The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is a sovereign Micronesia

Micronesia

Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....

n island nation

Island nation

An island country is a state whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. As of 2011, 47 of the 193 UN member states are island countries.-Politics:...

 located in the western North Pacific Ocean, north of Nauru

Nauru

Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...

 and Kiribati

Kiribati

Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...

, east of the Federated States of Micronesia

Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...

, and south of the U.S. territory of Wake Island

Wake Island

Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...

, to which it lays claim.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Marshall Islands:

General reference

• Pronunciation
  International Phonetic Alphabet
  The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
  
  :
• Common English country name: The Marshall Islands
  Marshall Islands
  The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
  
  
• Official English country name: The Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): Marshallese
  Marshallese
  Marshallese may refer to:* Marshall Islands, a Micronesian island nation* Marshallese language, a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Marshall Islands* Marshallese cuisine* Marshallese people, the people of the Marshall Islands- See also :...
  
  
• Demonym(s):
• Etymology
  Etymology
  Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
  
  : Name of the Marshall Islands
• ISO country codes: MH, MHL, 584
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:MH
  ISO 3166-2:MH
  ISO 3166-2:MH is the entry for the Marshall Islands in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for the Marshall...
  
  
• Internet
  Internet
  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
  
   country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  : .mh
  .mh
  .mh is the Internet country code top-level domain for Marshall Islands. Its registry Web site has not been updated since 1997, and the mechanism of registering domains listed on that site involves downloading an InterNIC template form that is presently a dead link...
  
  

Geography of the Marshall Islands

• The Marshall Islands are: an island country
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere
    Northern Hemisphere
    The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
    
     and Eastern Hemisphere
    Eastern Hemisphere
    The Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
    
    
  • Pacific Ocean
    Pacific Ocean
    The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
    
    
    • North Pacific Ocean
      • Oceania
        Oceania
        Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
        
        
        • Micronesia
          Micronesia
          Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
          
          
  • Time zone
    Time zone
    A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
    
    : UTC+12
    UTC+12
    UTC+12:00 is an identifier for a +12 hour time offset from UTC. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Kiribati**Gilbert Islands and Banaba*Marshall Islands*Nauru*Russia**Chukotka Autonomous Okrug**Kamchatka Krai**Kuril Islands...
    
    
  • Extreme points of the Marshall Islands
    • High: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m (33 ft)
    • Low: North Pacific Ocean 0 m
  • Land boundaries: none
  • Coastline: North Pacific Ocean 370.4 km
• Population of the Marshall Islands:
• Area of the Marshall Islands:
• Atlas of the Marshall Islands

Environment of the Marshall Islands

• Climate of the Marshall Islands
• Environmental issues in the Marshall Islands
• Ecoregions in the Marshall Islands
• Renewable energy in the Marshall Islands
• Geology of the Marshall Islands
• Protected areas of the Marshall Islands
  • Biosphere reserves in the Marshall Islands
  • National parks of the Marshall Islands
• Wildlife of the Marshall Islands
  • Flora of the Marshall Islands
  • Fauna of the Marshall Islands
    • Birds of the Marshall Islands
    • Mammals of the Marshall Islands

Natural geographic features of the Marshall Islands

• Fjords of the Marshall Islands
• Glaciers of the Marshall Islands
• Islands of the Marshall Islands
• Lakes of the Marshall Islands
• Mountains of the Marshall Islands
  • Volcanoes in the Marshall Islands
• Rivers of the Marshall Islands
  • Waterfalls of the Marshall Islands
• Valleys of the Marshall Islands
• World Heritage Sites in the Marshall Islands: None

Ecoregions of the Marshall Islands

Municipalities of the Marshall Islands

• Capital of the Marshall Islands: Majuro
• Cities of the Marshall Islands

Government and politics of the Marshall Islands

Main article: Government of the Marshall Islands

Government of the Marshall Islands

The government of the Marshall Islands operates under a mixed parliamentary-presidential system as set forth in its Constitution. Elections are held every four years in universal suffrage , with each of the twenty-four constituencies electing one or more representatives to the lower house of...

 and Politics of the Marshall Islands

Politics of the Marshall Islands

Citizens of the Marshall Islands live with a relatively new democratic political system combined with a hierarchical traditional culture.There have been some incidents of human rights concern, however, such as undue government pressure on the judiciary and the press.The territorial claim by the...

Form of government

Form of government

A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...

:

• Capital of the Marshall Islands: Majuro

• Elections in the Marshall Islands
  Elections in the Marshall Islands
  Elections in Marshall Islands gives information on election and election results in Marshall Islands.Marshall Islands elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a four year term by the parliament...
  
