The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 coral atolls and five islands, divided across two island chains: Ratak in the east and Ralik in the west. 97.87% of its territory is water, the largest proportion of water to land of any sovereign state. The country shares maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and the Federated States of Micronesia to the west. The capital and largest city is Majuro, home to approximately half of the country's population.
The Marshall Islands consist of two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands, which form two parallel groups—the "Ratak" (sunrise) chain and the "Ralik" (sunset) chain. The Marshalls are located in the North Pacific Ocean and share maritime boundaries with Micronesia and Kiribati. Two-thirds of the nation's population lives in the capital of Majuro and the settlement of Ebeye. The outer islands are sparsely populated due to lack of employment opportunities and economic development.
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
Transportation in Nauru includes pedestrian, bicycle, automobile, train, and airplane. A international port is currently under construction.
Majuro is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll has a land area of 9.7 square kilometers (3.7 sq mi) and encloses a lagoon of 295 square kilometers (114 sq mi). As with other atolls in the Marshall Islands, Majuro consists of narrow land masses. It has a tropical trade wind climate, with an average temperature of 27 °C (81 °F).
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
The Marshall Thundering Herd is the intercollegiate athletic collection of teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which are members of the NCAA Division I. The school's official colors are kelly green and white. The Marshall Thundering Herd have won 3 NCAA national championships and one NAIA national championship.
The Micronesian imperial pigeon, also known as the Micronesian pigeon, and Belochel is a species of bird in the family Columbidae (doves). It is found in Palau, the Caroline Islands, the Marshall Islands and Nauru. Its habitats include montane forests, secondary forests, forests on beaches, and mangroves. It is threatened by hunting and deforestation, and the IUCN has assessed it as a near-threatened species.
The 7th Micronesian Games was held August 1–10 in Palau.
The Micronesian Games are a quadrennial international multi-sport event within the Micronesian region. The Games were first held in 1969 in Saipan. The 2010 Micronesian Games were initially due to be held in Majuro, until the hosts withdrew. The 2010 Games were hosted by Palau. The Federated States of Micronesia won the bidding to host the 2014 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei State, and later won again against CNMI for the 2018 Micronesian Games to be held in Yap State.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Marshall Islands refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in the Marshall Islands. As of 2022, there were 6,832 members in 13 congregations, making it the second largest body of LDS Church members in Micronesia, behind Kiribati. The Marshall Islands has the second most LDS Church members per capita in Micronesia, and the fourth most members per capita of any independent country in the world, behind Tonga, Samoa, and Kiribati.
Stadium diplomacy is a form of subsidy practiced by a nation through building and financing the construction of stadiums and sports facilities. China uses this form of soft power to secure diplomatic recognition in line with the One-China policy and to secure natural resources.
Segra Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Leesburg, Virginia, and the home of Loudoun United FC of the USL Championship and previously Old Glory DC of Major League Rugby.
The 9th Micronesian Games were held from July 15 to July 27, 2018, in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
The Marshall Islands Soccer Federation is the governing body of soccer in the Marshall Islands. Marshall Islands is not a member of its regional body, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), or FIFA, but is working on becoming one.
The 2023 Pacific Games, officially known as the XVII Pacific Games, will be a continental multi-sport event for Oceania countries and territories that is scheduled to be held in Honiara, Solomon Islands between 19 November and 2 December 2023. This will be the first time the Solomon Islands would host the Pacific Games.
The New Nauru Stadium is a stadium currently under construction on the Pacific island nation of Nauru.
The 10th Micronesian Games will be held in Majuro, Marshall Islands. After initially being scheduled for July 25 to August 5, 2022, the competition was originally delayed a year because of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including finishing construction of the New Marshall Islands Stadium. The games will now be held June 15-24, 2024.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in the Republic of Palau.
The Marshall Islands national soccer team is the national soccer team of the Pacific island nation of the Marshall Islands. It is under the auspices of the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation. It hopes to become a member of the OFC and FIFA in the "coming years" and compete in official competitions of the organizations.
