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 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 the Marshallese have Asian and European ancestry such as Japanese and German. A Majority have Polynesian and Melanesian ancestry. About one-half of the nation's population lives in Majuro and Ebeye Atolls.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

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

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1920	9,800	—
1925	9,644	−0.32%
1930	10,412	+1.54%
1935	10,446	+0.07%
1958	13,928	+1.26%
1967	18,925	+3.47%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1973	24,135	+4.14%
1980	30,873	+3.58%
1988	43,380	+4.34%
1999	50,840	+1.45%
2011	53,158	+0.37%
2021	42,418	−2.23%

Source:^[9]^[10]

77,917 (July 2020 est.)

Source:^[11]

Structure of the population

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 03.IV.2011):^[12]

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

Vital statistics

Registrered births and deaths^[9]

Year	Population	Live births	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
2021^[13]	42,418	704				3.4

Ethnic groups

Marshallese: 92.1%
Mixed Marshallese: 5.9%
Other: 2% (2006)

Languages

Marshallese (official): 98.2%
other languages 1.8%

Religion

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%;^[14] and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), 8.3%.^[14] 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%.^[14] Persons without any religious affiliation account for a very small percentage of the population.^[14] Islam is also present through Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which is based in Majuro, with the first mosque opening in the capital in September 2012.^[15]

References

^ Beardslee, L. A. (1870). Marshall Group. North Pacific Islands. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 33. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
^ Gwynne, S.C. (5 October 2012). "Paradise With an Asterisk". Outside Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
^ Schulte, Bret (July 4, 2012). "For Pacific Islanders, Hopes and Troubles in Arkansas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ David Vine (2006). Empire's Footprint: Expulsion and the United States Military Base on Diego Garcia. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-542-85100-1.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ 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.
^ "The World Factbook: Marshall Islands". cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. June 28, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2017. Look under tab for "People and Society".
^ ^a ^b "Republic of the Marshall Islands 2011 Census Report". Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division. 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
^ "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. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
^ "Australia-Oceania :: MARSHALL ISLANDS". CIA The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
^ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Archived from the original on 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
^ "REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS 2021 CENSUS REPORT VOLUME 1: BASIC TABLES AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 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.
^ First Mosque opens up in Marshall Islands Archived October 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine by Radio New Zealand International, September 21, 2012

This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2025 ed.). CIA. 2009. (Archived 2009 edition.)

[beardslee-1] Beardslee, L. A. (1870). Marshall Group. North Pacific Islands. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 33. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2015.

[gwynne-2] Gwynne, S.C. (5 October 2012). "Paradise With an Asterisk". Outside Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

[3] Schulte, Bret (July 4, 2012). "For Pacific Islanders, Hopes and Troubles in Arkansas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2020.

[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.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[Vine2011-7] 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. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2017. Look under tab for "People and Society".

[2011census-9] "Republic of the Marshall Islands 2011 Census Report". Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division. 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.

[2021census-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. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.

[CIAMARSHALL_ISLANDS-11] "Australia-Oceania :: MARSHALL ISLANDS". CIA The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2021-01-24.

[12] "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Archived from the original on 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-08.

[13] "REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS 2021 CENSUS REPORT VOLUME 1: BASIC TABLES AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-04.

[report-14] 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.

[15] First Mosque opens up in Marshall Islands Archived October 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine by Radio New Zealand International, September 21, 2012

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