Association]]
| established_date2      = October 21, 1986
| area_km2               = 181.43
| area_rank              = 189th <!-- Should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_sq_mi             = 70 <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| percent_water          = n/a ({{color|gray|negligible}})
| population_estimate    = 
| population_census      = 42,418<ref name="2021census"/>
| population_estimate_year = 
| population_estimate_rank = 188th
| population_census_year = 2021
| population_density_km2 = 233
| population_density_sq_mi = 605 <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| population_density_rank = 47th
| GDP_PPP                = $215 million
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2019
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = $3,789<ref name="imf.org1">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=81&pr.y=11&sy=2017&ey=2024&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=867&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |website=imf.org |access-date=2019-06-06 |archive-date=2020-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612080022/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=81&pr.y=11&sy=2017&ey=2024&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=867&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=live}}</ref>
| GDP_nominal            = $220 million
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2019
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $3,866<ref name="imf.org1"/>
| Gini                   = <!-- number only -->
| Gini_year              = 
| Gini_change            = <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| Gini_ref               = 
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.731
| HDI_year               = 2022
| HDI_change             = increase
| HDI_ref                = <ref>{{Cite web |date=13 March 2024 |title=HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2023-24 |url=http://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf |website=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |pages=274–277 |language=en |access-date=May 6, 2024 |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501075007/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 102nd
| currency               = {{hlist|[[United States dollar]]|[[Sovereign Currency Act of 2018|Sovereign]]}}
| currency_code          = 
| time_zone              = MHT
| utc_offset             = +12
| utc_offset_DST         = 
| time_zone_DST          = ''not observed''
| date_format            = MM/DD/YYYY
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[+692]]
| cctld                  = [[.mh]]
| footnote_a             =
| today                  = 
| iso3166code            = MH
}}

The '''Marshall Islands''',{{efn|{{langx|mh|Ṃajeḷ}}}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://marshallese.org/dictionary/?input=Marshall+Islands |title=Marshall Islands |website=marshallese.org |access-date=23 April 2022 |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125221103/https://marshallese.org/dictionary/?input=Marshall+Islands |url-status=live }}</ref> officially the '''Republic of the Marshall Islands''',{{efn|{{langx|mh|Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ}}}}{{efn|Pronunciations:<br />* [[English language|English]]: ''Republic of the Marshall Islands'' {{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Marshall Islands.ogg|ˈ|m|ɑr|ʃ|əl|_|ˈ|aɪ|l|ən|d|z}}<br />{{langx|mh|Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ}} ({{IPAc-mh|hawelepan haw&r&kin mhahjelh}})}} 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 [[atoll]]s and five main islands as well as 1,220 other very small ones,<ref name=ciafact>{{cite web |publisher=CIA World Factbook |title=Marshall Islands Geography |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ |access-date= 2021-01-24 |archive-date= 2021-02-04 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210204143516/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ |url-status= live}}</ref> divided across two [[Archipelago|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 boundary|maritime boundaries]] with [[Wake Island]] to the north,{{NoteTag|[[Wake Island]] is claimed as a territory of the Marshall Islands, but is also claimed as an [[Territories of the United States#Minor Outlying Islands|unorganized]], [[unincorporated territory]] of the United States, with ''de facto'' control vested in the [[Office of Insular Affairs]] (and all military defenses managed by the United States military).}} [[Kiribati]] to the southeast, [[Nauru]] to the south, and the [[Federated States of Micronesia]] to the west. The [[capital city|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.

[[Austronesia]]n settlers reached the Marshall Islands as early as the [[2nd millennium BC]] and introduced Southeast Asian crops, including [[coconut]]s, [[Cyrtosperma merkusii|giant swamp taro]], and [[breadfruit]], as well as domesticated chickens, which made the islands permanently habitable. Several [[Spanish Empire|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 (Royal Navy officer, born 1748)|John Marshall]], who explored the region in 1788. [[American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions|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 [[German New Guinea|a protectorate]] in 1885. 

The [[Empire of Japan]] occupied the islands in the autumn of 1914 at the [[Japanese entry into World War I|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 [[Pacific War|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{{NoteTag|There is a discrepancy related to the total number of tests conducted: 66 or 67. The total number is 67, but two tests (HARDTACK I SCAEVOLA and HARDTACK I QUINCE) were with zero yield: one was a safety test, the other did not work out.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/125/Documents/NTPR/newDocs/15-HARDTACK%20I%20%20-%202021.pdf |title=Operation HARDTACK I |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=September 2021 |pages=2–3 |publisher=Defense Threat Reduction Agency |access-date=2024-07-29}}</ref> And sometimes one of them doesn't count. Another source of this discrepancy is the widely cited article by Simon and Robison, the summary of which lists the total number of tests conducted in the Marshall Islands as 66 (23 at Bikini Atoll + 42 at Enewetak Atoll + 1 between the atolls), although the attached table lists data for all 67 tests (23 + 43 + 1).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=S.L. |last2=Robison |first2=W.L. |date=July 1997 |title=A Compilation of Nuclear Weapons Test Detonation Data for U.S Pacific Ocean Tests |url=https://journals.lww.com/health-physics/abstract/1997/07000/a_compilation_of_nuclear_weapons_test_detonation.22.aspx |journal=Health Physics |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=258–64 |doi=10.1097/00004032-199707000-00022 |pmid=9199235 |bibcode=1997HeaPh..73..258S |access-date=2024-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041110005808/http://www.eh.doe.gov/health/marshall/marsh/journal/14828.pdf |archive-date=November 10, 2004}}</ref>}} [[Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll|nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll]] and [[Enewetak Atoll]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/location/marshall-islands/ |title=Marshall Islands |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= |publisher=Atomic Heritage Foundation |access-date=2024-07-29}}</ref>

The U.S. government formed the [[Congress of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands|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.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15598732 |title=Marshall Islands profile – Timeline |date=July 31, 2017 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |website=Bbc.com |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814223656/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15598732 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

Politically, the Marshall Islands is a [[parliamentary republic with an executive presidency]] in [[Associated state|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]]. With few natural resources, the islands' wealth is based on a [[service economy]], as well as fishing and agriculture; aid from the United States represents a large percentage of the islands' [[gross domestic product]], and although most financial aid from the Compact of Free Association was set to expire in 2023,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/republic-of-marshall-islands/Pages/republic-of-the-marshall-islands-country-brief |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands country brief |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia |access-date=2021-06-09 |archive-date=2021-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516183812/https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/republic-of-marshall-islands/Pages/republic-of-the-marshall-islands-country-brief |url-status=live}}</ref> it was extended for another 20 years that same year.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brunnstrom |first1=David |last2=Martina |first2=Michael |title=U.S. finalizes 20-year extension of Marshall Islands ties |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/10/17/asia-pacific/politics/us-negotiator-marshall-islands/ |access-date=17 February 2024 |publisher=The Japan Times |date=17 October 2023 |archive-date=February 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218025755/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/10/17/asia-pacific/politics/us-negotiator-marshall-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/23/17384608/marshall-islands-cryptocurrency-us-dollar-usd-currency |title=The Marshall Islands replaces the U.S. dollar with its own cryptocurrency |last=Liao |first=Shannon |date=2018-05-23 |website=The Verge |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116201012/https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/23/17384608/marshall-islands-cryptocurrency-us-dollar-usd-currency |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chavez-Dreyfuss |first=Gertrude |date=2018-02-28 |title=Marshall Islands to issue own sovereign cryptocurrency |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-marshall-islands-idUSKCN1GC2UD |department=Technology News |work=[[Reuters]] |language=en |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117013357/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-marshall-islands-idUSKCN1GC2UD |url-status=live}}</ref>

The majority of the citizens of the Republic of Marshall Islands are of Marshallese descent, though there are small numbers of immigrants from the United States, China, [[Philippines]], and other Pacific islands. The two [[official language]]s are [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]], which is one of the [[Oceanic languages]], and [[English language|English]]. 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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Marshall Islands |url=http://www.imr.ptc.ac.fj/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/17.-Marshall-Islands.pdf |website=imr.ptc.ac.fj |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115234613/http://www.imr.ptc.ac.fj/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/17.-Marshall-Islands.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

== History==
{{Main|History of the Marshall Islands}}

===Prehistory===
[[File:Sailing Canoe brailed on starboard tack, Jaliut Lagoon, Marshall Islands (1899-1900).jpg|thumb|Marshall Islanders sailing, with sails [[brail]]ed ([[reefing|reefed]]), c. 1899–1900]]

Linguistic and anthropological studies have suggested that the first [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] settlers of the Marshall Islands arrived from the [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]].<ref name="weisler113"/> [[Radiocarbon dating]] suggests that [[Bikini Atoll]] may have been inhabited as early as 1200 BCE,<ref>{{Harvnb|Streck|p=256|1990}}</ref> though samples may not have been collected from secure [[Stratigraphy|stratigraphic]] contexts and older driftwood samples may have affected results.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kirch|Weisler|p=292|1994}}</ref> Archaeological digs on other atolls have found evidence of human habitation dating around the 1st century CE at the village of [[Laura, Marshall Islands|Laura]] on [[Majuro]] and on [[Kwajalein Atoll]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Weisler|pp=113–114|2000}}</ref>

The Austronesian settlers [[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia|introduced Southeast Asian crops]], including [[coconut]]s, [[Cyrtosperma merkusii|giant swamp taro]], and [[breadfruit]], as well as domesticated chickens throughout the Marshall Islands. They possibly seeded the islands by leaving coconuts at seasonal fishing camps before permanently settling years later.<ref>{{harvnb|Reséndez|2021|pp=107–108}}</ref> The southern islands receive heavier rainfall than the north, so communities in the wet south subsisted on prevalent taro and breadfruit, while northerners were more likely to subsist on [[pandanus]] and coconuts. Southern atolls probably supported larger, more dense populations.<ref name="weisler113">{{Harvnb|Weisler|p=113|2000}}</ref>

[[File:Stick chart-BHM 1920.530.0032-P8260228.JPG|thumb|A Marshallese [[Marshall Islands stick chart|stick chart]]. Most were made from a grid of coconut frond midribs with small shells representing the relative location of islands.<ref name="Finney479"/>]]

The Marshallese sailed between islands on [[walap]]s made from breadfruit-tree wood and coconut-fiber rope.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hezel|p=92|1983}}</ref> They navigated by using the stars for orientation and initial course setting, but also developed a [[piloting]] technique of interpreting disruptions in [[Swell (ocean)|ocean swells]] to determine the location of low coral atolls below the horizon.<ref>{{Harvnb|Finney|p=475|1998}}</ref> They noticed that swells refracted around the undersea slope of atolls. When refracted swells from different directions met, they created noticeable disruption patterns, which Marshallese pilots could read to determine the direction of an island.<ref>{{Harvnb|Finney|pp=476–478|1998}}</ref> When interviewed by anthropologists, some Marshallese sailors noted that they piloted their canoes by both sight and feeling changes in the motion of the boat.<ref name="Finney479">{{Harvnb|Finney|p=479|1998}}</ref> Sailors also invented [[Marshall Islands stick chart|stick charts]] to map the swell patterns, but unlike western navigational charts, the Marshallese stick charts were tools for teaching students and for consultation before embarking on a voyage; navigators did not take charts with them when they set sail.<ref>{{Harvnb|Finney|p=443|1998}}</ref>

When Russian explorer [[Otto von Kotzebue]] visited the Marshalls in 1817, the islanders still showed few signs of western influence. He observed that the Marshallese lived in thatched-roof huts, but their villages did not include the large ornate meeting houses found in other parts of Micronesia. They did not have furniture, except for woven mats, which they used for both floor coverings and clothing. The Marshallese had pierced ears and [[tattoo]]s. He learned that Marshallese families practiced [[infanticide]] after the birth of a third child as a form of population planning due to frequent [[famine]]s. He also noted that Marshallese [[Iroijlaplap|iroij]] held considerable authority and rights to all property, though he had a more favorable view of the condition of Marshallese commoners than of that of [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] commoners.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hezel|pp=92–94|1983}}</ref> The Marshalls' two island groups, the [[Ratak]] and [[Ralik]] chains, were each ruled by a paramount chief, or iroijlaplap, who held authority over the individual island iroij.<ref name="Fortune287">{{harvnb|Fortune|2000|p=287}}</ref>

