Marshall Islands (2007) | Denmark (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 kommunes*; Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing administrative divisions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.3% (male 12,061/female 11,622)
15-64 years: 58.9% (male 18,634/female 17,775) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 832/female 891) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
18.59% (male 510,826; female 484,385) 15-64 years: 66.56% (male 1,804,617; female 1,758,019) 65 years and over: 14.85% (male 331,906; female 463,062) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens | grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; pork and beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 15 (2007) | 119 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
28 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
91 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 83 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 11,854.3 sq km
land: 181.3 sq km water: 11,673 sq km (note - lagoon waters) note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik |
total:
43,094 sq km land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaeland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
Area - comparative | about the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
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. | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far, however, the country has opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the economic and monetary system (EMU) and issues concerning certain internal affairs. |
Birth rate | 32.37 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.96 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $42 million
expenditures: $40 million (1999) |
revenues:
$52.9 billion expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Majuro
geographic coordinates: 7 06 N, 171 23 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Copenhagen |
Climate | tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 370.4 km | 7,314 km |
Constitution | 1 May 1979 | 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
conventional short form: Marshall Islands local long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands local short form: Marshall Islands abbreviation: RMI former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Marshall Islands District |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Currency | - | Danish krone (DKK) |
Death rate | 4.66 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $86.5 million (FY99/00 est.) | $21.7 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Clyde BISHOP
embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Stuart BERNSTEIN embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44 FAX: [45] 35 38 96 16 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Banny DE BRUM
chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | claims US territory of Wake Island | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $56.56 million more than $1 billion from the US, 1986-2002 (2005) | - |
Economy - overview | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production, primarily subsistence, is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Amended Compact of Free Association, the US will provide millions of dollars per year to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2023, at which time a Trust Fund made up of US and RMI contributions will begin perpetual annual payouts. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism, and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade. | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. The center-left coalition government has reduced the formerly high unemployment rate and attained a budget surplus as well as followed the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a stable currency. The coalition has lowered marginal income tax rates and raised environmental taxes thus maintaining overall tax revenues. Problems of bottlenecks, and longer term demographic changes reducing the labor force, are being addressed through labor market reforms. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark, in a September 2000 referendum, reconfirmed its decision not to join the 11 other EU members in the euro. Even so, the Danish currency remains pegged to the euro. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 32.916 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 7.28 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 4.963 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 37.885 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
88.4% hydro: 0.07% nuclear: 0% other: 11.53% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
lowest point:
Lammefjord -7 m highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Micronesian | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996); note - the Danes rejected the Euro in a 28 September 2000 referendum |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of the legislature elections: president elected by Parliament from among its members for a four-year term; election last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held in November 2007) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
chief of state:
Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968) head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since 25 January 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $9.1 million f.o.b. (2000) | $50.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | copra cake, coconut oil, handicrafts, fish | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | US, Japan, Australia, China (2006) | EU 66.5% (Germany 20.1%, Sweden 11.7%, UK 9.6%, France 5.3%, Netherlands 4.7%), Norway 5.8%, US 5.4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes | red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $136.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31.7%
industry: 14.9% services: 53.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 25% services: 72% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $25,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2005 est.) | 2.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 168 00 E | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is used as a US missile test range; island city of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the Pacific | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Highways | - | total:
71,474 km paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Imports | $54.7 million f.o.b. (2000) | $43.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Singapore, Fiji, China, Philippines (2006) | EU 72.1% (Germany 21.6%, Sweden 12.4%, UK 8.0%, Netherlands 8.0%, France 5.8%), Norway 4.2%, US 4.5% (1999) |
Independence | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | copra, tuna processing, tourism, craft items from seashells, wood, and pearls | food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills |
Infant mortality rate | total: 27.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
5.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2005 est.) | 2.9% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 13 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | 4,350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court; Traditional Rights Court | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 14,680 (2000) | 2.856 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 21.4%
industry: 20.9% services: 57.7% (2000) |
services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
68 km border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 11.11%
permanent crops: 44.44% other: 44.45% (2005) |
arable land:
60% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 10% other: 25% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language |
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral legislature or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 33 note: the Council of Chiefs or Ironij is a 12-member body comprised of tribal chiefs that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
unicameral Parliament or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - progovernment parties: Social Democratic Party 65, Socialist People's Party 13, Social Liberal Party 7, Red-Green Unity List 5; opposition: Liberal Party 43, Conservative Party 17, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democratic Party 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4; seats by party as of 1 January 2001: government coalition parties - Social Democrats 63, Social Liberals 7; pro-government parties - Socialist People's Party 13, Unity List 5; opposition - Liberals 42, Conservatives 16, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democrats 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4 (now named Freedom 2000); does not include the 4 overseas seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.61 years
male: 68.61 years female: 72.71 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
76.72 years male: 74.12 years female: 79.47 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 93.6% female: 93.7% (1999) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaeland and Fyn) |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 902 ships (1000 GRT or over) 33,260,440 GRT/55,644,008 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 215, cargo 61, carrier 1, chemical tanker 165, combination ore/oil 6, container 171, liquefied gas 28, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 228, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 10, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 857 (Australia 1, Belgium 1, Bermuda 5, Canada 4, Chile 4, China 3, Croatia 4, Cyprus 39, Denmark 9, Finland 2, Germany 214, Greece 226, Hong Kong 4, Italy 3, Japan 5, South Korea 3, Latvia 10, Malaysia 3, Monaco 7, Netherlands 5, Norway 62, Romania 1, Russia 4, Saudi Arabia 4, Singapore 12, Slovenia 3, Spain 3, Sweden 1, Switzerland 14, Turkey 41, UAE 14, UK 17, US 129) (2007) |
total:
342 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,073,489 GRT/8,027,002 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 128, chemical tanker 27, container 76, liquefied gas 26, livestock carrier 6, petroleum tanker 22, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Finland 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; under the 1983 Compact of Free Association, the US has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands; Marshall Islands Police (2006) | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2.47 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,292,619 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,106,094 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
29,212 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
adjective: Marshallese |
noun:
Dane(s) adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | infrequent typhoons | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes |
Natural resources | coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | -5.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 1.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km |
Political parties and leaders | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Aelon Kein Ad Party [Michael KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Progress Party (now named Freedom 2000) [Kim BEHNKE]; Social Democratic Party [Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Johannes LEBECH, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 61,815 (July 2007 est.) | 5,352,815 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.207% (2007 est.) | 0.3% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (additionally, the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Services (Central Pacific Network) operate one FM and one AM station on Kwajalein) (2005) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 6.02 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated) standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1998) |
Religions | Protestant 54.8%, Assembly of God 25.8%, Roman Catholic 8.4%, Bukot nan Jesus 2.8%, Mormon 2.1%, other Christian 3.6%, other 1%, none 1.5% (1999 census) | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslims 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.934 male(s)/female total population: 1.041 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: digital switching equipment; modern services include telex, cellular, internet, international calling, caller ID, and leased data circuits
domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by high frequency radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) and mini-satellite telephones international: country code - 692; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein (2001) |
general assessment:
excellent telephone and telegraph services domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,500 (2004) | 4.785 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 600 (2004) | 1,444,016 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (both are US military stations; Marshalls Broadcasting Service, a cable company, operates on Majuro) (2005) | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | low coral limestone and sand islands | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 3.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30.9% (2000 est.) | 5.3% (2000) |
Waterways | - | 417 km |