Concept
The Marshall Islands (Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),NoteTag|Pronunciations:* English: Republic of the Marshall Islands ˈmɑrʃəl_ˈaɪləndzAolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ (hawelepan haw&r&kin mhahjelh) is an island country near Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The nation's population of 42,050 people (at the 2021 World Bank Census) is spread out over five islands and 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The capital and largest city of the country is Majuro. It has the largest portion of its territory composed of water of any sovereign state, at 97.87%. The islands share 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. About 52.3% of Marshall Islanders (27,797 at the 2011 Census) live on Majuro. In 2016, 73.3% of the population were defined as being "urban". The UN also indicates a population density of , and its projected 2020 population is 59,190. Micronesian settlers reached the Marshall Islands as early as the 2nd millennium BC, with interisland navigation made possible using traditional stick charts. In 1526, Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar may have been the first European to sight the islands, and Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón made landfall on an uninhabited island two years later. Several other Spanish expeditions sailed through the archipelago, but by the late 16th century, Spanish galleons sailed a Pacific route farther north. When the British captains John Marshall and Thomas Gilbert landed on Mili Atoll in 1788, they may have been the first Europeans in the archipelago in over 200 years. Later maps and charts named the islands after Captain Marshall. Spain claimed the islands in 1592, and the European powers recognized its sovereignty over the islands in 1874. They had been part of the Spanish East Indies formally since 1528.
