constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Independence date
1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
Protestant 54.8%, Assembly of God 25.8%, Roman Catholic 8.4%, Bukot nan Jesus 2.8%, Mormon 2.1%, other Christian 3.6%, other 1%, none 1.5% (1999 census)
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%
Languages
Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census) note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
Exports
cotton, gold, energy products, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles
External Debt
$8,570,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per US dollar - 1,317 (2008 est.), 1,263.8 (2007), 1,219.8 (2006), 1,020 (2005), 971.265 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
6
Location
Oceania, two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
Area
181 km sq
447,400 km sq
Coastline
370 km
0 km
Climate
tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
