Demographics Of The Marshall Islands
This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Marshall Islands, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The people of the Marshall Islands are of Micronesian origin, which is traced to a combination of peoples who emigrated from Southeast Asia in the remote past. The matrilineal Marshallese culture revolves around a complex system of clans and lineages tied to land ownership.
Virtually all Marshallese are Christian, most of them Protestant (see Religion in the Marshall Islands). Other Christian denominations include Roman Catholicism, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), Salvation Army, and Jehovah's Witness. There is also a small presence of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Bahá'í Faith.
Both Marshallese and English are official languages. Marshallese is spoken by most of the urban population. Both the Nitijela (parliament) and national radio use Marshallese.
The public school system provides education through grade 12, although admission to secondary school is selective. The elementary program employs a bilingual/bicultural curriculum. English is introduced in the first grade. There is one post-secondary institution in the Marshall Islands—the College of the Marshall Islands.
Read more about Demographics Of The Marshall Islands: CIA World Factbook Demographic Statistics
Famous quotes containing the words marshall and/or islands:
“Knowing how beleaguered working mothers truly are—knowing because I am one of them—I am still amazed at how one need only say “I work” to be forgiven all expectation, to be assigned almost a handicapped status that no decent human being would burden further with demands. “I work” has become the universally accepted excuse, invoked as an all-purpose explanation for bowing out, not participating, letting others down, or otherwise behaving inexcusably.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)