I.

Introduction

Marshall Islands, archipelago and republic, part of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean. The country consists of 34 islands scattered over 1.3 million sq km (500,000 sq mi) and clustered in two main groups: the south-eastern Ratak Chain and the north-western Ralik Chain. The islands are atolls and other coral reef islands; Kwajalein is the largest atoll and Majuro the capital atoll. Majuro's settlements of Dalap, Uliga, and Darrit are the largest in the republic. The republic’s capital is Dalap-Uliga-Darrit. The total land area is 181 sq km (70 sq mi).

II.

Population

The inhabitants are Micronesian. The population is 63,174 (2008 estimate), giving an average density of 349 people per sq km (904 per sq mi). Life expectancy is 69 years for men and 73 years for women. The official language is Marshallese, an Austronesian language, spoken by the majority of the population. English is also spoken.

III.

Economy

The chief economic activities are subsistence agriculture, fishing, and tourism, and some high-grade phosphate is mined. The major export is copra (the oil-rich dried kernels of coconuts). The islands have few natural resources and so imports far exceed exports. In 2004 the gross national product was about US$142 million (World Bank estimate), giving an average income per head of US$2,980. The monetary unit of the Marshall Islands is the US dollar. The tourist industry is the primary source of foreign exchange and employs about 10 per cent of the workforce. The Marshall Islands receive financial assistance from the United States in accordance with the Compact of Free Association (see History section below); in 1995-1996 the US aid package amounted to US$52.8 million (82 per cent of which was provided). Australia and Japan also provide aid. About 42 per cent of the government’s 1994-1995 budget had to go towards debt repayment.

IV.

Government

Under a constitution that came into force on May 1, 1979, the country is a democratic republic, headed by a president elected to a four-year term. The legislature (Nitijela) has 33 members, who are also elected to four-year terms. The president is aided by a consultative committee—the Council of Chiefs. The country’s first president was Amata Kabua.

The Marshall Islands’ highest court is the Supreme Court. There is also a High Court, a District Court, and community courts.

The Marshall Islands is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Asian Development Bank, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum.

V.

History

The islands were first settled by Micronesian peoples about 3,000 years ago. The Spanish were the first Europeans to sight the islands, in 1526, but the islands remained essentially uncolonized until the late 19th century. They were a German protectorate from 1886 until 1914, when they were invaded by Japan. In 1920 the archipelago was formally mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In February 1944, American forces took Majuro, the first Japanese possession captured in World War II; other islands were subsequently occupied. The archipelago remained under American military control for the duration of the war.

A.

US Control

From 1946 until 1958 the United States used Bikini and other atolls in the Marshalls as a nuclear testing ground. The islands became a UN Trust territory under US control in 1947. In 1979, after rejecting a common constitution with the rest of Micronesia, the Marshalls became a self-governing republic.

A Compact of Free Association, delegating to the United States the responsibility for defence and foreign affairs, was approved by plebiscite in 1983 and came into effect in 1986. The compact also ensured that the United States would retain its bases in the islands for at least 15 years and would provide US$30 million a year in economic aid. The trusteeship was formally dissolved by the UN Security Council in 1990; the country was admitted to the United Nations in 1991. In 2003 a new Compact of Association was signed with the US, worth an estimated US$1.5 billion. In December 1996 Amata Kabua, President of the Marshall Islands since independence in 1979, died; he was replaced by Imata Kabua, his cousin.

B.

Nuclear Testing

In the Marshall Islands tests, the inhabitants of Rongelap were seriously exposed to radiation. Medical examinations carried out on adults in Rongelap between 1970 and 1974 compared exposed and unexposed inhabitants, and showed that there was a higher than average incidence among those exposed of anaemia, thyroid disease, rheumatic heart disease, and tumours.

When the biggest US bomb, codenamed Bravo, was set off, white radioactive ash fell on Rongelap, contaminating food and drinking water; all water samples taken from Bikini and Enewetak islands showed that the level of radioactive contamination was too high to allow consumption of food grown from the island or fished from the sea. Only in 1983 were the inhabitants of Rongelap made aware of these findings. As a result, in 1985 they had to evacuate to a smaller, uncultivated island on Kwajalein Atoll. The atoll is now leased to the United States as a missile target site.

Controversy has surrounded plans to site a nuclear waste dump on one of the contaminated islands. The project is claimed by the Marshalls to provide income to pay for the costs of rehabilitating such contaminated areas. Since the early 1990s the Marshall Islands have repeatedly disputed both the US claim to Wake Island and their intention to include the island within the territory of Guam. The Marshallese view the island as a traditional site. In January 1999 decontamination began on US nuclear weapons test sites on Enewetok Atoll. On the 45th anniversary of the H-bomb tests at Bikini, complaints were voiced that the US had made inadequate reparations to those affected by the nuclear tests. The claims totalled US$70 million, of which only US$45 million had been paid. In November the US Congress confirmed it would pay the full costs of the rehabilitation of Rongelap and the resettlement of its inhabitants. The Marshall Islands received a loan from the Asian Development Bank in July to finance improvements to the infrastructure of Ebeye Island, the nearest island to Kwajalein atoll, where the US is testing its Theater Missile Defense system. The money will provide a new school and hospital and a causeway linking the surrounding islands.

C.

Present-Day Politics

Following the general elections of November 1999 the opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), won 18 of the 33 seats in the Nitijela. The UDP leader Kessai Note was elected president the following January and began a second four-year term in 2004.