Marshall Islands

Republic of the Marshall Islands

Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļAolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ

UN memberMicronesia, Oceania

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Population

35,650

2026 · UN WPPProjection

GDP

$308 million

2025 · World Bank WDIActual

GDP / capita

$8,489

2025 · World Bank WDIActual

HDI

0.733 index (0–1)

2023 · UNDP HDRActual

Life expectancy

67.3 years

2026 · UN WPPProjection

Area

180 km²

2023 · World Bank WDIActual

UN WPP 2024 Revision (estimates through 2023; 2024–2100 medium-variant projections). World Bank WDI, 13 July 2026 release. UNDP HDR HDR 2025. UNESCO UIS UIS February 2026. ILOSTAT ILOSTAT December 2025. IMF WEO WEO April 2026. OWID CO₂ OWID CO₂ December 2025.

Overview

Marshall Islands is a UN member state in Micronesia, Oceania.

Every figure names its source, year, and whether it is an actual value, an estimate, or a projection. Missing values stay missing.

ISO alpha-2: MH
ISO alpha-3: MHL
UN M49: 584
Wikidata: Q709

People

Population stocks and demographic rates are from the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium variant unless another source is named. Years from 2024 onward are projections.

PopulationProjection: 35,650
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Population (1 July)Projection: 35,075
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Population growth rateProjection: −3.3 percent
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Population densityProjection: 194.9 persons per km²
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s density is close to Micronesia median of 190.7 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 90.1 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Median ageProjection: 20.5 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s median age is below the Micronesia median of 23.5 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 29.8 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Population sex ratioProjection: 104.4 males per 100 females
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Total fertility rateProjection: 2.8 live births per woman
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s tfr is above the Micronesia median of 2.7 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 2 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Crude birth rateProjection: 19.5 per 1,000 population
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Net number of migrantsProjection: −1,575
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Net migration rateProjection: −44.9 per 1,000 population
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Urban population: 79.1%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s urban is close to Micronesia median of 79.3% (7 profiles with 2025 data), and above the median of 63.4% among 194 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Population ages 0–14: 33.9%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Population ages 15–64: 61.2%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Population ages 65 and above: 4.9%
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s ages 65+ is below the Micronesia median of 6.2% (7 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of 7.4% among 194 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.

Population of Marshall Islands. Solid line: estimates (1950–2023). Dashed line: medium-variant projections (2024–2100). UN WPP, WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium.

Data table

Year	Population	Status
1950	12,928	estimate
1960	14,449	estimate
1970	22,017	estimate
1980	30,209	estimate
1990	44,132	estimate
2000	50,466	estimate
2010	52,017	estimate
2020	43,361	estimate
2030	31,595	projection
2040	26,707	projection
2050	25,244	projection
2060	24,334	projection
2070	24,306	projection
2080	24,701	projection
2090	24,607	projection
2100	23,854	projection
2101	23,757	projection

Age structure of Marshall Islands as a share of population. World Bank WDI, World Development Indicators.

Data table

Year	Ages 65+	Status
1960	5.8% aged 65+	actual
1965	5.7% aged 65+	actual
1970	3.5% aged 65+	actual
1975	3.7% aged 65+	actual
1980	3.2% aged 65+	actual
1985	3.1% aged 65+	actual
1990	2.8% aged 65+	actual
1995	2.5% aged 65+	actual
2000	2.2% aged 65+	actual
2005	2.2% aged 65+	actual
2010	2.1% aged 65+	actual
2015	2.8% aged 65+	actual
2020	3.7% aged 65+	actual
2025	4.9% aged 65+	actual

Economy

National accounts and related World Bank series. Totals are not comparable as “averages” across countries; rates such as GDP per capita include same-year cohort medians where coverage allows.

