Norfolk Island (2005) | Marshall Islands (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.6% (male 11,347; female 10,934)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 17,380; female 16,520) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 748; female 809) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 15 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 181.3 sq km
land: 181.3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | about the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA | 33.88 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $42 million
expenditures: $40 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
Capital | Kingston | Majuro |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; hot and humid; wet season from May to November; islands border typhoon belt |
Coastline | 32 km | 370.4 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 1 May 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | NA | 4.94 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $86.5 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Greta N. MORRIS
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | claims US territory of Wake Island |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | more than $1 billion from the US, 1986-2002 |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production is primarily subsistence and 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 Compact of Free Association, the US has provided more than $1 billion in aid since 1986. Negotiations have continued for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties, and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Micronesian |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | the US dollar is the legal tender |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held NA November 2007) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | $9 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | copra cake, coconut oil, handicrafts, fish |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | US, Japan, Australia, China (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $115 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 16% services: 70% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 9 00 N, 168 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: NA km
paved: 64.5 km unpaved: NA km note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $54 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | NA | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Singapore, Fiji, China, Philippines (2000) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 30.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Irrigated land | NA | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court; High Court |
Labor force | 1,345 | 28,700 (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 21.4%, industry 20.9%, services 57.7% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 16.67%
permanent crops: 38.89% other: 44.44% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | English (widely spoken as a second language, both English and Marshallese are official languages), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
unicameral Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held not later than November 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 69.7 years
male: 67.77 years female: 71.73 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 93.6% female: 93.7% (1999) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 420 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,954,092 GRT/28,176,762 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 81, cargo 25, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 7, container 77, liquefied gas 9, multi-functional large load carrier 5, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 149, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 7, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: Australia 2, Chile 3, Croatia 2, Cyprus 10, Denmark 2, Germany 119, Greece 82, Hong Kong 12, India 2, Japan 16, Monaco 18, Netherlands 6, New Zealand 1, Norway 5, Poland 11, Singapore 1, Slovenia 1, Switzerland 4, Thailand 2, Turkey 8, United Kingdom 10, United States 92 registered in other countries: 50 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; Marshall Islands Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
adjective: Marshallese |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | infrequent typhoons |
Natural resources | fish | coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | NA | -6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 57,738 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 2.29% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Majuro |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0
note: additionally, the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Services (Central Pacific Network) operate one FM and one AM station on Kwajalein (2002) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Christian (mostly Protestant) |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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 shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: country code - 692; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 4,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 600 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 2 (both are US military stations) (2002) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | low coral limestone and sand islands |
Total fertility rate | NA | 4.02 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 30.9% (1999 est.) |