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Updates: 

I've added population data from the 2011 census, as given in source [1].

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number II-1, dated 2010-02-03, and update 12 to Geopolitical Entities and Codes (formerly FIPS 10-4), dated 2013-06-30, both have changes to the listing for the Marshall Islands. They pertain to the municipalities.

Country overview: 

Short name	MARSHALL ISLANDS
ISO code	MH
FIPS code	RM
Language	Marshallese, English (en)
Time zone	+12
Capital	Majuro

 

Micronesia, including the Marshall Islands, was a German possession at the start of the 20th century. The islands were mandated to Japan in 1920 by the League of Nations. The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was created on 1947-04-02 and granted in trust to the United States. This territory was divided into districts, one of which was the Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands became a freely associated state of the United States on 1986-10-21. It became fully independent on 1991-09-17.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Marshalløerne, Republikken Marshalløerne (formal)
2. Dutch: Marshalleilanden, Republiek der Marshalleilanden (formal)
3. English: Republic of the Marshall Islands (formal)
4. Finnish: Marshallinsaaret
5. French: Îles fp Marshall
6. German: Marshallinseln fp
7. Icelandic: Marshalleyjar
8. Italian: Isole fp Marshall
9. Norwegian: Marshalløyene, Republikken Marshalløyene (formal) (Bokmål), Marshalløyane, Republikken Marshalløyane (formal) (Nynorsk)
10. Portuguese: Ilhas Marshall, República f das Ilhas fp Marshall (formal)
11. Russian: Республика Маршалловы Острова (formal)
12. Spanish: Islas Marshall, República f de las Islas fp Marshall (formal)
13. Swedish: Marshallöarna
14. Turkish: Marshall Adaları (formal)

Origin of name: 

Named for explorer Capt. Marshall

Primary subdivisions: 

The Marshall Islands have no administrative divisions at this level.

Division	HASC	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital
Marshall Islands	MH.MH	53,158	181	70	Majuro
Population: 2011-04-05 census.

Further subdivisions:

See the Municipalities of the Marshall Islands page.

Some sources list a division of the Marshall Islands into atolls.

Territorial extent: 

The Marshall Islands include numerous small islands and atolls. For convenience, they are grouped into two chains: the Ratak Chain on the east, and the Ralik chain on the west. The Ratak (Sunrise) chain stretches from Mili to Taongi, and includes Majuro. The Ralik (Sunset) chain stretches from Ebon to Enewetak (Eniwetok). Some sources specify that the capital is Dalap-Uliga-Darrit, on Majuro Atoll.

The UN LOCODE page  for Marshall Islands lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Population history:

Date	Population
1935	10,446
1958-06-30	14,163
1967	18,799
1973	25,045
1980-04-01	30,873
1988-11-13	43,380
1999-06-01	50,840
2011-04-05	53,158

Sources: 

1. [1] Republic of the Marshall Islands 2011 Census report, Chapter 3: Population Size and Growth . Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Noumea, New Caledonia, 2012 (retrieved 2014-01-27). Has census data for 1988, 1999, and 2011.
2. [2] The Statesman's Year-Book 1959, Macmillan & Co., London, 1959.
3. [3] 1998-99 Yearbook of the Marshall Islands (retrieved 2004-12-29 at http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/STATS/RMIYearbook1998-99.pdf, dead link).
4. [4] Flags of the World  website (retrieved 2001-07-12 at http://life.csu.edu.au/marshall/html/SEQNAMES.html, dead link).