Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/153.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 7.4 KB | 320 lines

@node Geography (Marshall Islands)
@section Geography (Marshall Islands)

@display

Location:
  Oceania, in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way between
  Hawaii and Papua New Guinea
Map references:
  Oceania, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  181.3 km2
 land area:
  181.3 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than Washington, DC
 note:
  includes the atolls of Bikini, Eniwetok, and Kwajalein
Land boundaries:
  0 km
Coastline:
  370.4 km
Maritime claims:
 contiguous zone:
  24 nm
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  claims US territory of Wake Island
Climate:   wet season May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt
Terrain:
  low coral limestone and sand islands
Natural resources:
  phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals
Land use:
 arable land:
  0%
 permanent crops:
  60%
 meadows and pastures:
  0%
 forest and woodland:
  0%
 other:
  40%
Irrigated land:
  NA km2
Environment:
  occasionally subject to typhoons; two archipelagic island chains of 30
  atolls and 1,152 islands
Note:
  Bikini and Eniwetok are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous
  World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range



@end display

@node People (Marshall Islands)
@section People (Marshall Islands)

@display

Population:
  51,982 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  3.87% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  46.65 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  7.91 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  50.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  62.79 years
 male:
  61.27 years
 female:
  64.38 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  6.99 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Marshallese (singular and plural)
 adjective:
  Marshallese
Ethnic divisions:   Micronesian
Religions:
  Christian (mostly Protestant)
Languages:
  English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major
  Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
 total population:
  93%
 male:
  100%
 female:
  88%
Labor force:
  4,800 (1986)
 by occupation:
  NA



@end display

@node Government (Marshall Islands)
@section Government (Marshall Islands)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of the Marshall Islands
 conventional short form:
  Marshall Islands
 former:
  Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Digraph:
  RM
Type:
  constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of
  Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986
Capital:
  Majuro
Administrative divisions:
  none
Independence:
  21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
Constitution:
  1 May 1979
Legal system:
  based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal,
  common, and customary laws
National holiday:
  Proclamation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1 May (1979)
Political parties and leaders:
  no formal parties; President KABUA is chief political (and traditional)
  leader
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
 President:
  last held 6 January 1992 (next to be held NA; results - President Amata
  KABUA was reelected
 Parliament:
  last held 18 November 1991 (next to be held November 1995); results -
  percent of vote NA; seats - (33 total)
Executive branch:
  president, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
  unicameral Nitijela (parliament)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  President Amata KABUA (since 1979)
Member of:
  AsDB, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, IMF, INTERPOL, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
  WHO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Wilfred I. KENDALL
 chancery:
  2433 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone:
  [phone]
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador David C. FIELDS



@end display

@node Government (Marshall Islands 2. usage)
@section Government (Marshall Islands 2. usage)

@display

 embassy:
  NA address, Majuro
 mailing address:
  P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379
 telephone:
  [phone]
 FAX:
  [phone]
Flag:
  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



@end display

@node Economy (Marshall Islands)
@section Economy (Marshall Islands)

@display

Overview:
  Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the economy. Agricultural
  production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial
  crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. A few cattle ranches
  supply the domestic meat market. Small-scale industry is limited to
  handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry is the primary
  source of foreign exchange and employs about 10% of the labor force. The
  islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. In 1987
  the US Government provided grants of $40 million out of the Marshallese
  budget of $55 million.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $63 million (1989 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  NA%
National product per capita:
  $1,500 (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  NA%
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
  revenues $55 million; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
  $NA (1987 est.)
Exports:
  $2.5 million (f.o.b., 1985)
 commodities:
  copra, copra oil, agricultural products, handicrafts
 partners:
  NA
Imports:
  $29.2 million (c.i.f., 1985)
 commodities:
  foodstuffs, beverages, building materials
 partners:
  NA
External debt:
  $NA
Industrial production:
  growth rate NA%
Electricity:
  42,000 kW capacity; 80 million kWh produced, 1,840 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
  copra, fish, tourism; craft items from shell, wood, and pearls; offshore
  banking (embryonic)
Agriculture:
  coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits, pigs, chickens
Economic aid:
  under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US is to provide
  approximately $40 million in aid annually
Currency:
  US currency is used
Exchange rates:
  US currency is used
Fiscal year:
  1 October - 30 September



@end display

@node Communications (Marshall Islands)
@section Communications (Marshall Islands)

@display

Highways:
  paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-,
  or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks
Ports:   Majuro
Merchant marine:
  29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,786,070 GRT/3,498,895 DWT; includes
  2 cargo, 1 container, 9 oil tanker, 15 bulk carrier, 2 combination ore/oil;
  note - a flag of convenience registry
Airports:
 total:
  16
 usable:
  16
 with permanent-surface runways:
  4
 with runways over 3,659m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  8
Telecommunications:
  telephone network - 570 lines (Majuro) and 186 (Ebeye); telex services;
  islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used mostly for government
  purposes); broadcast stations - 1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 2 Pacific
  Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; US Government satellite communications system
  on Kwajalein



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Marshall Islands)
@section Defense Forces (Marshall Islands)

@display

Note:
  defense is the responsibility of the US



@end display