Gross domestic product: $308 million
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
GDP per capita: $8,489
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s gdp / capita is close to Micronesia median of $8,489 (5 profiles with 2025 data), and above the median of $7,411 among 181 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
GDP, PPP: Int’l $325 million
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
GDP per capita, PPP: Int’l $8,964
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s gdp / capita (ppp) is close to Micronesia median of Int’l $8,964 (5 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of Int’l $20,089 among 180 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
GDP growth: 2.3 percent
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s gdp growth is close to Micronesia median of 2.3 (5 profiles with 2025 data), and below the median of 3.2 among 181 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
GNI per capita: $9,710
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s gni / capita is close to Micronesia median of $9,710 (5 profiles with 2025 data), and above the median of $7,360 among 179 core profiles with 2025 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Inflation, consumer pricesProjection: 7.4 percent
2026 · IMF WEO · Projection · World Economic Outlook April 2026
Trade: 115.9 percent of GDP
2025 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Access to electricity: 97.2%
2024 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Individuals using the Internet: 65.9%
2024 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
General government net lending/borrowingProjection: −6.1 percent of GDP
2026 · IMF WEO · Projection · World Economic Outlook April 2026
General government gross debtProjection: 16.7 percent of GDP
2026 · IMF WEO · Projection · World Economic Outlook April 2026

GDP of Marshall Islands in current US dollars. World Bank WDI, World Development Indicators.

Data table

Year	GDP	Status
1970	$8.41 million	actual
1974	$15.2 million	actual
1978	$22.2 million	actual
1982	$34.9 million	actual
1986	$56 million	actual
1990	$78.5 million	actual
1994	$108 million	actual
1998	$112 million	actual
2002	$132 million	actual
2006	$143 million	actual
2010	$161 million	actual
2014	$186 million	actual
2018	$220 million	actual
2022	$259 million	actual
2025	$308 million	actual

Development

Human development indices are published only from the latest UNDP HDR series. This build does not invent a substitute index.

Human Development Index: 0.733 index (0–1)
2023 · UNDP HDR · Actual · HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series
Marshall Islands’s hdi is above the Micronesia median of 0.703 (5 profiles with 2023 data), and below the median of 0.762 among 192 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index: 0.626 index (0–1)
2023 · UNDP HDR · Actual · HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series
Marshall Islands’s ihdi is above the Micronesia median of 0.607 (4 profiles with 2023 data), and close to median of 0.609 among 168 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Gender Development Index: 0.960 index (female-to-male HDI ratio)
2023 · UNDP HDR · Actual · HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series
Marshall Islands’s gdi is close to Micronesia median of 0.960 (5 profiles with 2023 data), and close to median of 0.971 among 183 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Gender Inequality Index: No comparable data
No internationally comparable figure in this build.
Multidimensional Poverty Index: No comparable data
No internationally comparable figure in this build.

Health and education

Life expectancy and mortality are UN WPP series unless labelled otherwise. Education figures are UNESCO UIS (CC BY-SA, isolated) where a comparable series exists; otherwise they stay missing.

Life expectancy at birthProjection: 67.3 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s life expectancy is close to Micronesia median of 67.7 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 74.1 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Crude death rateProjection: 7.5 per 1,000 population
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Life expectancy at birth (male)Projection: 65.2 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s life exp. male is close to Micronesia median of 65.2 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 70.9 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Life expectancy at birth (female)Projection: 69.8 years
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s life exp. female is close to Micronesia median of 71.6 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and below the median of 77.4 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Infant mortality rateProjection: 21 per 1,000 live births
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s infant mortality is above the Micronesia median of 18 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 11.1 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Under-five mortality rateProjection: 26.4 per 1,000 live births
2026 · UN WPP · Projection · WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium
Marshall Islands’s u5mr is above the Micronesia median of 21.8 (7 profiles with 2026 data), and above the median of 12.9 among 195 core profiles with 2026 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Maternal mortality ratio: 155 per 100,000 live births
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Immunization, measles: 88%
2024 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s measles immunization is close to Micronesia median of 88% (5 profiles with 2024 data), and close to median of 90% among 192 core profiles with 2024 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Current health expenditure: 13.4 percent of GDP
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s health expenditure is above the Micronesia median of 12.9 (5 profiles with 2023 data), and above the median of 5.8 among 170 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Prevalence of undernourishment: No comparable data
No internationally comparable figure in this build.
Adult literacy rate: 95.8%
2021 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)
Marshall Islands’s adult literacy is above the median of 84.1% among 17 core profiles with 2021 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
Youth literacy rate: 96.4%
2021 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)
Mean years of schooling: 10.8 years
2019 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)
Marshall Islands’s mean years school is close to median of 10.7 among 25 core profiles with 2019 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
School life expectancy: 14 years
2024 · UNESCO UIS · Actual · UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026)

