Marshall Islands
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry information - Marshall Islands
Country name - conventional long form : Republic of the Marshall Islands
Country name - conventional short form : Marshall Islands
Country name - local long form : Republic of the Marshall Islands
Country name - local short form : Marshall Islands
Country name - former : Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Marshall Islands District
Country code : RM
Government type : constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004
Capital - name : Majuro
Capital - time difference : UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Constitution Day, 1 May (1979)
Population : 63,174 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Marshallese (singular and plural)
Nationality - adjective : Marshallese
Languages :
Currency (code) : US dollar (USD)
Currency code : USD
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk :
Major infectious diseases - note :
Marshall Islands is located Oceania, two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia. The climate is tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt. The terrain is low coral limestone and sand islands.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962. The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Reagan Missile Test Site, a key installation in the US missile defense network.