===European exploration===
[[File:Reception of the Manila Galleon by the Chamorro in the Ladrones Islands, ca. 1590.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Manila galleon|Manila Galleon]] in the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]] and [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]], c. 1590 [[Boxer Codex]]]]

On August 21, 1526, Spanish explorer [[Alonso de Salazar]] was the first European to sight the Marshall Islands. While commanding the ''[[Loaísa Expedition|Santa Maria de la Victoria]]'', he sighted an atoll with a green lagoon, which may have been [[Bokak Atoll|Taongi]]. The crew could not land, because of strong currents and water too deep for the ship's anchor, so the ship sailed for [[Guam]] two days later.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=11–13}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=13}}</ref> 

On January 2, 1528, the expedition of [[Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón]] landed on an uninhabited island, possibly in [[Ailinginae Atoll]], where they resupplied and stayed for six days. Natives from a neighboring island briefly met the Spanish. This expedition named the islands 'Los Pintados' or "the Painted Ones" for the natives who wore tattoos.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=16–18}}</ref> Later Spanish explorers of the Marshalls included [[Ruy López de Villalobos]], [[Miguel López de Legazpi]], [[Alonso de Arellano]], and [[Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira]], though coordinates and geographic descriptions in 16th century Spanish logs are sometimes imprecise, leaving uncertainty about the specific islands they sighted and visited.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=19–47}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=13–33}}</ref> 

On July 6, 1565, the Spanish ship ''San Jeronimo'' nearly wrecked at [[Ujelang Atoll]] after the ship's pilot [[Lope Martín]] led a mutiny.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=40–41}}</ref> While the mutineers were resupplying at Ujelang, several crew members took back control of the ship and marooned Martín and twenty-six other mutineers in the Marshalls.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=30–31}}</ref> By the late 16th century, Spanish galleons sailing between the Americas and the Philippines kept to a sea lane at 13°N and provisioned at Guam, avoiding the Marshalls, which Spanish sailors saw as unprofitable islands amid hazardous waters.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|p=39}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=34}}</ref>

The British sea captains [[John Marshall (Royal Navy officer, born 1748)|John Marshall]] and [[Thomas Gilbert (sea captain)|Thomas Gilbert]] visited the islands in 1788.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|p=152}}</ref> Their vessels had been part of the [[First Fleet]] taking convicts from England to [[Botany Bay]] in [[New South Wales]], and were en route to [[Guangzhou]] when they passed through the [[Gilbert Islands]] and Marshall Islands.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=63–64}}</ref> On June 25, 1788, the British ships had peaceful interactions and traded with islanders at [[Mili Atoll]];<ref name="Hezel6465"/> their meeting may have been the first contact between Europeans and Marshallese since the Mendaña expedition of 1568.<ref name="Fortune287"/> Subsequent navigational charts and maps named the islands for John Marshall.<ref name="Hezel6465">{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=64–65}}</ref>

From the 1820s through the 1850s, the Marshall Islanders became increasingly hostile to western vessels, possibly because of violent punishments that sea captains exacted for theft as well as the [[Blackbirding|abduction]] of Marshallese people for sale into slavery on Pacific plantations.<ref name="Hezel200">{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=200}}</ref> One of the earliest violent encounters occurred in February 1824, when the inhabitants of Mili Atoll massacred marooned sailors from the American [[whaler]] ''[[Globe (1815 whaleship)|Globe]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beardslee|first1=L. A.|title=Marshall Group: North Pacific Islands|date=1870|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Navigation: Hydrological Office|location=Washington D.C.|access-date=August 25, 2023|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnnx9n;view=2up;seq=8;size=125|page=3|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224122102/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnnx9n;view=2up;seq=8;size=125|url-status=live}}</ref> Similar encounters occurred as late as 1851 and 1852, when three separate Marshallese attacks on ships occurred at [[Ebon Atoll|Ebon]], [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]], and [[Namdrik Atoll]]s.<ref name="Hezel200"/>

===Colonial period===
[[File:German colonial album 1880s img26.jpg|thumb|Offices of the Pacific Navigation Co. at Jaluit Atoll in the late 1880s]]

In 1857, [[American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions]] sent two families to establish a mission church and school at [[Ebon Atoll|Ebon]]. By 1875, the missionaries had established churches on five atolls and had baptized more than 200 islanders,<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=200–209}}</ref> and one traveler noted that most women on Ebon wore western clothes and many men wore trousers by the mid-1870s.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=219–220}}</ref>

In 1859, Adolph Capelle and another merchant arrived at Ebon and set up a trading post for the German company Hoffschlaeger & Stapenhorst.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=210–211}}</ref> When the firm went bankrupt in 1863, Capelle partnered with Portuguese ex-whaler Anton Jose DeBrum to establish a [[copra]] trading firm: Capelle & Co.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=214}}</ref> In 1873, the company moved its headquarters to [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]], the home of [[Kabua the Great|Kabua]], a powerful [[iroijlaplap|iroij]] and disputed successor for the [[paramount chief]]tainship of the southern [[Ralik|Ralik Chain]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=215}}</ref> In the 1870s, various other companies from Germany, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the United States engaged in the copra trade in the Marshall Islands.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=216}}</ref> By 1885, the German firms [[Hernsheim & Co]]. and Deutsche Handels- und Plantagen-Gesellschaft Der Südsee Inseln zu Hamburg controlled two-thirds of the trade.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=46}}</ref>

Contact between the Marshallese and westerners led to sometimes lethal outbreaks of western diseases, including [[influenza]], [[measles]], [[syphilis]], and [[typhoid fever]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=206}}</ref> Increased access to alcohol led to social problems in some Marshallese communities,<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=292}}</ref> and on several atolls conflicts erupted between rival iroij with access to firearms.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=293–303}}</ref>

====German protectorate====
[[File:German colonial album 1880s img12.jpg|thumb|German colonial administration building at Jaluit Atoll in 1886]]

In 1875, the British and German governments conducted a series of secret negotiations to divide the Western Pacific into [[Sphere of influence|spheres of influence]]. The German sphere included the Marshall Islands.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=300–301}}</ref> On November 26, 1878, the German warship [[SMS Ariadne (1871)|SMS ''Ariadne'']] anchored at Jaluit to begin treaty negotiations with the chiefs to grant the [[German Empire]] "[[Most favoured nation|most favored nation]]" status in the Ralik Chain. During the second day of negotiations, Captain {{ill|Bartholomäus von Werner|de}} ordered his men to give military demonstrations which he later said were intended to "show the islanders, who have not seen anything like it before, the power of the Europeans."<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|pp=303–304}}</ref> On November 29, Werner signed a treaty with Kabua and several other Ralik Chain iroij which secured a German [[fuelling station]] at Jaluit and free use of the atoll's harbor.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=298–299}}</ref><ref name="Hezel47">{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=47}}</ref>

On August 29, 1885, [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Otto von Bismarck]] authorized the annexation of the Marshall Islands as a [[protectorate]]<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|p=306}}</ref> following repeated petitions by German business interests.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=304}}</ref> The German gunboat {{SMS|Nautilus|1871|2}} docked at Jaluit on October 13 to take control.<ref name="Hezel305">{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=305}}</ref> On October 15, iroij Kabua, Loeak, Nelu, Lagajime, and Launa signed a protection treaty in German and Marshallese at the German consulate. While the Marshallese text made no distinction of rank among the five chiefs, the German text recognized Kabua as the King of the Marshall Islands, despite an ongoing dispute between Kabua and Loeak over the [[iroijlaplap|paramount chief]]tainship.<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|pp=307–308}}</ref> A company of German marines hoisted the [[flag of the German Empire]] over Jaluit, and performed similar ceremonies at seven other atolls in the Marshalls,<ref name="Hezel305"/> though several pro-American iroij refused to recognize the German protectorate until threatened with German naval force in mid-1886.<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|p=309}}</ref> [[Nauru]] was incorporated into the German Protectorate of the Marshall Islands in 1888, following the [[Anglo-German Declarations about the Western Pacific Ocean|Anglo-German Declarations]] of April 1886.<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1978|p=37}}</ref>

The German commercial interests formed the [[Joint-stock company|joint-stock]] [[Jaluit Company]], which was responsible for financing the colony's administration. In addition to controlling two-thirds of the Marshallese copra trade, the company had the authority to collect commercial license fees and an annual [[poll tax]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=48}}</ref> The company also had the right to be consulted on all new laws and ordinances and nominated all colonial administrative staff.<ref>{{harvnb|Storr|2020|p=86}}</ref> The company's licensing fees and legal advantages pushed out American and British competition, creating a monopoly in the German Pacific colonies.<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1973|p=25}}</ref> The British government protested the regulations benefiting the Jaluit Company as a violation of the Anglo-German Declarations' free-trade provision.<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1973|p=26}}</ref> On March 31, 1906, the German government assumed direct control and reorganized the Marshall Islands and Nauru as part of the protectorate of [[German New Guinea]].<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1978|p=39}}</ref>

====Japanese mandate====
[[File:Nan'yo-cho Jaluit Branch Office.JPG|thumb|South Seas Government branch office, Jaluit, c. 1932]]

The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] invaded [[Enewetak Atoll|Enewetak]] on September 29, 1914, and [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]] on September 30 at the beginning of [[Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I|World War I]]. An occupation force was stationed on Jaluit on October 3.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1992|p=42}}</ref> At the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] in 1919, Germany's Pacific colonies north of the equator became the Japanese [[South Seas Mandate]] under the system of [[League of Nations mandate]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=155}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=182}}</ref> Germany ceded the Marshall Islands to Japan with the signing of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] on June 28, 1919.<ref>{{harvnb|Purcell|1976|p=195}}</ref>

The Japanese navy administered the islands from late 1914 through 1921. The civilian {{nihongo|South Seas Government|南洋廳|Nan'yō-chō}} set up its headquarters in [[Palau]] in April 1922 and administered the Marshalls until World War II.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=166}}</ref> Japanese surveys determined that the Marshalls' value was primarily strategic, because they could enable future [[Nanshin-ron|southward expansion]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hiery|1995|p=132}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=183}}</ref> The Marshalls also continued to be a major producer of copra during the Japanese period, with the {{nihongo|South Seas Trading Company|南洋貿易会社|Nan'yō Bōeki Kaisha}} taking over the Jaluit Company's operations and building upon the German colonial infrastructure.<ref>{{harvnb|Purcell|1976|p=210}}</ref> Other parts of the South Seas Mandate experienced heavy Japanese settlement, shifting the population to majority Japanese in the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] and Palau, but Japanese settlers remained a minority under 1,000 people in the Marshall Islands throughout the Japanese period, because the islands were distant from Japan and had the most limited economic potential in Micronesia.<ref>{{harvnb|Hiery|1995|p=133}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=197}}</ref>

[[File:Kwajalein-Invasion 1944.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Kwajalein]] in 1944]]

On March 27, 1933, Japan declared its intentions to withdraw from the [[League of Nations]], officially withdrawing in 1935 but continuing to control the territory of the South Seas Mandate.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|pp=207–208}}</ref> Japanese military planners initially discounted the Marshalls as too distant and indefensible for extensive fortification, but as Japan developed long-range bombers, the islands became useful as a forward base to attack Australia, British colonies, and the United States. In 1939 and 1940, the navy built military airfields on [[Kwajalein Atoll|Kwajalein]], [[Maloelap Atoll|Maloelap]], and [[Wotje Atoll]]s as well as seaplane facilities at Jaluit.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=217}}</ref>

