Yearbook 2011
Marshall Islands. In October, the Marshall Islands created the world’s largest shark sanctuary and introduced a total ban on shark fishing in their waters. According to Countryaah official site, the protection area is close to 2 million square kilometers, just over four times the size of Sweden. The shark is seriously threatened by fishing, about a third of the sharks are red listed. Sharks are particularly susceptible to fishing as they reproduce and grow slowly. In recent years, several sanctuaries have been created for the predator fish, including in nearby Palau 2009. The new Marshall Islands law means that fishing and trading of shark in the country is prohibited. Anyone who catches a shark has to let go of the living, and anyone who defies the fishing ban runs the risk of fines. Some harmful fishing gear has also been banned in the waters of the Marshall Islands. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of MHL that stands for the country of Marshall Islands.
Economy
| Inflation rate | 0.00% |
| Unemployment rate | 36% |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | 196,000,000 USD |
| GDP growth rate | 2.50% |
| GDP per capita | 3,600 USD |
| GDP by sector | |
| Agriculture | 4.40% |
| Industry | 9.90% |
| Service | 85.70% |
| State budget | |
| Revenue | 42 million |
| Expenditure | 40 million |
| Proportion of the population below the national poverty line | – |
| Distribution of household income | |
| Top 10% | k. A. |
| Lower 10% | k. A. |
| Industrial production growth rate | |
| Investment volume | |
| National debt | 25.50% of GDP |
| Foreign exchange reserves | |
| Tourism | 2012 |
| Visitors | 5,000 |
| Revenue | $ 5,400,000 |
On November 21, parliamentary elections were held. The turnout was reported to be high. The result was delayed because waiting for the postal votes from the US, where about a fifth of Micronesia lives.