Marshall Islands — Population
Population, Total for Marshall Islands, 1960–2025.
Population for Marshall Islands was 36,282 in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 66 years, from 1960 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 52,044 in 2010. The lowest was 14,703 in 1960 (about 2.5× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.40% per year.
Marshall Islands ranks 212 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 98%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 1.42 million, so Marshall Islands sits below it. It peaked in 2010 and has fallen 30% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 26%. Within East Asia & Pacific it ranks 34 of 37 economies; Palau (17,663) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was up 7% in 1969. That is 15% below this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
From its 1960 level: doubled by 1979. Doubling roughly every 50 years at that pace.
World ranking. Slipped: 206th of 216 in 1960 → 204th of 216 in 1970 → 203rd of 216 in 1980 → 203rd of 217 in 1990 → 203rd of 217 in 2000 → 204th of 217 in 2010 → 207th of 217 in 2020 → 212th of 217 in 2025.
Key figures
Full history — 1960 to 2025
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 36,282 | -3.4% |
| 2024 | 37,548 | -3.3% |
| 2023 | 38,827 | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 40,077 | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 41,367 | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 42,706 | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 44,007 | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 45,285 | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 46,529 | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 47,709 | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 48,800 | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 49,796 | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 50,681 | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 51,419 | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 51,907 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 52,044 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 52,019 | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 52,030 | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 52,035 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 51,992 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 51,906 | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 51,791 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 51,639 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 51,425 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 51,123 | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 50,706 | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 50,202 | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 49,717 | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 49,259 | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 48,775 | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 48,266 | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 47,712 | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 47,093 | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 46,388 | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 45,568 | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 44,629 | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 43,586 | +3.0% |
| 1988 | 42,321 | +3.7% |
| 1987 | 40,828 | +3.9% |
| 1986 | 39,286 | +4.0% |
| 1985 | 37,761 | +4.1% |
| 1984 | 36,264 | +4.2% |
| 1983 | 34,811 | +4.2% |
| 1982 | 33,397 | +4.3% |
| 1981 | 32,017 | +4.0% |
| 1980 | 30,774 | +3.5% |
| 1979 | 29,738 | +3.2% |
| 1978 | 28,809 | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 27,906 | +3.3% |
| 1976 | 27,021 | +3.3% |
| 1975 | 26,154 | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 25,296 | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 24,581 | +2.5% |
| 1972 | 23,992 | +2.7% |
| 1971 | 23,366 | +3.7% |
| 1970 | 22,530 | +5.7% |
| 1969 | 21,305 | +7.3% |
| 1968 | 19,862 | +6.5% |
| 1967 | 18,655 | +4.1% |
| 1966 | 17,927 | +3.0% |
| 1965 | 17,402 | +3.3% |
| 1964 | 16,852 | +3.4% |
| 1963 | 16,302 | +3.5% |
| 1962 | 15,755 | +3.5% |
| 1961 | 15,219 | +3.5% |
| 1960 | 14,703 | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Marshall Islands’s Population in 1961?
15,219 (1961). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are Marshall Islands’s Population figures nominal or inflation-adjusted?
They are exactly as the World Bank publishes them — people — with no inflation restatement and no PPP conversion. Years the source does not report are omitted rather than interpolated.
Is Marshall Islands’s Population growing or shrinking?
Between 1960 and 2025 the series was growing overall: +146.8% in total — about 1.4% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SP.POP.TOTL. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2025: 36,282; 2024: 37,548; 2023: 38,827; 2022: 40,077; 2021: 41,367. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SP.POP.TOTL — Population, Total. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.