After the outbreak of the [[Pacific War]], the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] carried out the [[Marshalls–Gilberts raids]], which struck Jaluit, Kwajalein, Maloelap, and Wotje on February 1, 1942. They were the first American air raids on Japanese territory.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|pp=203–204}}</ref> The United States invaded the Marshall Islands on January 31, 1944, during the [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign]]. The Americans simultaneously invaded Majuro and Kwajalein.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=205}}</ref> By autumn 1944, the Americans controlled all of the Marshall Islands, except for Jaluit, Maloelap, Mili, and Wotje.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=207}}</ref> As the American campaign advanced through Micronesia and [[Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign|into the Ryukyu Islands]], the four Japanese-held atolls were cut off from supplies and subject to American bombardment. The garrisons began running out of provisions in late 1944, leading to high casualties from starvation and disease.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=208}}</ref>

====U.S. Trust Territory====
[[File:Leaving-bikini.jpg|thumb|Bikini Islanders being forcibly relocated from [[Bikini Atoll]] in March 1946 before the U.S. [[Operation Crossroads]] atomic bomb testing commenced]]
[[File:Castle Bravo Blast.jpg|thumb|Mushroom cloud from the largest atmospheric [[nuclear test]] the United States ever conducted, [[Castle Bravo]]]]

In 1947, the United States entered into an agreement with the [[UN Security Council]] to administer much of [[Micronesia]], including the Marshall Islands, as the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Isenberg |first=David |date=1985 |title=Reconciling Independence and Security: The Long Term Status of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/uclapblj4&id=220&div=&collection= |journal=UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal |volume=4 |issue=1–2 |pages=210|doi=10.5070/P841-2021926 }}</ref>

From 1946 to 1958, it served as the [[Pacific Proving Grounds]] for the United States and was the site of 67 [[nuclear test]]s on various atolls.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/325643/marshall-islands-marks-71-years-since-start-of-us-nuclear-tests-on-bikini |title=Marshall Islands marks 71 years since start of U.S. nuclear tests on Bikini |date=2017-03-01 |website=Radio New Zealand |language=en-nz |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116201523/https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/325643/marshall-islands-marks-71-years-since-start-of-us-nuclear-tests-on-bikini |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Operation Crossroads]] atomic bomb testing began in 1946 on [[Bikini Atoll]] after some of the residents were forcibly evacuated.<ref>{{Citation |last=Goldberg |first=Walter M. |title=Domination of Pacific Islands in War and in the Nuclear Age |date=2018 |work=The Geography, Nature and History of the Tropical Pacific and its Islands |series=World Regional Geography Book Series |pages=157–180 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_7 |access-date=2024-07-25 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_7 |isbn=978-3-319-69531-0}}</ref>

The world's first [[hydrogen bomb]], codenamed "[[Ivy Mike|Mike]]", was tested at the [[Enewetak atoll]] in the Marshall Islands on November 1 (local date) in 1952, which produced significant fallout in the region.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=What the First H-Bomb Test Looked Like |url=https://time.com/4096424/ivy-mike-history/ |access-date=2020-08-26 |magazine=Time |archive-date=2020-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920131258/https://time.com/4096424/ivy-mike-history/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Over the years just one of over 60 islands was cleaned by the U.S. government, and the inhabitants are still waiting for the 2 billion dollars in compensation assessed by the Nuclear Claims Tribunal. Many of the islanders and their descendants still live in exile, as the islands remain contaminated with high levels of radiation.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/bikini-atoll-nuclear-test-60-years |title=Bikini Atoll nuclear test: 60 years later and islands still unliveable |first=Agence |last=France-Press |date=March 1, 2014 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901122634/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/bikini-atoll-nuclear-test-60-years |url-status=live}}</ref>

A significant [[radar]] installation was constructed on [[Kwajalein]] atoll.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rising-sea-warnings-air-force-radar-site/ |title=Rising seas could threaten $1 billion Air Force radar site |website=cbsnews.com |date=October 18, 2016 |language=en-US |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116201049/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rising-sea-warnings-air-force-radar-site/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Independence===
[[File:Runit Dome 001.jpg|thumb|The Runit Dome, built to contain radioactive debris]]
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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Michal |first=Edward J. |date=1993 |title=Protected States: The Political Status of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23699959 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=303–332 |jstor=23699959 |issn=1043-898X}}</ref>

There have been a number of local and national elections since the Republic of the Marshall Islands was founded. The United Democratic Party, running on a reform platform, won the 1999 parliamentary election, taking control of the presidency and cabinet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walsh |first=Julianne M |date=2001 |title=Marshall Islands |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/8331 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=211–216 |doi=10.1353/cp.2001.0034 |issn=1527-9464}}</ref>

The islands signed a [[Compact of Free Association]] with the United States in 1986. Trusteeship was ended under [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 683]] of December 22, 1990. Until 1999 the islanders received [[United States dollar|US$]]180 million for continued American use of Kwajalein atoll, US$250 million in compensation for [[nuclear test]]ing, and US$600 million in other payments under the compact.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Keitner |first1=Chimene |last2=Reisman |first2=W. Michael |date=2003–2004 |title=Free Association: The United States Experience |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/tilj39&id=19&div=&collection= |journal=Texas International Law Journal |volume=39 |pages=1}}</ref>

Despite the constitution, the government was largely controlled by Iroij. It was not until 1999, following [[political corruption]] allegations, that the [[Aristocracy (government)|aristocratic]] government was overthrown, with [[Imata Kabua]] replaced by the [[commoner]] [[Kessai Note]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stege |first=Kristina E |date=2002 |title=Marshall Islands |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/8404 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=198–203 |doi=10.1353/cp.2002.0033 |issn=1527-9464}}</ref>

The Runit Dome was built on [[Runit Island]] to deposit U.S.-produced [[radioactive]] soil and debris, including lethal amounts of [[plutonium]]. There are ongoing concerns about deterioration of the waste site and a potential [[radioactive contamination|radioactive spill]].<ref>{{cite news |title=How the U.S. betrayed the Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster |url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 10, 2019 |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114163729/https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:2008 Summer Olympics - Marshall Islands eniras.jpg|thumb|left|Marshallese enter the 2008 Olympic Games]]
In February 2018, the Marshall Islands became the first country in the world to recognize its [[cryptocurrency]] as its own legal tender for [[digital currency]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Labriola |first=Monica C |date=2019 |title=Marshall Islands |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26776186 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=170–179 |jstor=26776186 |issn=1043-898X}}</ref>

In January 2020, [[David Kabua]], son of founding president [[Amata Kabua]], was elected as the new [[President of the Marshall Islands]]. His predecessor [[Hilda Heine]] lost the position after a vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/406763/new-president-for-marshall-islands |title=New president for Marshall Islands |work=[[RNZ]] |date=6 January 2020 |access-date=24 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=18 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918180418/https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/406763/new-president-for-marshall-islands}}</ref>

Since the late 1980s, Marshallese have migrated to the US, with over 4,000 in Arkansas and over 7,000 in Hawaii in the 2010 US Census.<ref>{{cite web |title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/marshallese-5972/ |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |access-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922073835/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/marshallese-5972/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following independence, the Marshall Islands continued to play a prominent role in the testing and launches of missiles and rockets for both military and commercial space purposes. All five of the [[SpaceX]] [[Falcon 1]] rocket flights were carried out on [[Omelek Island]] within the Kwajalein Atoll. The fourth launch of the [[Falcon 1]] was successful, marking the first time in history a privately developed, fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle achieved orbit. SpaceX founder [[Elon Musk]] was present in Kwajalein for select launches.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |title=Liftoff: Elon Musk and the desperate early days that launched SpaceX |date=2021 |publisher=William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0062979971 |pages=76 |edition=First}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of the Marshall Islands|Administrative divisions of the Marshall Islands|}}
[[File:MH -map A.png|right|thumb|Map of the Marshall Islands]]
[[File:JJ7V2741 (40325750).jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of [[Majuro]], one of the many [[atoll]]s that make up the Marshall Islands]]
[[File:Eneko Islet 12.JPG|thumb|Beach scenery at the islet of Eneko, Majuro]]
[[File:Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site-115017.jpg|thumb|View of the coast of [[Bikini Atoll]] from above]]
[[File:Marshall Islands (10700720174).jpg|thumb|View of Marshall Islands]]
[[File:Kwajalein Atoll 2003-02-07 - Landsat 7 - 30m.png|thumb|Kwajalein atoll is another important population center for the Marshall islands]]
[[File:Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.jpg|thumb|Closer view of Kwajalein atoll reveals a typical geography, the rim of the atoll is dotted with coral islands surrounding a lagoon.]]

The Marshall Islands sit atop ancient submerged volcanoes rising from the ocean floor, about halfway between [[Hawaii]] and [[Australia]],<ref name=pacificrisa>{{cite web |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands |date=3 February 2012 |url=http://www.pacificrisa.org/places/republic-of-the-marshall-islands/ |publisher=Pacific RISA |access-date=November 1, 2015 |archive-date=22 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022023436/http://www.pacificrisa.org/places/republic-of-the-marshall-islands/ |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="rmiembassyus.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.rmiembassyus.org/Geography.htm |title=Geography |website=Rmiembassyus.org |access-date=August 22, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115173707/http://rmiembassyus.org/Geography.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The atolls and islands form two groups: the [[Ratak Chain|Ratak (sunrise)]] and the [[Ralik Chain|Ralik (sunset)]]. The two island chains lie approximately parallel to one another, running northwest to southeast, comprising about {{convert|750000|sqmi}} of ocean but only about {{convert|70|sqmi}} of land mass.<ref name=pacificrisa/> Each includes 15 to 18 islands and atolls.<ref name=beardslee>{{cite book |last1=Beardslee |first1=L. A. |title=Marshall Group. North Pacific Islands |series=Publications.no. 27 |date=1870 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington DC |page=33 |access-date=November 1, 2015 |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnnx9n;view=2up;seq=8;size=125 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224122102/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnnx9n;view=2up;seq=8;size=125 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The country consists of a total of 29 [[atoll]]s and five individual islands situated in about {{convert|180,000|sqmi}} of the Pacific.<ref name="rmiembassyus.org"/> The largest atoll with a land area of {{convert|6|sqmi}} is Kwajalein. It surrounds a {{convert|655|sqmi|adj=on}} lagoon.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alcalay |first1=Glenn |last2=Fuchs |first2=Andrew |title=History of the Marshall Islands |url=http://www.atomicatolls.org/culture-history-cont-d |website=atomicatolls.com |access-date=January 7, 2017 |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107171511/http://www.atomicatolls.org/culture-history-cont-d |url-status=live}}</ref>

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 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 {{convert|7|feet}}.<ref name="rmiembassyus.org"/>

===Shark sanctuary===

In October 2011, the government declared that an area covering nearly {{convert|2000000|km2|sqmi|-3|sp=us}} 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 {{convert|2700000|to|4600000|km2|sqmi|-3|sp=us}}. In protected waters, all shark fishing is banned and all [[bycatch|by-catch]] must be released. However, some have questioned the ability of the Marshall Islands to enforce this zone.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15142472 |title=Vast shark sanctuary created in Pacific |work=BBC News |date=October 3, 2011 |access-date=November 25, 2011 |archive-date=November 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115040000/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15142472 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Territorial claim on Wake Island===

The Marshall Islands also lays claim to [[Wake Island]] based on oral legends.<ref name="Wake Island">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/wake-island/ Wake Island] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120170347/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/wake-island/ |date=2021-01-20 }}. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.infomarshallislands.com/enen-kio-a-k-a-wake-island/ |title=Enen Kio (a.k.a. Wake Island) • Marshall Islands Guide |date=2016-12-16 |website=Marshall Islands Guide |language=en-US |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116205420/https://www.infomarshallislands.com/enen-kio-a-k-a-wake-island/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://marshallese.org/dictionary/?langChoose=mh&input=%C4%81nen%20Kio |website=marshallese.org |title=Dictionary: ānen Kio |access-date=2021-08-28 |archive-date=2021-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828165026/http://marshallese.org/dictionary/?langChoose=mh&input=%C4%81nen%20Kio |url-status=live}}</ref> The United States does not recognize this claim.<ref name="Wake Island"/>

