The

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

consist of two archipelagic island chains of 30

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

s and 1,152 islands, which form two parallel groups—the "

Ratak The Ratak Chain ( Marshallese: , ) is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ratak means "sunrise". It lies to the east of the country's other island chain, the Ralik Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Rata ...

" (sunrise) chain and the " Ralik" (sunset) chain. The Marshalls are located in the North Pacific Ocean and share

maritime boundaries A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Bound ...

with

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

and

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. Two-thirds of the nation's population lives in the capital of

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

and the settlement of

Ebeye Ebeye ( ; Marshallese: , or in older orthography, ; locally, , , after the English pronunciation) is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the center for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the arc ...

. The outer islands are sparsely populated due to lack of employment opportunities and economic development.

Statistics

The country is located about one-half of the way from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The archipelago includes the atolls of

Bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...

Enewetak Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civil ...

, Majuro, Rongelap, and

Utirik Utirik Atoll or Utrik Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area ...

. The total area of the islands is equal to the size of the City of

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. The largest atoll with a land area of is Kwajalein. The terrain consists of low coral limestone and sand islands. Natural resources include coconut products, marine products, and deep seabed minerals. Current environmental issues are inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels. Maritime claims:
''territorial sea:'' 12 nautical miles
''contiguous zone:'' 24 nm
''exclusive economic zone:'' 200 nm Elevation extremes:
''lowest point:'' Pacific Ocean 0 meters
''highest point:'' unnamed location on

Likiep Atoll Likiep Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 65 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is approximately northwest of Wotje. Its total land area is only , but that enclo ...

above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

Land use:
''arable land:'' 11.11%
''permanent crops:'' 44.44%
''other:'' 44.44% (2011) 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 Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

battleground, is now used as a US missile test range; the island city of

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. Majuro and Arno Atolls

Climate

Tropical; hot and humid with a Koeppen-Geiger classification of ''Af''. The wet season lasts from May to November and the islands border the

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

belt. Typhoons do pose an infrequent threat from July to mid November. Due to their low elevation, the Marshall Islands are threatened by the potential effects of

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

. According to the President of Nauru, the Marshall Islands are the most endangered nation on Earth due to flooding from

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. A study by the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

found that the tides move sediment to create higher elevation, which may keep the islands habitable.

Climate change

Climate change is a serious threat to the Marshall Islands, with typhoons becoming stronger and sea levels rising. The sea around Pacific islands has risen 7mm a year since 1993, which is more than twice the rate of the worldwide average. In

, there is a high risk of permanent flooding; when

to 1 meter, 37% of buildings will be permanently flooded in that scenario. In

, the risk of sea level rise is even higher, with 50% of buildings being permanently flooded in the same scenario. With 1 meter sea level rise parts of the

Majuro atoll Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

will be permanently flooded and other parts are having a high risk of flooding especially the eastern part of the atoll would be significantly at risk. With 2 meter sea level rise all the buildings of Majuro will be permanently flooded or would be at a high risk to be flooded. The per capita emissions were 2.56t in 2020. The government of Marshall Islands pledged to be net zero in 2050, with a decrease of 32% decrease of GHGs in 2025, 45% decrease in 2030 and a 58% decrease in 2035 all compared to 2010 levels.

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of the Marshall Islands, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. * Northernmost point – Bokak Atoll (Taongi),

Ratak Chain The Ratak Chain ( Marshallese: , ) is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ratak means "sunrise". It lies to the east of the country's other island chain, the Ralik Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Rata ...

* * Easternmost point –

Knox Atoll Knox Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is an uninhabited coral atoll of 18 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is the southernmost atoll of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The total land area is only , but it encloses a largely sand-filled lagoon ...

, Ratak Chain * Southernmost point –

Ebon Atoll Ebon Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 22 islands in the Pacific Ocean, forming a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is , and it encloses a deep lagoon with an area of . A winding passage, ...

Ralik Chain The Ralik Chain ( Marshallese: , ) is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ralik means "sunset". It is west of the Ratak Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Ralik islands was 19,915. Christopher Loeak, who b ...

* Westernmost point -

Ujelang Atoll Ujelang Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 30 islands in the Pacific Ocean, in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon of . It is the westernmost island in the Marshall Islands, approxim ...

, Ralik Chain * ''Note: the government of the Marshall Islands claims

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...

, currently under US administration. If this is considered part of the Marshall Islands, then Toki Point on Peale Island,

is the northernmost point of the Marshall Islands''

References

{{Geography of Oceania

pt:Ilhas Marshall#Geografia