马绍尔群岛(Marshall Islands)

正式名称马绍尔群岛共和国（Republic of the Marshall Islands）

马绍尔语作Majol

太平洋中部独立共和国。由两列平行的珊瑚环礁岛链组成，东边为拉塔克（Ratak）或称日出，西边为拉利克（Ralik）或称日落。两岛链相距约200公里，从西北向东南延伸约1,290公里，共有大、小岛屿1,200多个。面积181平方公里。人口约52,300（2001）。首都︰马朱罗。原住民为密克罗尼西亚人。语言︰马绍尔语、英语（均为官方语）。宗教：基督教（占多数）。货币︰美元（U.S.$）。最大的环礁是夸贾林岛（Kwajalein），由大约九十个小岛屿构成，陆地总面积16平方公里，大部分被美军用作飞弹实验场，这也是当地岁入的主要来源。自给农业、渔业和饲养猪、家禽是主要的经济活动。政府形式为共和国，两院制。国家元首暨政府首脑为总统。

1529年为西班牙航海家萨维德拉（à. Saavedra）发现。1885年德国宣布马绍尔群岛为其保护地，并於1899年自西班牙手中购得。1914年日本占据该群岛，1919年後成为国际联盟托管地进行管理。第二次世界大战期间，美国占领夸贾林岛和埃尼威托克（Enewetak）岛，1947年马绍尔群岛成为由美国管理的联合国太平洋岛屿托管地的一部分。比基尼和埃尼威托克两环礁曾是美国核子武器的试爆场（1946～1958）。1979年成为内部自治的共和国。1982年该国政府与美国签订一项自由联盟协定，并延续至2001年。1986年取得完全自治。

English version：

Marshall Islands

, MarshalleseMajolIndependent republic, central Pacific Ocean. It is composed of two parallel chains of low-lying coral atolls: the Ratak, or Sunrise, to the east and the Ralik, or Sunset, to the west. The chains lie 125 mi (200 km) apart and extend some 800 mi (1,290 km) northwest to southeast. The islands and islets number more than 1,200. Area: 70 sq mi (181 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 60,000. Capital: Majuro. The indigenous people are Micronesian. Languages: Marshallese, English (both official). Religions: Christianity (a majority). Currency: U.S. dollar. The largest atoll is Kwajalein, consisting of about 90 islets, with a total land area of 6 sq mi (16 sq km). Much of Kwajalein is used as a missile-testing range by the U.S. military, which provides a major source of revenue. Subsistence farming, fishing, and the raising of pigs and poultry are the principal economic activities. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. The islands were sighted in 1529 by the Spanish navigator àlvaro Saavedra. Germany declared the islands a protectorate in 1885 and purchased them from Spain in 1899. Japan seized them in 1914 and after 1919 administered them as a League of Nations mandate. During World War II the U.S. seized Kwajalein and Enewetak, and the Marshall Islands were made part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction in 1947. Bikini and Enewetak atolls served as testing grounds for U.S. nuclear weapons 1946-58. The country became an internally self-governing republic in 1979. It signed a compact of free association with the U.S. in 1982, which was to last until 2001. It became fully self-governing in 1986.