===Climate===

[[File:ClimateMajuroMarshallIslands.PNG|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Average monthly temperatures (red) and precipitation (blue) on [[Majuro]]]]
The climate has a relatively dry season from December to April and a [[wet season]] from May to November. Many Pacific [[typhoon]]s 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 {{convert|50|in}} of rainfall annually; the southern atolls about twice that. The threat of drought is commonplace throughout the island chains.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marshall-islands-climate-change_56796928e4b06fa6887ea12c |title=Perishing oO Thirst In A Pacific Paradise |access-date=December 28, 2015 |author=Peter Meligard |date=December 28, 2015 |work=Huffington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229005806/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marshall-islands-climate-change_56796928e4b06fa6887ea12c |archive-date=December 29, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==== Climate change====
{{Main|Climate change in the Marshall Islands}}
Climate change is a threat to the Marshall Islands, with typhoons becoming stronger and sea levels rising. The sea around the Pacific islands has risen {{convert|3.4|mm|in|order=flip}} a year since 1993, which is more than twice the worldwide average rate. In [[Kwajalein Atoll|Kwajalein]], there is a high risk of permanent flooding; when [[sea level rise]]s by {{convert|1|m|ft|order=flip}}, 37% of buildings will be permanently flooded. In [[Ebeye Island|Ebeye]], the risk from sea level rise is even higher, with 50% of buildings being permanently flooded in the same scenario. With {{convert|1|m|ft|order=flip}} of sea level rise, parts of the [[Majuro|Majuro atoll]] will be permanently flooded and other parts will have a high risk of flooding especially the eastern part of the atoll would be significantly at risk. With {{convert|2|m|ft|order=flip}} sea level rise all the buildings of Majuro will be permanently flooded or will be at a high risk of being flooded.<ref>{{cite web |date=2021-10-22 |title=Adapting to rising sea levels in Marshall Islands |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8c715dcc5781421ebff46f35ef34a04d |access-date=2021-11-14 |website=ArcGIS StoryMaps |language=en-us |archive-date=2021-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114023449/https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8c715dcc5781421ebff46f35ef34a04d |url-status=live}}</ref>

The per capita {{CO2}} emissions were 2.56 t in 2020.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ritchie |first1=Hannah |author1-link=Hannah Ritchie |last2=Roser |first2=Max |author2-link=Max Roser |date=2020-05-11 |title=CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions |url=https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/marshall-islands |journal=Our World in Data |access-date=2021-11-14 |archive-date=2021-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114135247/https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/marshall-islands |url-status=live}}</ref> The government of Marshall Islands pledged to be net zero in 2050, with a decrease of 32% in [[Greenhouse gas|GHGs]] in 2025, 45% in 2030 and 58% in 2035, all compared to 2010 levels.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Republic of the Marshall Islands Nationally Determined Contribution |url=https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Marshall%20Islands%20Second/20181122%20Marshall%20Islands%20NDC%20to%20UNFCCC%2022%20November%202018%20FINAL.pdf |url-status=live |website= |access-date=2021-11-14 |archive-date=2021-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102200737/https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Marshall%20Islands%20Second/20181122%20Marshall%20Islands%20NDC%20to%20UNFCCC%2022%20November%202018%20FINAL.pdf}}</ref>

===Fauna===
{{main|List of mammals of the Marshall Islands|List of butterflies of the Marshall Islands}}

====Birds====

{{main|List of birds of the Marshall Islands}}
Most birds found in the Marshall Islands, with the exception of those few introduced by humans, are either sea birds or migratory species.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Life in Micronesia |last=Bryan |first=Edwin Horace |date=1965 |oclc=21662705 |publisher=Kwajalein Hourglass |location=Kwajalein, Marshall Islands}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=loc>{{cite web |url=http://www.listofcountriesoftheworld.com/rm-animals.html |title=Animals in Marshall Islands |website=Listofcountriesoftheworld.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818235505/http://www.listofcountriesoftheworld.com/rm-animals.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The only land bird is the [[house sparrow]], introduced by humans.<ref name=cause>{{cite web |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=tjM0AQAAMAAJ |page=23}}|page=23|title=Kwajalein Atoll Causeway Project, Marshall Islands, USA Permit Application, Discharge of Fill Material: Environmental Impact Statement|date=August 22, 1986 |access-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref>

====Marine====

There are about 300 species of fish, 250 of which are [[Coral reef fish|reef fish]].<ref name=loc/>
* Turtles: [[Chelonia mydas|green turtles]], [[Eretmochelys imbricata|hawksbill]], [[Leatherback sea turtle]]s, and [[Olive ridley sea turtle]]s.<ref>MIMRA. 2008, 2009, 2010. Republic of the Marshall Islands Annual Report Part 1. Information of Fisheries, Statistics and Research.  Annual Report to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Scientific Committee Fourth Regular Session.  WCPFC-SC4-AR/CCM-12. Oceanic and Industrial Affairs Division, Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Majuro</ref>
* 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]].<ref>Bromhead, D., Clarke, S., Hoyle, S., Muller, B., Sharples, P., Harley, S. 2012. Identification of factors influencing shark catch and mortality in the Marshall Islands tuna longline fishery and management implications.  ''Journal of Fish Biology'' 80: 1870–1894</ref><ref name="dos reis">{{cite journal |author=dos Reis, M.A.F. |title=Chondrichthyan Fauna from the Pirabas Formation, Miocene of Northern Brazil, with Comments on Paleobiogeography |journal=Anuário do Instituto de Geociências |year=2005 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=31&ndash;58 |doi=10.11137/2005_2_31-58 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

====Arthropods====

* Scorpions: [[Liocheles australasiae|dwarf wood scorpion]], and [[Isometrus maculatus|Common house scorpion]]. [[Pseudoscorpion]]s are occasionally found.<ref name=mii>{{Cite book |first=E.H. |last=Bryan |title=Life in Micronesia: Marshall Island Insects, Part 1 |publisher=Kwajalein Hourglass |date=1965 |location=Kwajalein, Marshall Islands}}</ref>
*Spiders: Two: ''[[Dictis striatipes]]'';<ref name=mii/> and ''[[Jaluiticola]]'', a [[genus (biology)|genus]] of [[Salticidae|jumping spiders]] endemic to the Marshall Islands. Its only species is ''Jaluiticola hesslei''.<ref name=NMBE>{{cite web |title=Salticidae |website=World Spider Catalog |publisher=Natural History Museum Bern| access-date=April 10, 2017 |url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/2717| archive-date=April 10, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410133031/http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/2717| url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Amphipod]]: One &ndash; ''[[Talorchestia spinipalma]]''.<ref name=mii/>
* [[Orthoptera]]: [[Blattidae|cockroaches]], [[American cockroach]]es, [[short-horned grasshopper]], [[gryllidae|cricket]]s.<ref name=mii/>
* Crabs include [[hermit crab]]s, and [[coconut crab]]s.<ref name=cause/>

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of the Marshall Islands}}
[[File:Population distribution Marshall Islands.svg|thumb|left|Population distribution in the 2010s]] 
{{Historical populations
|type =
|footnote = Source:<ref name="2011census">{{cite web |url=https://sdd.spc.int/digital_library/republic-marshall-islands-2011-census-report |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands 2011 Census Report |date=2012 |publisher=[[Pacific Community]] (SPC): Statistics for Development Division |access-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006211632/https://sdd.spc.int/digital_library/republic-marshall-islands-2011-census-report |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2021census"/>
|1920 | 9800
|1925 | 9644
|1930 | 10412
|1935 | 10446
|1958 | 13928
|1967 | 18925
|1973 | 24135
|1980 | 30873
|1988 | 43380
|1999 | 50840
|2011 | 53158
|2021 | 42418
}}
{{bar box
|title=Ethnic groups in the Marshall Islands (2021)<ref name="2021census"/>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Ethnic groups
|right1=percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|Marshallese|darkgreen|95.6}}
{{bar percent|Others|black|4.4}}
}}
Historical population figures for the Marshall Islands are unknown. In 1862, the population of the Islands was estimated at 10,000.<ref name=beardslee/> In 1960, the population of the Islands was approximately 15,000. The 2021 [[census]] counted 42,418 residents, 23,156 of whom (approximately 54.6%) lived on [[Majuro]]. 77.7% of the population lived in an urban setting on Majuro or [[Ebeye]], the country's secondary urban center. This figure excludes Marshall Islands natives who have relocated elsewhere; the [[Compact of Free Association]] allows them to freely relocate to the United States and obtain work there.<ref name=gwynne>{{cite magazine |last=Gwynne |first=S.C. |title=Paradise With an Asterisk |url=http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Paradise-With-An-Asterisk.html?page=all |magazine=Outside Magazine |access-date=9 August 2013 |date=5 October 2012 |archive-date=16 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816055720/http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Paradise-With-An-Asterisk.html?page=all |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Maie V. Garland"/> [[Marshallese people in Springdale, Arkansas|Approximately 4,300 Marshall Islands natives]] relocated to [[Springdale, Arkansas]], in the United States. This figure represents the largest population concentration of Marshall Islands natives outside their island home.<ref>{{cite news |title=For Pacific Islanders, Hopes and Troubles in Arkansas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/us/for-marshall-islanders-hopes-and-troubles-in-arkansas.html |first1=Bret |last1=Schulte |date=July 4, 2012 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-date=February 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220070836/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/us/for-marshall-islanders-hopes-and-troubles-in-arkansas.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Most residents of the Marshall Islands are Marshallese. [[Marshallese people]] are of [[Micronesians|Micronesian]] origin and are believed to have migrated from [[Asia]] to the Marshall Islands several thousand years ago. A minority of the Marshallese have [[Asian people|Asian]] and [[Demographics of Europe|European]] ancestry such as [[Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands|Japanese]] and [[Germans|German]]. A Majority have [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] and [[Melanesians|Melanesian]] ancestry. About one-half of the nation's population lives in Majuro and Ebeye Atolls.<ref>{{cite journal |author=David Vine |url=http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/13/2vine.pdf |title=The Impoverishment of Displacement: Models for Documenting Human Rights Abuses and the People of Diego Garcia |journal=Human Rights Brief |volume=13 |issue=2 |year=2006 |pages=21–24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208110623/http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/13/2vine.pdf |archive-date=February 8, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>David Vine (January 7, 2004) [https://web.archive.org/web/20120930202543/http://web.gc.cuny.edu/dept/rbins/IUCSHA/fellows/dv/DV-link2.pdf Exile in the Indian Ocean: Documenting the Injuries of Involuntary Displacement]. Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies. Web.gc.cuny.edu. Retrieved on September 11, 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=David Vine|title=Empire's Footprint: Expulsion and the United States Military Base on Diego Garcia|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=rIXdsrzWof4C |page=268}}|year=2006|isbn=978-0-542-85100-1|page=268}}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Vine2011">{{cite book |author=David Vine |title=Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia (New in Paper) |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=3ankJb0skpwC |page=67}}|year= 2011 |publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-14983-7|page=67}}</ref>

The official languages of the Marshall Islands are [[English language|English]] and [[Marshallese language|Marshallese]]. Both languages are widely spoken.<ref>{{cite web |title=The World Factbook: Marshall Islands |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ |website=cia.gov |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date=June 28, 2017 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204143516/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ |url-status=live}}  Look under tab for "People and Society".</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in the Marshall Islands}}
[[File:Marshall Islands PICT0669 (4776527881).jpg|thumb|Christians in the Marshall Islands]]

At the September 2021 census, approximately 96.2% of the population identified with one of fourteen [[Christian denomination]]s in the Marshall Islands. The denominations with more than 1,000 adherents included the [[United Church of Christ - Congregational in the Marshall Islands]] (47.9%), the [[Assemblies of God]] (14.1%), the [[Catholic Church]] (9.3%), [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Marshall Islands|the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (5.7%), the Full Gospel Church of the Marshall Islands (5%), and Bukot nan Jesus (3%). 

