Location:
Oceania, consists of 29 atolls and five isolated islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia; the atolls and islands are situated in two, almost-parallel island chains - the Ratak (Sunrise) group and the Ralik (Sunset) group; the total number of islands and islets is about 1,225; 22 of the atolls and four of the islands are uninhabited

Geographic coordinates:
9 00 N, 168 00 E

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 181 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 181 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
note: the archipelago includes 11,673 sq km of lagoon waters and encompasses the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 217

Area - comparative:
about the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
370.4 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
contiguous zone: 24 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - contiguous zone country ranks ]

Climate:
tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt

Terrain:
low coral limestone and sand islands

Elevation:
mean elevation: 2 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: East-central Airik Island, Maloelap Atoll 14 m

Natural resources:
coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals

Land use:
agricultural land: 50.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 7.8% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 31.2% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 11.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 49.3% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 0% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
most people live in urban clusters found on many of the country's islands; more than two-thirds of the population lives on the atolls of Majuro and Ebeye

Natural hazards:
infrequent typhoons

Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels; sea level rise

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

Geography - note:
the islands of Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein atoll, famous as a World War II battleground, surrounds the world's largest lagoon and is used as a US missile test range; the 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