8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Oceania / Micronesia

Born in Marshall Islands

About 1 in 165,137 people born in 2023 started life in Marshall Islands. A boy can expect to live 65 years and a girl 69, up from 49 and 57 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 87% have basic drinking water.

1 in 165,137
odds of being born here
800 births · Ranked 204th of 230
65 / 69
years of life, boys / girls
Was 49 / 57 in 1950
$4,934
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 120th of 203 · extrapolated
78%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 14 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 131 in every 1,000 births to 28.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
050100150195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth64.9 years for boys, 69.3 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 527.8 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.5World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles88%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year928 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.8 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.9.

Children per woman
02.557.510195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.92UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth27.1 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 43 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2019
7%Poorest fifth
12%Second
16%Middle
22%Fourth
43%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $4,934 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth43% / 7% (2019)World Bank PIP
Growth in output per person-2.3% (2023)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment90% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Majuro, with 25,400 people.

78%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
87%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Majuro25,400
Dalap-Uliga-Dorrit20,301
Languages
Share of people who can use each
English93%
Marshallese73%
English, Marshallese is official.

People on the move

About 1.1% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Guam, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Guam257
Micronesia94
Northern Mariana Islands45
Residents born abroad8.8% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 1.1% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostGuam (257), Micronesia (94), Northern Mariana Islands (45)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $66.9 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

63% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

63%
of older people receive a pension (2019)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202417Our World in Data, from WHO

Now live it.

Born in Marshall Islands, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Marshall Islands

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences