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Marshall Islands Demographics Profile

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Population78,831 (July 2021 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Marshallese (singular and plural)

adjective: Marshallese
Ethnic groupsMarshallese 92.1%, mixed Marshallese 5.9%, other 2% (2006 est.)
LanguagesMarshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 est.)

major-language sample(s):


Bok eo an Lalin kin Melele ko Rejimwe ej jikin ebok melele ko raurok. (Marshallese)

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note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language

ReligionsProtestant 80.5% (United Church of Christ 47%, Assembly of God 16.2%, Bukot Nan Jesus 5.4%, Full Gospel 3.3%, Reformed Congressional Church 3%, Salvation Army 1.9%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.4%, Meram in Jesus 1.2%, other Protestant 1.1%), Roman Catholic 8.5%, Mormon 7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.7%,  other 1.2%, none 1.1% (2011 est.)
Age structure0-14 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.)
Median agetotal: 23.8 years

male: 23.6 years

female: 23.9 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.37% (2021 est.)
Birth rate22.42 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate4.25 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-4.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributionmost 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
Urbanizationurban population: 78.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.61% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major cities - population31,000 MAJURO (capital) (2018)
Sex ratioat 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 ratetotal: 22.2 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 25.83 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 18.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 74.38 years

male: 72.12 years

female: 76.76 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate2.81 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 99.8% of population

rural: 99.7% of population

total: 99.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.2% of population

rural: 0.3% of population

total: 0.2% of population (2017 est.)
Health expenditures17.6% (2018)
Physicians density0.42 physicians/1,000 population (2012)
Hospital bed density2.7 beds/1,000 population (2010)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 96.3% of population

rural: 65.4% of population

total: 89.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 15.5% of population

rural: 34.6% of population

total: 10.9% of population (2017 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rateNA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDSNA
HIV/AIDS - deathsNA
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: malaria
Obesity - adult prevalence rate52.9% (2016)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight11.9% (2017)
Education expendituresNA
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98.3%

male: 98.3%

female: 98.2% (2011)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 10 years

male: 10 years

female: 10 years (2019)

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021