Life expectancy at birth in Marshall Islands. Dashed line marks medium-variant projections. UN WPP, WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium.

Data table

Year	Years	Status
1950	52.6	estimate
1960	54.4	estimate
1970	58.8	estimate
1980	61	estimate
1990	61.8	estimate
2000	63.3	estimate
2010	64.5	estimate
2020	65.4	estimate
2030	67.8	projection
2040	69.1	projection
2050	70.1	projection
2060	71	projection
2070	72.1	projection
2080	73.3	projection
2090	74.7	projection
2100	76	projection

Environment

Forest cover is World Bank WDI. CO₂ is the Global Carbon Project series via Our World in Data — not IEA-EDGAR.

Land area: 180 km²
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Surface area: 180 km²
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Forest area: 52.2%
2023 · World Bank WDI · Actual · World Development Indicators
Marshall Islands’s forest is close to Micronesia median of 52.2% (7 profiles with 2023 data), and above the median of 31.8% among 194 core profiles with 2023 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.
CO₂ emissions: 0.2 million tonnes
2024 · OWID / Global Carbon Project · Actual · OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project)
CO₂ emissions per capita: 4.1 tonnes per person
2024 · OWID / Global Carbon Project · Actual · OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project)
Marshall Islands’s co₂ / capita is close to Micronesia median of 4.1 (5 profiles with 2024 data), and above the median of 2.8 among 192 core profiles with 2024 data. Unweighted medians of the same-year cohort; not a population-weighted world average.

CO₂ emissions of Marshall Islands. Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data. OWID / Global Carbon Project, OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project).

Data table

Year	Million tonnes	Status
1992	0.1	actual
1995	0.1	actual
1998	0.1	actual
2001	0.1	actual
2004	0.1	actual
2007	0.1	actual
2010	0.1	actual
2013	0.1	actual
2016	0.1	actual
2019	0.1	actual
2022	0.1	actual
2024	0.2	actual

Geography

Region: Oceania
Subregion: Micronesia
Natural Earth ADM0_A3: MHL
Cartographic size: Tiny state on the 50m globe (point or small polygon)

Outline from Natural Earth 50m Admin 0. Made with Natural Earth. Not a locator map.

Government

Classification is descriptive and is not a recognition of legal claims.Map and status policy.

Status: UN member
Publication tier: Core profile
SIDS: Small island developing State

Sources

United Nations World Population Prospects

WPP2024 Demographic Indicators Medium. Vintage 2024 Revision. CC BY 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Population (2026, projection; series TPopulation1Jan)
Life expectancy at birth (2026, projection; series LEx)
Population (1 July) (2026, projection; series TPopulation1July)
Population growth rate (2026, projection; series PopGrowthRate)
Population density (2026, projection; series PopDensity)
Median age (2026, projection; series MedianAgePop)
Population sex ratio (2026, projection; series PopSexRatio)
Total fertility rate (2026, projection; series TFR)
Crude birth rate (2026, projection; series CBR)
Crude death rate (2026, projection; series CDR)
Life expectancy at birth (male) (2026, projection; series LExMale)
Life expectancy at birth (female) (2026, projection; series LExFemale)
Infant mortality rate (2026, projection; series IMR)
Under-five mortality rate (2026, projection; series Q5)
Net number of migrants (2026, projection; series NetMigrations)
Net migration rate (2026, projection; series CNMR)

