History
Marshall Islands is a Micronesian island nation, located in the western Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. The island has a population of approximately 60,000. The island nation was controlled by the United States, and prior to that by Japan and Germany at different times in its history, until gaining its sovereignty. In 1979, the Government of the Marshall Islands was officially established and the country became self-governing. In 1986 the Compact of Free Association with the United States entered into force, granting the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) its sovereignty. The island nation is made up of twenty-nine atolls and five single islands.
The Marshall Islands created its National Olympic Committee in 2001, and gained International Olympic Committee recognition in 2007 during the IOC's on February 12, 2007. The admittance of Marshall Islands, along with Montenegro (who participated as Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Summer Olympics) and Tuvalu brings the total number of nations competing in the 2008 Olympics to 205.
Read more about this topic: Marshall Islands At The 2008 Summer Olympics
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