The remainder of denominations primarily included Protestant churches as well as [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]. 1,128 people, or 2.7% of respondents identified as belonging to a religion other than one of the fourteen denominations listed on the census form. 444 people, or 1.1% of respondents claimed to be [[Irreligion|irreligious]].<ref name="2021census"/> Majuro also has a [[Baháʼí Faith in the Marshall Islands|Baháʼí community]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carucci |first1=Laurence Marshall |date=2020 |title=The Shifting Nature of Ritual Practices in Marshall Islanders' Christianity |journal=Journal of Ritual Studies |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=15–16 |jstor=48653330}}</ref> and a [[Islam in the Marshall Islands|Muslim community]]. The country's [[Baet-Ul-Ahad Mosque|sole mosque]] is aligned with the [[Ahmadiyya]] movement.<ref>{{cite news |last=Raj |first=Ali |date=July 11, 2019 |title=Driven from Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims find paradise in the Marshall Islands |url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3006385/driven-pakistan-ahmadi-muslims-find-paradise-marshall-islands |work=[[South China Morning Post]] |location=Hong Kong |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=October 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011063615/https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3006385/driven-pakistan-ahmadi-muslims-find-paradise-marshall-islands |url-status=live }}</ref>

Father A. Erdland,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhilQymfgykC&q=Father+A.+Erdland+marshall+islands |title=Annals of the Propagation of the Faith |date=1910 |publisher=Society for the Propagation of the Faith. |language=en |access-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407131243/https://books.google.com/books?id=FhilQymfgykC&q=Father+A.+Erdland+marshall+islands |url-status=live }}</ref> a Catholic priest of the [[Missionaries of the Sacred Heart]] of Hiltrup (German Empire, called in German ''Herz-Jesu-Missionare'' and in Latin ''Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis''), lived in [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]] between 1904 and 1914. After doing considerable research on Marshallese culture and language, he published a 376-page [[monograph]] on the islands in 1914. Father H. Linckens,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spennemann |first=Dirk R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZkfAQAAMAAJ&q=Father+H.+Linckens+marshall+islands |title=Cultural Resource Management Plan for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands: Management plan |date=1990 |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Territorial and Insular Affairs |language=en |access-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407131242/https://books.google.com/books?id=AZkfAQAAMAAJ&q=Father+H.+Linckens+marshall+islands |url-status=live }}</ref> another Sacred Heart missionary, visited the Marshall Islands in 1904 and 1911 for several weeks. In 1912, he published a small work on Catholic missionary activities and the people of the Marshall Islands. The Catholics are under the responsibility of the [[Apostolic Prefecture of the Marshall Islands]] (''Praefectura Apostolica Insularum Marshallensium''),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marshall Islands (Prefecture Apostolic) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmars.html |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org |archive-date=October 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028084057/https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmars.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with headquarters at the [[Cathedral of the Assumption, Majuro|Cathedral of the Assumption]] in Majuro, which was created by Pope [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]] in 1993 through the papal [[Papal bull|bull]] ''Quo expeditius''.

===Health===
{{Main|Health in the Marshall Islands}}

The [[Castle Bravo]] test of the first deployable thermonuclear bomb had an unforeseen additional nuclear reactions involving [[Isotopes of lithium|lithium-7]] that resulted in the explosion being over twice as large as predicted. Resulting in a much larger [[nuclear fallout]] than expected. The nuclear fallout spread eastward onto the inhabited [[Rongelap Atoll|Rongelap]] and [[Rongerik Atoll]]s. These islands were not evacuated before the explosion. Many of the Marshall Islands natives have since suffered from radiation burns and radioactive dusting, suffering similar fates as the Japanese fishermen aboard the ''[[Daigo Fukuryū Maru]]'', but have received little, if any, compensation from the [[U.S. government|federal government]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Renee Lewis |title=Bikinians evacuated 'for good of mankind' endure lengthy nuclear fallout |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/28/bikini-nuclear-test-survivors-demand-compensation.html |date=28 July 2015 | access-date= 22 August 2019 | archive-date= 22 August 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190822105132/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/28/bikini-nuclear-test-survivors-demand-compensation.html | url-status= live}}</ref>

In 2010, it was noted the Marshallese were having a problem finding land to bury their dead due to limited land. One solution they developed was to make a double grave by burying another on the same plot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-07-15 |title=Marshalls' Ebeye Island has no more space to bury its dead |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/191426/marshalls'-ebeye-island-has-no-more-space-to-bury-its-dead |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=[[RNZ]] |language=en-nz}}</ref>

==Government==
{{Main|Government of the Marshall Islands}}
[[File:Republic of the Marshall Islands Capitol Building.gif|thumb|upright=1.3|left|The former Marshall Islands Capitol Building]]
[[File:President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, H.E. Hilda C. Heine, Participates in a Public Wreath-Laying Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery (37004671006).jpg|thumb|[[Hilda Heine|H.E. Hilda C. Heine]], first female president of the Marshall Islands, walking through the Memorial Amphitheater at [[Arlington National Cemetery]], 2017]]
[[File:Secretary Clinton Holds a Bilateral With President of the Marshall Islands Iroij Jurelang Zedkaia (4615391754).jpg|thumb|Former Marshallese President Iroij Jurelang Zedkaia meets with Secretary Clinton, 2010]]
The government of the Marshall Islands operates under a mixed parliamentary-presidential system as set forth in its [[Constitution of the Marshall Islands|1979 Constitution]].<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102080552/http://www.paclii.org/mh/legis/consol_act/cotmi363/ |archive-date=January 2, 2011 |url=http://www.paclii.org/mh/legis/consol_act/cotmi363/ |title=Constitution of the Marshall Islands |publisher=Paclii.org |access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> Elections are held every four years in [[universal suffrage]] (for all citizens above 18), with each of the twenty-four constituencies (see below) electing one or more representatives (senators) to the lower house of RMI's unicameral legislature, the [[Nitijela]]. ([[Majuro]], the capital atoll, elects five senators.) The President, who is head of state as well as head of government, is elected by the 33 senators of the Nitijela. Four of the five Marshallese presidents who have been elected since the Constitution was adopted in 1979 have been traditional [[paramount chief]]s.<ref name=mv>{{cite news |author=Giff Johnson |title=Huge funeral recognizes late Majuro chief |url=http://mvariety.com/2010112432258/local-news/huge-funeral-recognizes-late-majuro-chief.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110714141135/http://mvariety.com/2010112432258/local-news/huge-funeral-recognizes-late-majuro-chief.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |work=[[Marianas Variety News & Views]] |date=November 25, 2010 |access-date=November 28, 2010 |author-link=Giff Johnson}}</ref>

[[File:10.30 總統抵達馬紹爾群島共和國，由海妮（Hilda C. Heine）總統陪同沿紅地毯前進，接受兩側馬國國家警察儀隊致敬 (37980845986).jpg|thumb|Former President Hilda Heine with [[Taiwan]] President [[Tsai Ing-wen]] in October 2017]]
In January 2016, senator Hilda Heine was elected by Parliament as the first female president of the Marshall Islands; previous president [[Casten Nemra]] lost office in a [[vote of no confidence]] after serving two weeks.<ref name="bbc.com"/>

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 [[atoll]]s. There are currently four political parties in the Marshall Islands: [[Aelon̄ Kein Ad]] (AKA), [[United People's Party (Marshall Islands)|United People's Party]] (UPP), [[Kien Eo Am]] (KEA), and [[United Democratic Party (Marshall Islands)|United Democratic Party]] (UDP). The AKA and the UDP share rulership. The following senators are in the legislative body:

* [[Ailinglaplap Atoll]] – [[Christopher Loeak]] (AKA), [[Alfred Alfred Jr.]] (IND)
* [[Ailuk Atoll]] – [[Maynard Alfred]] (UDP)
* [[Arno Atoll]] – [[Mike Halferty]] (KEA), Jejwadrik H. Anton (IND)
* [[Aur Atoll]] – [[Hilda Heine]] (AKA)
* [[Ebon Atoll]] – [[John M. Silk]] (UDP)
* [[Enewetak Atoll]] – [[Jack J. Ading]] (UPP)
* [[Jabat Island]] – [[Kessai Note]] (UDP)
* [[Jaluit Atoll]] – [[Casten Nemra]] (IND), [[Daisy Alik Momotaro]] (IND)
* [[Kili Island]] – Eldon H. Note (UDP)
* [[Kwajalein Atoll]] – Michael Kabua (AKA), [[David Paul (politician)|David Paul]] (KEA), [[Alvin Jacklick]] (KEA)
* [[Lae Atoll]] – [[Thomas Heine]] (AKA)
* [[Lib Island]] – Jerakoj Jerry Bejang (AKA)
* [[Likiep Atoll]] – Leander Leander, Jr. (IND)
* [[Majuro Atoll]] – Sherwood M. Tibon (KEA), Anthony Muller (KEA), [[Brenson Wase]] (UDP), [[David Kramer (politician)|David Kramer]] (KEA), Kalani Kaneko (KEA)
* [[Maloelap Atoll]] – Bruce Bilimon (IND)
* [[Mejit|Mejit Island]] – [[Dennis Momotaro]] (AKA)
* [[Mili Atoll]] – [[Wilbur Heine]] (AKA)
* [[Namdrik Atoll]] – [[Wisely Zackhras]] (IND)
* [[Namu Atoll]] – Tony Aiseia (AKA)
* [[Rongelap Atoll]] – [[Kenneth A. Kedi]] (IND)
* [[Ujae Atoll]] – [[Atbi Riklon]] (IND)
* [[Utirik Atoll]] – [[Amenta Matthew]] (KEA)
* [[Wotho Atoll]] – [[David Kabua]] (AKA)
* [[Wotje Atoll]] – [[Litokwa Tomeing]] (UPP)

===Foreign affairs and defense===
[[File:Marshall Islands Police patrol vessel Lomor and USCGC Oliver Berry - 180703-G-CA140-115.jpg|thumb|left|The [[USCGC Oliver F. Berry (WPC 1124)|USCGC ''Oliver Berry'']] and the [[RMIS Lomor (03)|RMIS ''Lomor'']] on a joint patrol<ref name=Dvids2018-08-01/>]]
[[File:Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands.jpg|thumb|The Marshall Islands host Missile Defense Site]]
[[File:Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Japan.jpg|thumb|Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Japan]]

{{further|Foreign relations of the Marshall Islands|Compact of Free Association}}
The [[Compact of Free Association]] with the United States gives the U.S. sole responsibility for international defense of the Marshall Islands. It gives the islanders (the [[Demographics of the Marshall Islands|Marshallese]]) the right to [[emigrate]] to the United States without any visa.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/02/world/The-Marshall-Islands-Are-Disappearing.html |title=The Marshall Islands Are Disappearing |first1=Coral |last1=Davenport |first2=Josh |last2=Haner |date=December 1, 2015 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823193536/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/02/world/The-Marshall-Islands-Are-Disappearing.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Maie V. Garland">{{cite web |url=https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/08/02/19-73099.pdf |title=Bryan Maie V. Merrick Garland, No. 19-73099 |page=6 |publisher=U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |date=August 2, 2021 |access-date=2021-08-09 |quote=Bryan Maie is a native and citizen of the Marshall Islands who came to the United States as a child with his family in 1989. Maie and his family arrived in Hawaii pursuant to the Compact of Free Association, which allows citizens of the Marshall Islands to come to the United States to live, work, and go to school without a visa. |archive-date=2021-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802190538/https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/08/02/19-73099.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> However, as [[Alien (United States)|aliens]], they can be placed in [[removal proceedings]] if convicted of certain criminal offenses.<ref name="Maie V. Garland"/>

