The Pacific Ocean’s Marshall Islands have Majuro as their capital city. Majuro is both the nation’s capital and its largest population center, located on a coral atoll in the Ratak, or Sunrise, island chain.
Majuro is not a single large continental-style island. The atoll consists of narrow land strips and small islands surrounding a broad lagoon. Its main urban area includes the connected communities of Delap, Uliga, and Djarrit, which contain government offices, businesses, schools, and the country’s main port and airport.
Majuro became the capital of the independent Republic of the Marshall Islands after the country separated from the Federated States of Micronesia in 1978. It replaced Jaluit, which had served as an earlier administrative center. The Marshall Islands comprise 29 coral atolls and five islands, and most of their territory is ocean. That geography makes Majuro especially vulnerable to coastal flooding and sea-level rise, a major issue for the country’s future.