Demographics of the Marshall Islands

The demographics of the Marshall Islands include data such as population density, ethnicity, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Historical population figures for the Marshall Islands are unknown. In 1862, the population of the islands was estimated at 10,000.[1] In 1960, the population of the Islands was approximately 15,000. The 2021 census counted 42,418 residents, 23,156 of whom (approximately 54.6%) lived on Majuro. 77.7% of the population lived in an urban setting on Majuro or Ebeye, the country's the secondary urban center. The Marshallese census figures exclude Marshall Islanders who have relocated elsewhere; the Compact of Free Association allows them to freely relocate to the United States and obtain work there.[2] Approximately 4,300 Marshall Islands natives relocated to Springdale, Arkansas in the United States; this figure represents the largest population concentration of Marshall Islands natives outside their island home.[3]

Most residents of the Marshall Islands are Marshallese. Marshallese people are of Micronesian origin and are believed to have migrated from Asia to the Marshall Islands several thousand years ago. A minority of Marshallese have some recent Asian ancestry (mainly Japanese). About one-half of the nation's population lives in Majuro and Ebeye.[4][5][6][7]

The official languages of the Marshall Islands are English and Marshallese. Both languages are widely spoken.[8]

Vital statistics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 9,800—    
1925 9,644−1.6%
1930 10,412+8.0%
1935 10,446+0.3%
1958 13,928+33.3%
1967 18,925+35.9%
1973 24,135+27.5%
1980 30,873+27.9%
1988 43,380+40.5%
1999 50,840+17.2%
2011 53,158+4.6%
2021 42,418−20.2%
Source:[9][10]

Births and deaths[9]

Year Population Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
1988 43,380 7.2
1999 50,840 2,125 41.8 4.9 36.9 5.71
2011 53,158 1,641 32.1 3.7 28.4 4.05

Structure of the population

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 03.IV.2011): [11]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 27 243 25 915 53 158 100
0–4 4 031 3 712 7 743 14.57
5–9 3 622 3 395 7 017 13.20
10–14 3 385 3 108 6 493 12.21
15–19 2 417 2 314 4 731 8.90
20–24 2 614 2 480 5 094 9.58
25–29 2 159 2 245 4 404 8.28
30–34 1 876 1 913 3 789 7.13
35–39 1 587 1 549 3 136 5.90
40–44 1 419 1 366 2 785 5.24
45–49 1 189 1 155 2 344 4.41
50–54 1 016 914 1 930 3.63
55–59 815 761 1 576 2.96
60–64 583 469 1 052 1.98
65-69 284 283 522 0.98
70-74 131 119 250 0.47
75-79 62 90 152 0.29
80-84 31 61 92 0.17
85-89 21 15 36 0.07
90-94 1 11 12 0.02
95+ 0 0 0 0
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 11 038 10 215 21 253 39.98
15–64 15 675 15 121 30 796 57.93
65+ 530 579 1 109 2.09

Religion
Main article: Religion in the Marshall Islands

Major religious groups in the Republic of the Marshall Islands include the United Church of Christ – Congregational in the Marshall Islands, with 51.5% of the population; the Assemblies of God, 24.2%; the Roman Catholic Church, 8.4%;[12] and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), 8.3%.[12] Also represented are Bukot Nan Jesus (also known as Assembly of God Part Two), 2.2%; Baptist, 1.0%; Seventh-day Adventists, 0.9%; Full Gospel, 0.7%; and the Baháʼí Faith, 0.6%.[12] Persons without any religious affiliation account for a very small percentage of the population.[12] Islam is also present through Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which is based in Majuro, with the first mosque opening in the capital in September 2012.[13]

Health
Main article: Health in the Marshall Islands

During the Castle Bravo test of the first deployable thermonuclear bomb, a miscalculation resulted in the explosion being over twice as large as predicted. The nuclear fallout spread eastward onto the inhabited Rongelap and Rongerik Atolls. These islands were not evacuated before the explosion. Many of the Marshall Islands natives have since suffered from radiation burns and radioactive dusting, suffering the similar fates as the Japanese fishermen aboard the Daigo Fukuryū Maru, but have received little, if any, compensation from the federal government.[14]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
Demographics of the Marshall Islands, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Source:[15]

Population
  • 77,917 (July 2020 est.)

Age structure
  • 0–14 years: 32.94% (male 13,090/female 12,575)
  • 15–24 years: 19.09% (male 7,568/female 7,308)
  • 25–54 years: 37.35% (male 14,834/female 14,270)
  • 55–64 years: 5.92% (male 2,269/female 2,341)
  • 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 1,805/female 1,857) (2020 est.)

Population growth rate
  • 1.43% (2020 est.)

Birth rate
  • 22.8 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)

Death rate
  • 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.)

Net migration rate
  • -4.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
  • at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • 0–14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  • 15–24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  • 25–54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  • 55–64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
  • Total: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 19.7 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
  • Total population: 74.1 years
  • Male: 71.8 years
  • Female: 76.5 years (2020 est.)

Total fertility rate
  • 2.86 children born/woman (2020 est.)

Nationality
  • Marshallese (singular and plural)
  • Marshallese (adjective)

Ethnic groups
  • Marshallese: 92.1%
  • Mixed Marshallese: 5.9%
  • Other: 2% (2006)

Religions

Languages

References
  1. Beardslee, L. A. (1870). Marshall Group. North Pacific Islands. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 33. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  2. Gwynne, S.C. (5 October 2012). "Paradise With an Asterisk". Outside Magazine. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  3. Schulte, Bret (July 4, 2012). "For Pacific Islanders, Hopes and Troubles in Arkansas". The New York Times.
  4. David Vine (2006). "The Impoverishment of Displacement: Models for Documenting Human Rights Abuses and the People of Diego Garcia" (PDF). Human Rights Brief. 13 (2): 21–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2013.
  5. David Vine (January 7, 2004) Exile in the Indian Ocean: Documenting the Injuries of Involuntary Displacement. Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies. Web.gc.cuny.edu. Retrieved on September 11, 2013.
  6. David Vine (2006). Empire's Footprint: Expulsion and the United States Military Base on Diego Garcia. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-542-85100-1.
  7. David Vine (2011). Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia (New in Paper). Princeton University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-691-14983-7.
  8. "The World Factbook: Marshall Islands". cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. June 28, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017. Look under tab for "People and Society".
  9. "Republic of the Marshall Islands 2011 Census Report". Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division. 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  10. "Republic of the Marshall Islands 2021 Census Report, Volume 1: Basic Tables and Administrative Report". Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division. May 30, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  11. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org.
  12. International Religious Freedom Report 2009: Marshall Islands . United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. First Mosque opens up in Marshall Islands Archived October 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine by Radio New Zealand International, September 21, 2012
  14. Renee Lewis (28 July 2015). "Bikinians evacuated 'for good of mankind' endure lengthy nuclear fallout".
  15. "Australia-Oceania :: MARSHALL ISLANDS". CIA The World Factbook.
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