The Marshall Islands was admitted to the [[United Nations]] based on the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]]'s recommendation on August 9, 1991, in [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 704|Resolution 704]] and the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]]'s approval on September 17, 1991, in Resolution 46/3.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/46/3 |title=United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/3, ''Admission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to Membership in the United Nations,'' adopted September 17, 1991 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118011819/http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2FRES%2F46%2F3 |url-status=dead |series=United Nations Official Document |archive-date=November 18, 2015 |website=un.org}}</ref> In international politics within the United Nations, the Marshall Islands has often voted consistently with the United States with respect to General Assembly resolutions.<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/82642.pdf General Assembly – Overall Votes – Comparison with U.S. vote] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202183404/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/82642.pdf |date=2019-12-02 }}  lists the Marshall Islands as the country with the second highest incidence of votes. Micronesia has always been in the top two.</ref>

On April 28, 2015, the [[Iranian navy]] seized the Marshall Island-flagged [[MV Maersk Tigris|MV ''Maersk Tigris'']] near the [[Strait of Hormuz]]. The ship had been chartered by Germany's Rickmers Ship Management, which stated that the ship contained no special cargo and no military weapons. The ship was reported to be under the control of the [[Iranian Revolutionary Guard]] according to [[the Pentagon]]. Tensions escalated in the region due to the intensifying of [[Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war|Saudi-led coalition attacks in Yemen]]. The Pentagon reported that the destroyer [[USS Farragut (DDG-99)|USS ''Farragut'']] and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft were dispatched upon receiving a distress call from the ship ''Tigris'' and it was also reported that all 34 crew members were detained. [[US Defense Department|US defense]] officials have said that they would review U.S. defense obligations to the Government of the Marshall Islands in the wake of recent events and also condemned the shots fired at the bridge as "inappropriate". It was reported in May 2015 that [[Tehran]] would release the ship after it paid a penalty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/marshall-islands-ship-seized-by-iran-2015-4 |title=Marshall Islands ship seized by Iran – Business Insider |author=Armin Rosen |date=April 29, 2015 |work=Business Insider |access-date=May 6, 2015 |archive-date=May 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503020918/http://www.businessinsider.com/marshall-islands-ship-seized-by-iran-2015-4 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/iran-to-release-cargo-vessel-after-it-pays-fine-2015-5 |title=Iran to release cargo vessel after it pays fine – Business Insider |date=May 6, 2015 |work=Business Insider |access-date=May 6, 2015 |archive-date=May 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509232420/http://www.businessinsider.com/iran-to-release-cargo-vessel-after-it-pays-fine-2015-5 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2017, at the 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, [[Vanuatu]] made a joint statement on behalf of the Marshall Islands and some other Pacific nations raising human rights violations in the [[Western New Guinea]], which has been occupied by [[Indonesia]] since 1963,<ref>{{cite news |title=Freedom of the press in Indonesian-occupied West Papua |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jul/22/freedom-of-the-press-in-indonesian-occupied-west-papua |work=The Guardian |date=22 July 2019 |access-date=31 July 2019 |archive-date=25 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725001246/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jul/22/freedom-of-the-press-in-indonesian-occupied-west-papua |url-status=live}}</ref> and requested that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights produce a report.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fox |first1=Liam |title=Pacific nations call for UN investigations into alleged Indonesian rights abuses in West Papua |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-02/pacific-nations-call-for-un-investigations-into-west-papua/8320194 |work=ABC News |date=2 March 2017 |access-date=2019-07-31 |archive-date=2017-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031203404/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-02/pacific-nations-call-for-un-investigations-into-west-papua/8320194 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="SBSMar17">{{cite news |title=Pacific nations want UN to investigate Indonesia on West Papua |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/02/pacific-nations-want-un-investigate-indonesia-west-papua |work=SBS News |date=7 March 2017 |access-date=31 July 2019 |archive-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107034058/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/02/pacific-nations-want-un-investigate-indonesia-west-papua |url-status=live}}</ref> Indonesia rejected allegations.<ref name="SBSMar17" />

Since 1991 the [[Republic of Marshall Islands Sea Patrol]], a division of [[Marshall Islands Police]], has operated the 160-ton patrol vessel [[RMIS Lomor (03)|RMIS ''Lomor'']]. ''Lomor'' is one of 22 [[Pacific Forum patrol vessel]]s [[Australia]] provided to smaller nations in the [[Pacific Islands Forum|Pacific Forum]].  While some other nations' missions for their vessels include sovereignty and protection, the terms of the Compact of Free Association restrict ''Lomor'' to civilian missions, like fishery protection and [[search and rescue]].

In 2021, the governments of [[Australia]] and [[Japan]] decided to fund two major law enforcement developments in the Marshall Islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mvariety.com/news/australia-japan-fund-law-enforcement-in-marshall-islands/article_fcac5006-63b4-11eb-8dc1-2766414cf8f0.html |title=Australia, Japan fund law enforcement in Marshall Islands {{!}} MVariety |website=mvariety.com|last=Johnson|first=Giff|date=February 1, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209085055/https://mvariety.com/news/australia-japan-fund-law-enforcement-in-marshall-islands/article_fcac5006-63b4-11eb-8dc1-2766414cf8f0.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2021, the Marshall Islands announced it would be formally withdrawing from the [[Pacific Islands Forum]] in a joint statement with [[Kiribati]], [[Nauru]], and the [[Federated States of Micronesia]] after a dispute regarding [[Henry Puna]]'s election as the forum's secretary-general.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |date=9 February 2021 |title=Five Micronesian countries leave Pacific Islands Forum |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/436039/five-micronesian-countries-leave-pacific-islands-forum |access-date=9 February 2021 |publisher=[[RNZ]] |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308131515/https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/436039/five-micronesian-countries-leave-pacific-islands-forum |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web |date=8 February 2021 |title=Pacific Islands Forum in crisis as one-third of member nations quit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/09/pacific-islands-forum-in-crisis-as-one-third-of-member-nations-quit |access-date=9 February 2021 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209013116/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/09/pacific-islands-forum-in-crisis-as-one-third-of-member-nations-quit |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of the Marshall Islands}}
{{see also|Marshallese cuisine}}
[[File:Marshallese Rito Fans.jpg|thumb|Marshallese [[Hand fan|fans]]]]
[[File:Marshall Islands PICT0409 (4745369944).jpg|thumb|Marshalese cuisine]]

Although the ancient skills are now in decline, the Marshallese were once able [[navigation|navigators]], using the [[celestial navigation|stars]] and [[Marshall Islands stick chart|stick-and-shell charts]].

==Sports==
{{Main|Marshall Islands Athletics|Marshall Islands at the Olympics|Category: Sports in the Marshall Islands}}

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/noc-profile-marshall-islands.htm |title=Team Marshall Islands Marshall Islands – Profile |date=27 July 2021 |publisher=Olympics.com |access-date=24 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814071432/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/noc-profile-marshall-islands.htm}}</ref>

===Soccer===
{{See also|List of association football clubs in the Marshall Islands}}
The Marshall Islands have a small club [[soccer]] league, including [[Kobeer]] as the most successful club. One tournament was held by ''Play Soccer Make Peace''. The island of [[Majuro]] has a small football association.{{cn|date=April 2025}} The Marshall Islands is the only country in the world that does not have its own [[List of men's national association football teams|national team]], which would be organized by the [[Marshall Islands Soccer Federation]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66991995 | title=Marshall Islands: The last country on Earth without a national football team | publisher=BBC | date=10 October 2023 | accessdate=10 October 2023 | archive-date=October 10, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010083254/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66991995 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Marshall Islands is therefore the only sovereign country in the world that does not have a record of a national football match.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oceaniafootball.hpage.com/non-fifa/marshall-islands.html |title=Football |website=oceaniafootball.hpage.com |access-date=2018-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906161725/https://oceaniafootball.hpage.com/non-fifa/marshall-islands.html |archive-date=2018-09-06}}</ref>

===Baseball and softball===
[[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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=2-3849-0-0-0&sID=40447&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=5044883 |title=Marshall Islands Baseball / Softball Federation – Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee – SportsTG |website=SportsTG |language=en |access-date=2018-09-06 |archive-date=2018-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906161726/http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=2-3849-0-0-0&sID=40447&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=5044883 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of the Marshall Islands}}
[[File:Marshall Islands PICT0943 (4776559907).jpg|thumb|Sailboat in the Marshall Islands]]
[[File:A fisherman on Majuro, Marshall Islands, February 2012. Photo- Erin Magee - DFAT (12426170833).jpg|thumb|Fisherman on Majuro, 2012]]
The islands have few natural resources, and their imports far exceed exports. According to the CIA, the value of exports in 2013 was approximately $53.7 million while estimated imports were $133.7 million. 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. The GDP in 2016 was an estimated $180 million, with a real growth rate of 1.7%. The GDP per capita was $3,300.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/marshall_islands/marshall_islands_economy.html |title=Marshall Islands Economy 2017, CIA World Factbook |website=Theodora.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814174949/http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/marshall_islands/marshall_islands_economy.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[International Monetary Fund]] reported in mid-2016 that the economy of the Republic had expanded by about 0.5 percent in the Fiscal Year 2015 thanks to an improved fisheries sector. A surplus of 3% of GDP was recorded "owing to record-high fishing license fees. Growth is expected to rise to about 1.5 percent and inflation to about 0.5 percent in FY2016, as the effects of the drought in earlier 2016 are offset by the resumption of infrastructure projects."<ref name="imf.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2016/12/31/Republic-of-the-Marshall-Islands-2016-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-and-44150 |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands : 2016 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Republic of the Marshall Islands |website=Imf.org |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814175013/http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2016/12/31/Republic-of-the-Marshall-Islands-2016-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-and-44150 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, the Republic of Marshall Islands passed the [[Sovereign Currency Act of 2018|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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-marshall-islands/marshall-islands-to-issue-own-sovereign-cryptocurrency-idUSKCN1GC2UD |title=Marshall Islands to issue own sovereign cryptocurrency |work=Reuters |access-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301143628/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-marshall-islands/marshall-islands-to-issue-own-sovereign-cryptocurrency-idUSKCN1GC2UD |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Unlocking the potential of blockchain technology |url=https://news.mit.edu/2021/unlocking-potential-blockchain-0616 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology|date=June 16, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=2021-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213004138/https://news.mit.edu/2021/unlocking-potential-blockchain-0616 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Marshall Islands has signed a [[Free trade agreement|bilateral trade agreement]] with Taiwan in 2019, this agreement has been approved in 2023 and will take effect at a future date.<ref>{{cite web |title=ECA/FTA簽訂夥伴 |url=https://fta.trade.gov.tw/ |website=臺灣ECAFTA總入口網站 |publisher=Bureau of Foreign Trade |access-date=11 June 2023 |archive-date=June 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230611160659/https://fta.trade.gov.tw/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Shipping===
The Marshall Islands plays a vital role in the international shipping industry as a [[flag of convenience]] for commercial vessels.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/business/international/marshall-islands-shipping-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html |title=Marshall Islands, the Flag for Many Ships, Seeks to Rein In Emissions |last=Galbraith |first=Kate |date=June 3, 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 3, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104014023/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/business/international/marshall-islands-shipping-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html |archive-date=January 4, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The Marshallese registry began operations in 1990, and is managed through a joint venture with International Registries, Inc., a US-based corporation that has offices in major shipping centers worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thelawreviews.co.uk/edition/the-shipping-law-review-edition-4/1144034/marshall-islands |title=Marshall Islands – The Shipping Law Review – Edition 4 |website=The Law Reviews |language=en |access-date=January 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104022404/http://thelawreviews.co.uk/edition/the-shipping-law-review-edition-4/1144034/marshall-islands |archive-date=January 4, 2018 |url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> As of 2017, the Marshallese ship registry was the second largest in the world, after that of [[Panama]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.seatrade-maritime.com/news/europe/marshall-islands-becomes-the-world-s-second-largest-ship-registry.html |title=Marshall Islands becomes the world's second largest ship registry |last=Hand |first=Marcus |date=March 22, 2017 |work=Seatrade Maritime News |access-date=January 3, 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815151641/http://www.seatrade-maritime.com/news/europe/marshall-islands-becomes-the-world-s-second-largest-ship-registry.html |archive-date=August 15, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Unlike some flag countries, there is no requirement that a Marshallese flag vessel be owned by a Marshallese individual or corporation. Following the 2015 seizure of the ''[[MV Maersk Tigris]]'', the United States announced that its treaty obligation to defend the Marshall Islands did not extend to foreign-owned Marshallese flag vessels at sea.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/01/u-s-treaty-obligation-to-defend-marshall-islands-ships/ |title=U.S. treaty obligation to defend Marshall Islands ships |last=Kopel |first=David |date=May 1, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=January 3, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104013825/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/01/u-s-treaty-obligation-to-defend-marshall-islands-ships/ |archive-date=January 4, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