  
  • (specific elections)
  • Political parties in the Marshall Islands
  • Political scandals of the Marshall Islands

Branches of the government of the Marshall Islands

• Taxation in the Marshall Islands

Executive branch of the government of the Marshall Islands

• Head of state
  Head of State
  A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
  
  : President of the Marshall Islands
  President of the Marshall Islands
  -List of Presidents of the Marshall Islands:...
  
  ,
• Head of government
  Head of government
  Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
  
  : Prime Minister of the Marshall Islands,
• Cabinet of the Marshall Islands

Foreign relations of the Marshall Islands

• Diplomatic missions in the Marshall Islands
• Diplomatic missions of the Marshall Islands
  Diplomatic missions of the Marshall Islands
  This is a list of diplomatic missions of the Marshall Islands. The Republic of the Marshall Islands maintains a small diplomatic network.-North America:** Washington ** Honolulu -Multilateral Organisations:...
  
  
• United States-the Marshall Islands relations

Legislative branch of the government of the Marshall Islands

• Parliament of the Marshall Islands (bicameral)
  • Upper house
    Upper house
    An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
    
    : Senate of the Marshall Islands
  • Lower house
    Lower house
    A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
    
    : House of Commons of the Marshall Islands

Judicial branch of the government of the Marshall Islands

• Supreme Court of the Marshall Islands

International organization membership

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a member of:

• African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
• Asian Development Bank
  Asian Development Bank
  The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
  
   (ADB)
• Food and Agriculture Organization
  Food and Agriculture Organization
  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
  
   (FAO)
• Group of 77
  Group of 77
  The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has...
  
   (G77)
• International Atomic Energy Agency
  International Atomic Energy Agency
  The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
  
   (IAEA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
  
   (IBRD)
• International Civil Aviation Organization
  International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
  
   (ICAO)
• International Criminal Court
  International Criminal Court
  The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
  
   (ICCt)
• International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
• International Development Association
  International Development Association
  The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
  
   (IDA)
• International Finance Corporation
  International Finance Corporation
  The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
  
   (IFC)
• International Labour Organization
  International Labour Organization
  The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
  
   (ILO)
• International Maritime Organization
  International Maritime Organization
  The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
  
   (IMO)

• International Mobile Satellite Organization
  International Mobile Satellite Organization
  The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...
  
   (IMSO)
• International Monetary Fund
  International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
  
   (IMF)
• International Olympic Committee
  International Olympic Committee
  The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
  
   (IOC)
• International Telecommunication Union
  International Telecommunication Union
  The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
  
   (ITU)
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Pacific Islands Forum
  Pacific Islands Forum
  The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum...
  
   (PIF)
• Secretariat of the Pacific Community
  Secretariat of the Pacific Community
  The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC , is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose membership includes both nations and territories...
  
   (SPC)
• South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement
  South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement
  The South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement is a nonreciprocal trade agreement in which Australia and New Zealand offer duty-free and unrestricted access for specified products originating from the developing island member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum...
  
   (Sparteca)
• United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   (UN)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
  
   (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• World Health Organization
  World Health Organization
  The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
  
   (WHO)

Law and order in the Marshall Islands

• Capital punishment in the Marshall Islands
• Constitution of the Marshall Islands
• Crime in the Marshall Islands
• Human rights in the Marshall Islands
  • LGBT rights in the Marshall Islands
    LGBT rights in the Marshall Islands
    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in the Marshall Islands may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.-Law regarding same-sex sexual...
    
    
  • Freedom of religion in the Marshall Islands
• Law enforcement in the Marshall Islands
  Law enforcement in the Marshall Islands
  Defense of the Marshall Islands is the responsibility of the United States, but local police matters are handled by the Marshall Islands Police, the national police force, as well as several atoll or municipality-based departments...
  
  

Military of the Marshall Islands

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    Commander-in-Chief
    A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
    
    :
    • Ministry of Defence of the Marshall Islands
• Forces
  • Army of the Marshall Islands
  • Navy of the Marshall Islands
  • Air Force of the Marshall Islands
  • Special forces of the Marshall Islands
• Military history of the Marshall Islands
• Military ranks of the Marshall Islands

History of the Marshall Islands

Main article: History of the Marshall Islands

History of the Marshall Islands

Evidence suggests that around 3,000 years ago successive waves of human migrants from Southeast Asia spread across the Western Pacific populating its many small islands. The Marshall Islands were settled by Micronesians in the 2nd millennium BC. Little is known of the islands' early history...

