Country name (conventional long form): Republic of the Marshall Islands

Capital: Majuro, Majuro Atoll

Location: Micronesia (literally, "small islands"), northern-central Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia

Geographic coordinates: 9 00 N, 168 00 E

Land Area: 181.3 sq km (about the size of Washington , DC )

Climate: hot and humid, with cooling trade winds and, in the southern atolls, frequent rain; average daily temperature is approximately 81 degrees Fahrenheit; wet season from May to November; the northern atolls are quite dry (averaging around 20 inches of rain a year); islands border typhoon belt, but such storms are rare.

Terrain: low coral limestone and sand islands

Elevation extremes: lowest point Pacific Ocean 0m highest point unnamed location on Likiep 10m

Geography: two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls and 5 coral islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile defense test range

Religions: predominantly Protestant (including Congregationalist, Assembly of God, Baptist, and Seventh Day Adventist sects); but there is also a strong Catholic and Mormon presence as well as a Bahai center

Languages: Both Marshallese (which has two dialects) and English are recognized as the nation's official languages

Government type: constitutional government in free association with the US ; the Compact of Free Association entered into force October 21, 1986

Independence : October 21, 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands , May 1 (1979)

Constitution Adopted: May 1, 1979

Legal system: based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws

Suffrage: all citizens 18 years of age

Executive branch: chief of state: President Kessai Hesa Note (the president is both the chief of state and head of government)

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and Council of Iroij (12 tribal chiefs)

Elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held November 2003

Industries: copra (dried coconut meat) production and processing, coconut oil, fishing; tourism, and craft items from shell, wood, and pearls

Currency: United States dollar

Military: as stated in the Compact of Free Association, national defense is primarily the responsibility of the United States