As a result of ship-to-ship transfers by Marshallese flag tanker vessels, the Marshall Islands have statistically been one of the largest importers of crude oil from the United States, despite the fact that the islands have no oil refining capacity.<ref>
{{Cite news |last=Gloystein |first=Henning |date=2016-08-12 |title=How the Marshall Islands became a top U.S. crude export destination |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/oil-marshall-islands/how-the-marshall-islands-became-a-top-u-s-crude-export-destination-idUSL8N1AT07P |url-status=live |department=Intel |work=[[Reuters]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104073406/https://www.reuters.com/article/oil-marshall-islands/how-the-marshall-islands-became-a-top-u-s-crude-export-destination-idUSL8N1AT07P |archive-date=January 4, 2018 |access-date=January 3, 2018 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Labour===
In 2007, the Marshall Islands joined the [[International Labour Organization]], which means its labor laws will comply with international benchmarks. This may affect business conditions in the islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_083235/index.htm |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands becomes 181st ILO member State |publisher=Ilo.org |date=July 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724051220/http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_083235/index.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2008}}</ref>

===Taxation===

The [[income tax]] has two brackets, with rates of 8% and 12%.<ref name="rmiparliament.org">{{cite web |url=https://rmiparliament.org/cms/legislation/current/by-title.html?view=acts_by_category |title=Official Homepage of the NITIJELA (PARLIAMENT) |publisher=NITIJELA (PARLIAMENT) of the Republic of the Marshall Islands |access-date=2018-01-16 |archive-date=2018-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116135714/https://rmiparliament.org/cms/legislation/current/by-title.html?view=acts_by_category |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[corporate tax]] is 3% of revenue.<ref name="rmiparliament.org"/>

===Foreign assistance===

[[United States government]] assistance is the mainstay of the economy. Under terms of the Amended [[Compact of Free Association]], the U.S. is committed to providing US$57.7 million per year in assistance to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2013 and then US$62.7 million through 2023, at which time a trust fund, made up of U.S. and RMI contributions, will begin perpetual annual payouts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doi.gov/oia/Firstpginfo/laws/public%20law%20108-188,%20December%2017,%202003.pdf |title=COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2003 |work=Public Law 108–188, 108th Congress |date=December 17, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026023104/http://www.doi.gov/oia/Firstpginfo/laws/public%20law%20108-188%2C%20December%2017%2C%202003.pdf |archive-date=October 26, 2007}}</ref>

The [[United States Army]] maintains the [[Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site]] on [[Kwajalein]] Atoll. Marshallese landowners receive rent for the base.

===Agriculture===
[[File:Marshall Islands PICT0355 (4744730879).jpg|thumb|[[Coconut palm]]s in the Marshall Islands]]
Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marshall-islands-farming-climate_us_566a0b5ee4b0f290e522ac67 |title=In The Marshall Islands, Traditional Agriculture And Healthy Eating Are A Climate Change Strategy |last=Mellgard |first=Peter |date=2015-12-12 |work=Huffington Post |access-date=2019-01-16 |language=en-US |archive-date=2018-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225171805/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marshall-islands-farming-climate_us_566a0b5ee4b0f290e522ac67 |url-status=live}}</ref> The most important commercial crop is [[copra]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infomarshallislands.com/copra-processing-plant/ |title=Copra Processing Plant • Marshall Islands Guide |date=November 18, 2016 |website=Infomarshallislands.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=October 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027235640/http://www.infomarshallislands.com/copra-processing-plant/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://marshallislandsjournal.com/Journal_WP/?p=2271 |title=Copra production up on 2014 – The Marshall Islands Journal |date=October 9, 2015 |website=Marshallislandsjournal.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814175737/http://marshallislandsjournal.com/Journal_WP/?p=2271 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> followed by [[coconut]], [[breadfruit]], [[Pandanus tectorius|pandanus]], [[banana]], [[Cyrtosperma merkusii|taro]] and [[Tacca leontopetaloides|arrowroot]]. The livestock consists primarily of pigs and chickens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/counprof/southpacific/marschall.htm |title=Marshall Islands |first=Andrew |last=Speedy |website=Fao.org |access-date=August 22, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417173632/http://www.fao.org/Ag/agp/agpc/doc/Counprof/southpacific/marschall.htm |archive-date=April 17, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="imf.org"/>

===Industry===
Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and [[copra]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marshall Islands |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-investment-climate-statements/marshall-islands/ |access-date=2022-09-22 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922055816/https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-investment-climate-statements/marshall-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Fishing===
Majuro is the world's busiest [[tuna]] transshipment port, with 704 transshipments totaling 444,393 tons in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2016/10/13/marshall-islands-majuro-is-worlds-tuna-hub/ |title=Marshall Islands' Majuro is world's tuna hub |work=Undercurrent News |access-date=January 5, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808031217/https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2016/10/13/marshall-islands-majuro-is-worlds-tuna-hub/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Majuro is also a tuna processing center; the Pan Pacific Foods plant exports processed tuna to a number of countries, primarily the United States under the [[Bumble Bee Foods|Bumble Bee]] brand.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://mh.usembassy.gov/majuro-tuna-plant-exports-world-wide/ |title=Majuro Tuna Plant Exports World-Wide |date=November 23, 2012 |work=U.S. Embassy in the Republic of the Marshall Islands |access-date=January 5, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106063625/https://mh.usembassy.gov/majuro-tuna-plant-exports-world-wide/ |archive-date=January 6, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Fishing license fees, primarily for tuna, provide noteworthy income for the government.<ref name="imf.org" />

In 1999, a private company built a tuna loining plant with more than 400 employees, mostly women. But the plant closed in 2005 after a failed attempt to convert it to produce tuna steaks, a process that requires half as many employees. Operating costs exceeded revenue and the plant closed. It was taken over by the government, which had been the guarantor of a $2 million loan to the business.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files/61/6121a03f43997d613f084f59753ebef0.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=JeRwf5%2BJkTseI7LqGXxVoSXgxJtCwPt9NQZFi0QzmgE%3D&se=2025-01-21T07%3A04%3A08Z&sp=r&rscc=public%2C%20max-age%3D864000%2C%20max-stale%3D86400&rsct=application%2Fpdf&rscd=inline%3B%20filename%3D"Sokimi_03_Marshall.pdf" |title=Field Report No. 21 on Horizontal Tuna Longline fishing workshops and fishing trials, including correct handling, processing and chilling practices in Majuro, Marshall Islands |author=Sokimi |first=William |date=2003 |publisher=Secretariat of the Pacific Community |location=Noumea, New Caledonia |page= |docket= |quote= |author-link= |access-date= }}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Energy===
Coconut [[tree]]s abound in the Pacific's [[tropical]] [[islands]]. [[Copra]], the meat of the [[coconut]], yields 1 [[liter]] of [[coconut oil]] for every 6 to 10 coconuts. As of 2007 power authorities, private companies, and entrepreneurs on the islands had been experimenting with coconut oil as alternative to [[diesel fuel]] for [[vehicles]], [[electricity generation|power generators]], and [[ships]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iwlwgv6YIwatWfk9HEp0bSjAiV-Q |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113002923/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iwlwgv6YIwatWfk9HEp0bSjAiV-Q |archive-date= January 13, 2008 |title=Pacific Islands look to coconut power to fuel future growth |date=September 13, 2007 |access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> In 2009, a 57&nbsp;kW [[solar power]] plant was installed, the largest in the Pacific at the time, including New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.reidtechnology.co.nz/site/reidtech/files//Marshall%20Islands%20Track%202012.pdf College of the Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208105638/http://www.reidtechnology.co.nz/site/reidtech/files//Marshall%20Islands%20Track%202012.pdf |date=February 8, 2013 }}. (PDF) . reidtechnology.co.nz. June 2009</ref> It is estimated that 330&nbsp;kW of solar and 450&nbsp;kW of wind power would be required to make the [[College of the Marshall Islands]] energy self-sufficient.<ref>[http://www.yokwe.net/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=2973 College of the Marshall Islands: Reiher Returns from Japan Solar Training Program with New Ideas] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028160140/http://www.yokwe.net//index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=2973 |date=October 28, 2012 }}. Yokwe.net. Retrieved September 11, 2013.</ref> Marshalls Energy Company (MEC), a government entity, provides the islands with electricity. In 2008, two 100-[[watt peak|W<sub>p</sub>]] solar home systems were installed on 420 homes on Ailinglaplap Atoll, sufficient for limited electricity use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rep5.eu/node/48 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510194128/http://www.rep5.eu/node/48 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands |publisher=Rep5.eu |access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |author=Marshalls Energy Company |title=Report of the Installation of the EU REP-5 Solar Project at Ailinglaplap Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands |page=4 |url=http://www.rep5.eu/files/pages/file/RMI/REPORT%20OF%20THE%20INSTALLATION%20OF%20REP5%20Final.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120213650/http://www.rep5.eu/files/pages/file/RMI/REPORT%20OF%20THE%20INSTALLATION%20OF%20REP5%20Final.pdf |archive-date=2013-01-20 |url-status=dead |docket=9 ACP MH 1}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:160505-N-ZZ999-002 (35427496046).jpg|thumb|Navy sailor volunteer aids an [[Ebeye]] student with a math problem at school]]
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Rights Measurement Initiative – The first global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries |url=https://humanrightsmeasurement.org/ |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=humanrightsmeasurement.org |archive-date=March 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329085456/https://humanrightsmeasurement.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> finds that the Marshall Islands are fulfilling only 66.1% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income.<ref name="rightstracker1">{{cite web |title=Marshall Islands – HRMI Rights Tracker |url=https://rightstracker.org/ |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=rightstracker.org |language=en |archive-date=March 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329085646/https://rightstracker.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration the Marshall Islands' income level, the nation is achieving 65.5% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education and 66.6% for secondary education.<ref name="rightstracker1"/>

The [[Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands)|Ministry of Education]] is the education agency of the islands. [[Marshall Islands Public School System]] operates the state schools in the Marshall Islands.

In the 1994–1995 school year the country had 103 elementary schools and 13 secondary schools. There were 27 private elementary schools and one private high school. Christian groups operated most of the private schools.<ref name=McMurrayetalp127>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc9SAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA127|title=Diseases of Globalization: Socioeconomic Transition and Health|last1=McMurray|first1=Christine|last2=Smith|first2=Roy|date=2013-10-11|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134200221|language=en|access-date=December 13, 2021|archive-date=February 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217172506/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc9SAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA127|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historically the Marshallese population was taught in English first with Marshallese instruction coming later, but this was reversed in the 1990s to keep the islands' cultural heritage and so children could write in Marshallese. Now English language instruction begins in grade 3. Christine McMurray and Roy Smith wrote in ''Diseases of Globalization: Socioeconomic Transition and Health'' that this could potentially weaken the children's English skills.<ref name=McMurrayetalp127/>

There are two [[tertiary education|tertiary]] institutions operating in the Marshall Islands, the [[College of the Marshall Islands]]<ref>[http://www.cmi.edu College of the Marshall Islands (CMI)] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427100225/http://www.cmi.edu/ |date=April 27, 2013 }}. Cmi.edu. Retrieved on September 11, 2013.</ref> and the [[University of the South Pacific]].