, Timeline of the history of the Marshall Islands, and Current events of the Marshall Islands

• Economic history of the Marshall Islands
• Military history of the Marshall Islands

Culture of the Marshall Islands

• Architecture of the Marshall Islands
• Cuisine of the Marshall Islands
• Ethnic minorities in the Marshall Islands
• Festivals in the Marshall Islands
• Humor in the Marshall Islands
• Languages of the Marshall Islands
• Media in the Marshall Islands
• National symbols of the Marshall Islands
  • Coat of arms of the Marshall Islands
  • Flag of the Marshall Islands
    Flag of the Marshall Islands
    The flag of the Marshall Islands, an island nation in the Pacific, was adopted upon the start of self-governance, May 1, 1979.The Marshall Islands were part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the United States, from which the Marshall Islands and Micronesia split...
    
    
  • National anthem of the Marshall Islands
• People of the Marshall Islands
• Prostitution in the Marshall Islands
• Public holidays in the Marshall Islands
  Public holidays in the Marshall Islands
  This is a list of public holidays in the Marshall Islands...
  
  
• Records of the Marshall Islands
• Religion in the Marshall Islands
  Religion in the Marshall Islands
  Major religious groups in the Republic of the Marshall Islands include the United Church of Christ , with 51.5 percent of the population; the Assemblies of God, 24.2 percent; and the Roman Catholic Church, 8.4 percent...
  
  
  • Buddhism in the Marshall Islands
  • Christianity in the Marshall Islands
  • Hinduism in the Marshall Islands
  • Islam in the Marshall Islands
  • Judaism in the Marshall Islands
  • Sikhism in the Marshall Islands
• World Heritage Sites in the Marshall Islands: None

Art in the Marshall Islands

• Art in the Marshall Islands
• Cinema of the Marshall Islands
• Literature of the Marshall Islands
• Music of the Marshall Islands
  Music of the Marshall Islands
  The music of the Marshall Islands has a long history. The Marshall Islands are an independent island chain, geographically and culturally part of the Micronesian area...
  
  
• Television in the Marshall Islands
• Theatre in the Marshall Islands

Sports in the Marshall Islands

• Football in the Marshall Islands

Economy and infrastructure of the Marshall Islands

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 187th (one hundred and eighty seventh)

• Agriculture in the Marshall Islands
• Banking in the Marshall Islands
  • National Bank of the Marshall Islands
• Communications in the Marshall Islands
  Communications in the Marshall Islands
  This article is about communications systems in the Marshall Islands.In 2010, the Majuro and Kwajalein Atoll were connected to the Internet using the HANTRU-1 undersea cable to provide high-speed bandwidth...
  
  
  • Internet in the Marshall Islands
• Companies of the Marshall Islands

• Currency of the Marshall Islands
  Currency
  In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
  
  : Dollar
  • ISO 4217
    ISO 4217
    ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
    
    : USD

• Economic history of the Marshall Islands
• Energy in the Marshall Islands
  • Energy policy of the Marshall Islands
  • Oil industry in the Marshall Islands
• Mining in the Marshall Islands
• Tourism in the Marshall Islands
• Transport in the Marshall Islands
  Transport in the Marshall Islands
  Railways:0 kmHighways:total:NA kmpaved:64.5 kmunpaved:NA kmnote:paved roads on major islands , otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks Ports and harbors:Majuro...
  
  

• the Marshall Islands Stock Exchange

Infrastructure of the Marshall Islands

• Health care in the Marshall Islands
• Transportation in the Marshall Islands
  • Airports in the Marshall Islands
  • Rail transport in the Marshall Islands
  • Roads in the Marshall Islands
• Water supply and sanitation in the Marshall Islands

See also

• Index of Marshall Islands-related articles
• List of international rankings
• List of Marshall Islands-related topics
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of geography
  Outline of geography
  The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...
  
  
• Outline of Oceania
  Outline of Oceania
  Oceania is a geographical, and often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term is also sometimes used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate Pacific islands,....
  
  

External links

Government

• Office of the President
• Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Washington, DC official government site

News

• Marshall Islands Journal Weekly independent national newspaper

Overviews

• CIA World Factbook - Marshall Islands
• 360 Panoramas and map of Marshall Islands
• Digital Micronesia - Marshalls by Dirk HR Spennemann
  Dirk HR Spennemann
  Dr. Dirk HR Spennemann is Associate Professor in Cultural Heritage Management at the , in Albury, Australia. His main research interest rests in the area of futures studies focussing on heritage futures by examining issues such as the conceptual understanding of emergent heritage, the recognition...
  
  , Associate Professor in Cultural Heritage Management
• Plants & Environments of the Marshall Islands Book turned website by Dr. Mark Merlin of the University of Hawaii
• Atomic Testing Information
• Pictures of victims of US nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands on Nuclear Files.org