World Bank World Development Indicators

World Development Indicators. Vintage 13 July 2026. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Gross domestic product (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.MKTP.CD)
GDP per capita (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.PCAP.CD)
Land area (2023, actual; series AG.LND.TOTL.K2)
GDP, PPP (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD)
GDP per capita, PPP (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD)
GDP growth (2025, actual; series NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG)
GNI per capita (2025, actual; series NY.GNP.PCAP.CD)
Trade (2025, actual; series NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS)
Maternal mortality ratio (2023, actual; series SH.STA.MMRT)
Immunization, measles (2024, actual; series SH.IMM.MEAS)
Current health expenditure (2023, actual; series SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS)
Urban population (2025, actual; series SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS)
Population ages 0–14 (2025, actual; series SP.POP.0014.TO.ZS)
Population ages 15–64 (2025, actual; series SP.POP.1564.TO.ZS)
Population ages 65 and above (2025, actual; series SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS)
Surface area (2023, actual; series AG.SRF.TOTL.K2)
Access to electricity (2024, actual; series EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS)
Individuals using the Internet (2024, actual; series IT.NET.USER.ZS)
Forest area (2023, actual; series AG.LND.FRST.ZS)
Alternate: Population (2025, actual; series SP.POP.TOTL)
Alternate: Life expectancy at birth (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.LE00.IN)
Alternate: Population growth rate (2025, actual; series SP.POP.GROW)
Alternate: Population density (2023, actual; series EN.POP.DNST)
Alternate: Total fertility rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.TFRT.IN)
Alternate: Crude birth rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.CBRT.IN)
Alternate: Crude death rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.CDRT.IN)
Alternate: Life expectancy at birth (male) (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN)
Alternate: Life expectancy at birth (female) (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN)
Alternate: Infant mortality rate (2024, actual; series SP.DYN.IMRT.IN)
Alternate: Under-five mortality rate (2024, actual; series SH.DYN.MORT)
Alternate: Net number of migrants (2025, actual; series SM.POP.NETM)

UNDP Human Development Report

HDR 2025 composite indices complete time series. Vintage HDR 2025. CC BY 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Human Development Index (2023, actual; series hdi)
Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (2023, actual; series ihdi)
Gender Development Index (2023, actual; series gdi)
Alternate: Mean years of schooling (2023, actual; series mys)
Alternate: School life expectancy (2023, actual; series eys)

IMF World Economic Outlook

World Economic Outlook April 2026. Vintage WEO April 2026. IMF data terms. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Inflation, consumer prices (2026, projection; series PCPIPCH)
General government net lending/borrowing (2026, projection; series GGXCNL_NGDP)
General government gross debt (2026, projection; series GGXWDG_NGDP)
Alternate: Gross domestic product (2026, projection; series NGDPD)
Alternate: GDP per capita (2026, projection; series NGDPDPC)
Alternate: GDP growth (2026, projection; series NGDP_RPCH)

UNESCO Institute for Statistics

UIS Bulk Data Download Service (February 2026). Vintage UIS February 2026. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

Adult literacy rate (2021, actual; series LR.AG15T99)
Youth literacy rate (2021, actual; series LR.AG15T24)
Mean years of schooling (2019, actual; series MYS.1T8.AG25T99)
School life expectancy (2024, actual; series SLE.1T8)

Our World in Data (Global Carbon Project)

OWID CO2 data (Global Carbon Project). Vintage OWID CO₂ December 2025. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-03. Source file.

CO₂ emissions (2024, actual; series co2)
CO₂ emissions per capita (2024, actual; series co2_per_capita)

Names, classifications, and boundaries are for statistical and cartographic use and do not constitute recognition of legal claims.