==Transportation==
{{Main|Transportation in the Marshall Islands}}
The Marshall Islands are served by the [[Marshall Islands International Airport]] in [[Majuro]], the [[Bucholz Army Airfield]] in Kwajalein, and [[List of airports in the Marshall Islands|other small airports and airstrips]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rmipa.com/airports/ |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands – Amata Kabua International Airport |work=Republic of the Marshall Islands Ports Authority |access-date=2014-01-02 |archive-date=2016-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231031451/http://rmipa.com/airports/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Airlines include [[United Airlines]], [[Nauru Airlines]], [[Air Marshall Islands]], and [[Asia Pacific Airlines (United States)|Asia Pacific Airlines]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rmipa.com/resources/airlines |title=Airlines Serving the Marshall Islands – RMIPA |website=Rmipa.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823121820/http://rmipa.com/resources/airlines/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Media and communications==

The Marshall Islands have several AM and FM radio stations. AM stations are 1098 5&nbsp;kW V7AB Majuro (Radio Marshalls, national coverage) and 1224 AFN Kwajalein (both public radio) as well as 1557 Micronesia Heatwave. The FM stations are 97.9 V7AD Majuro,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.topradiofree.com/listen/Radio_Majuro_979.html |title=Radio Majuro 979 – Listen Radio Majuro 979 online radio FM – Marshall Islands |website=Topradiofree.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814174034/http://www.topradiofree.com/listen/Radio_Majuro_979.html |url-status=live}}</ref> V7AA 96.3 FM Uliga<ref>{{cite web |url=http://radio.gjoy24.com/online/V7AA_963 |title=V7AA – 96.3 FM Uliga Radio Online |website=radio.gjoy24.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814215811/http://radio.gjoy24.com/online/V7AA_963 |url-status=live}}</ref> and 104.1 V7AA Majuro (Baptist religious). BBC World is broadcast on 98.5 FM Majuro.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15595431 |title=Marshall Islands country profile |date=July 31, 2017 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |website=Bbc.com |archive-date=August 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820054837/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15595431 |url-status=live}}</ref> The most recent station is Power 103.5 which started broadcasting in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infomarshallislands.com/hot-new-radio-station/ |title=Hot Radio Station • Marshall Islands Guide |date=September 27, 2016 |website=Infomarshallislands.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820105640/http://www.infomarshallislands.com/hot-new-radio-station/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[American Forces Network|AFRTS]] stations include 99.9 AFN Kwajalein (country), 101.1 AFN (adult rock) and 102.1 AFN (hot AC).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://radiostationworld.com/locations/marshall_islands/radio_stations/ |title=Marshall Islands: Radio Station Listings |website=Radiostationworld.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814181949/http://radiostationworld.com/locations/marshall_islands/radio_stations/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.topradiofree.com/listen/Micronesia_Heatwave_1557.html |title=Micronesia Heatwave 1557 – Listen Micronesia Heatwave 1557 online radio FM – Marshall Islands |website=Topradiofree.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814174528/http://www.topradiofree.com/listen/Micronesia_Heatwave_1557.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

There is one broadcast television station, MBC-TV operated by the state.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15598728 |title=Marshall Islands profile – Media |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |website=Bbc.com |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823024917/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15598728 |url-status=live}}</ref> Cable TV is available. On cable TV, most programs are shown two weeks later than in North America but news in real time can be viewed on CNN, CNBC and BBC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/places/australia-and-oceania/pacific-islands-political-geography/marshall-islands |title=Marshall Islands facts, information, pictures – Encyclopedia.com articles about Marshall Islands |website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823022855/http://www.encyclopedia.com/places/australia-and-oceania/pacific-islands-political-geography/marshall-islands |url-status=live}}</ref> American Forces Radio and Television also provides TV service to Kwajalein Atoll.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ |title=AUSTRALIA-OCEANIA : MARSHALL ISLANDS |website=Cia.gov |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204143516/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Marshall Islands National Telecommunications Authority (NTA) provides telephone, cable TV (MHTV), FAX, cellular and Internet services.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infomarshallislands.com/internet-options/ |title=Internet Options • Marshall Islands Guide |date=June 11, 2017 |website=Infomarshallislands.com |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=November 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114125944/http://www.infomarshallislands.com/internet-options/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntamar.net/index.php/services/wireless-tv |title=MHTV |last=Hasegawa |website=Ntamar.net |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823021602/http://www.ntamar.net/index.php/services/wireless-tv |url-status=live}}</ref> The Authority is a private corporation with significant ownership by the national government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minta.mh/index.php/about-us |title=About Us |last=Hasegawa |website=Minta.mh |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823024354/http://www.minta.mh/index.php/about-us |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Newspapers===
''Loan Ran Kein'', a [[Marshallese language]] paper, was published from 1953 to 1954.  The current national newspaper is a bilingual (Marshallese and English) weekly, ''[[The Marshall Islands Journal]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://marshallislandsjournal.com/ |title=Home |website=marshallislandsjournal.com |access-date=24 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=26 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826024641/https://marshallislandsjournal.com/}}</ref> It has been published since 1980.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pacific Islands Newspapers : Marshall Islands |url=https://guides.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/c.php?g=105813&p=687890 |website=University of Hawaii at Manoa |access-date=7 September 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125015336/https://guides.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/c.php?g=105813&p=687890 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|Islands|Oceania}}
* [[Outline of the Marshall Islands]]
* [[Index of Marshall Islands–related articles]]
* [[List of islands of the Marshall Islands]]
* [[Pacific Proving Grounds]]
* [[List of island countries]]
* ''[[The Plutonium Files]]''
* [[Visa policy of the Marshall Islands]]
* [[Naval Base Marshall Islands]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=Dvids2018-08-01>{{cite news |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/287463/feature-uscgc-oliver-berry-crew-sets-new-horizons-cutter-operations |title=USCGC Oliver Berry crew sets new horizons for cutter operations |work=[[Dvidshub]] |author=Amanda Levasseur, Sara Muir |date=2018-08-01 |access-date = 2018-08-09 |quote=In July Oliver Berry's crew set a new milestone by deploying over the horizon to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The 4,400 nautical mile trip marked marking the furthest deployment of an FRC to date for the Coast Guard and is the first deployment of its kind in the Pacific. |archive-date= 2018-08-09 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180809090847/https://www.dvidshub.net/news/287463/feature-uscgc-oliver-berry-crew-sets-new-horizons-cutter-operations |url-status  = live}}</ref>
}}

==Bibliography==
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*{{cite journal |last1=Firth |first1=Stewart |date=1973 |title=German Firms in the Western Pacific Islands, 1857-1914 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |volume=8 |pages=10–28 |doi=10.1080/00223347308572220 |jstor=25168133}}
*{{cite journal |last=Firth |first=Stewart |title=German Labour Policy in Nauru and Angaur, 1906–1914 |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |date=1978 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=36–52 |doi=10.1080/00223347808572337 |jstor=25168311}}
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*{{cite book |last=Fortune |first=Kate |date=2000 |editor-last1=Lai |editor-first1=Brij V. |editor-last2=Fortune |editor-first2=Kate |title=The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia   |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |pages=586–588 |chapter=The Marshall Islands |isbn=9780824822651}}
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*{{cite book |last=Hezel |first=Francis X. |date=1983 |title=The First Taint of Civilization: A History of the Caroline and Marshall Islands in Pre-colonial Days, 1521–1885 |series=Pacific Islands Monograph Series |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824816438}}
*{{cite book |last=Hezel |first=Francis X. |date=2003 |title=Strangers in Their Own Land: A Century of Colonial Rule in the Caroline and Marshall Islands |series=Pacific Islands Monograph Series |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824828042}}
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*{{cite book |last=Peattie |first=Mark R. |author-link=Mark Peattie |date=1984 |editor-last1=Myers |editor-first1=Ramon H. |editor-last2=Peattie |editor-first2=Mark R. |title=The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945 |chapter=Chapter 4: The Nan’yō: Japan in the South Pacific, 1885–1945 |publisher=Princeton University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv10crf6c |isbn=9780691102221 |jstor=j.ctv10crf6c}}
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==Further reading==

* {{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=2b2NFU78qSQC}}|title=Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World|last=Barker|first=Holly M.|date=2012-02-01 |publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=9781111833848|language=en}}
* {{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=43BqQgAACAAJ}}|title=Nuclear Nativity: Rituals of Renewal and Empowerment in the Marshall Islands|last=Carucci|first=Laurence Marshall|date=1997 |publisher=Northern Illinois University Press|isbn=9780875802176|language=en}}
* Hein, J. R., F. L. Wong, and D. L. Mosier (2007). ''Bathymetry of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Vicinity''. Miscellaneous Field Studies; Map-MF-2324. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
* {{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=8Q5zAAAAMAAJ}}|title=For the Good of Mankind: A History of the People of Bikini and Their Islands|last=Niedenthal|first=Jack|date=2001 |publisher=Bravo Publishers|isbn=9789829050021|language=en}}
* {{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=P3iWFUJ09JwC}}|title=Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Island|last=Rudiak-Gould|first=Peter|date=2009 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|isbn=9781402766640|language=en}}
* Woodard, Colin (2000). [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465015719 ''Ocean's End: Travels Through Endangered Seas''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323223828/https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465015719 |date=March 23, 2023 }}. New York: Basic Books. (Contains extended account of sea-level rise threat and the legacy of U.S. Atomic testing.)

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Marshall Islands|commons=Ṃajeḷ / Marshall Islands|n=Category:Marshall Islands}}

===Government===
* [http://www.rmiembassyus.org/ Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Washington, DC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202214037/https://www.rmiembassyus.org/ |date=December 2, 2021 }} official government site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090114083023/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-m/marshall-islands.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]

=== General information===
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204143516/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/marshall-islands/ |date=February 4, 2021 }}. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [http://www.newint.org/columns/country/2005/03/01/marshall-island/ Country Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831121228/http://www.newint.org/columns/country/2005/03/01/marshall-island/ |date=August 31, 2011 }} from [[New Internationalist]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607085219/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/marshallislands.htm Marshall Islands] from ''[[UCB Libraries]] GovPubs''
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15595431 Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201174808/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1167854.stm |date=December 1, 2011 }} from the [[BBC News]]
* {{Wikiatlas|the Marshall Islands}}

=== News media===
* [http://www.marshallislandsjournal.com Marshall Islands Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412093214/https://marshallislandsjournal.com/ |date=April 12, 2022 }} Weekly independent national newspaper

=== Other===
* [http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/ Digital Micronesia – ''Marshalls''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813082510/http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/ |date=August 13, 2006 }} by [[Dirk HR Spennemann]], Associate Professor in Cultural Heritage Management
* [http://www.hawaii.edu/cpis/MI/Home.html Plants & Environments of the Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302180858/http://www.hawaii.edu/cpis/MI/Home.html |date=March 2, 2009 }} Book turned website by Dr. Mark Merlin of the [[University of Hawaii]]
* [http://www.bikiniatoll.com/ Atomic Testing Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/marshall/bikini.php |date=December 23, 2010 }}
* [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/media-gallery/image/testing/marshall-islands.htm Pictures of victims of U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands on Nuclear Files.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815043107/http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/media-gallery/image/testing/marshall-islands.htm |date=August 15, 2021 }}
* [http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/kenner_hearing_marshall_island.html "Kenner hearing: Marshall Islands-flagged rig in Gulf oil spill was reviewed in February"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012104655/http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/kenner_hearing_marshall_island.html |date=October 12, 2015 }}
* [http://www.prh.noaa.gov/majuro/ NOAA's National Weather Service – Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130161922/http://www.prh.noaa.gov/majuro/ |date=November 30, 2011 }}
* [http://www.canoesmarshallislands.com Canoes of the Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114100504/http://www.canoesmarshallislands.com/ |date=January 14, 2016 }}
* [http://www.alele.org Alele Museum – Museum of the Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022032944/http://alele.org/ |date=October 22, 2015 }}
* [http://www.wutmi.com WUTMI – Women United Together Marshall Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208011903/http://www.wutmi.com/ |date=February 8, 2016 }}

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