Marshall Islands
Last updated July 15, 2026
Fragile/Conflict-Affected Country: This country is classified as experiencing institutional and social fragility.
In fragile and conflict-affected settings, severe data gaps, rapid disruption, and uneven reporting can distort index values. These scores should be read as a limited signal, not a complete picture of conditions in the country.
Composite GEFRI Score
Human Capital is strongest, while Access & Parity remains a constraint
Marshall Islands demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (41st percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions.
- Global percentile
- 41st
- Global rank
- Not ranked (microstate)
- Regional rank
- Not ranked (microstate)
- Viewing data for
Country profile
Marshall Islands remains in the emerging-readiness range, with progress visible but major gaps still limiting future readiness. Most dimension scores sit close to global norms, without a single dimension standing far above the rest.
Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. Limited tertiary enrollment narrows future talent pipelines and innovation capacity.
R&D investment remains modest, affecting long-term innovation potential. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.
Infrastructure and GEFRI Composite present a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, School Access and Gender Parity lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.
Some indicators are imputed, so the profile should be read with moderate caution.
Key insights
Scores range from Human Capital (54.0) to Access & Parity (26.6), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Trails regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.
Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific
Composite GEFRI Score
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Korea, Rep. | 77.90 |
| 3 | 2 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 77.59 |
| 4 | 3 | Singapore | 77.58 |
| 12 | 4 | Japan | 76.03 |
| 14 | 5 | Australia | 75.84 |
| 20 | 6 | New Zealand | 72.96 |
| 46 | 7 | Brunei Darussalam | 61.47 |
| — | — | NauruMicrostate | 60.97 |
| — | — | Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate | 60.89 |
| 49 | 8 | Fiji | 60.57 |
| 50 | 9 | Thailand | 60.56 |
| — | — | GuamMicrostate | 59.78 |
| — | — | New CaledoniaMicrostate | 59.45 |
| — | — | PalauMicrostate | 59.12 |
| — | — | American SamoaMicrostate | 58.64 |
| 61 | 10 | Macao SAR, China | 58.41 |
| — | — | French PolynesiaMicrostate | 57.22 |
| 68 | 11 | Indonesia | 56.89 |
| 69 | 12 | Mongolia | 56.89 |
| 71 | 13 | Malaysia | 56.62 |
| 73 | 14 | Viet Nam | 55.90 |
| 75 | 15 | China | 55.59 |
| 87 | 16 | Philippines | 51.84 |
| — | — | SamoaMicrostate | 51.51 |
| — | — | TuvaluFCSMicrostate | 51.41 |
| — | — | TongaMicrostate | 48.23 |
| — | — | KiribatiFCSMicrostate | 46.37 |
| — | — | Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate | 45.13 |
| — | — | Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate | 41.97 |
| 112 | 17 | Vanuatu | 40.83 |
| 113 | 18 | Timor-LesteFCS | 40.80 |
| 115 | 19 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 39.28 |
| 123 | 20 | Cambodia | 35.88 |
| 131 | 21 | Solomon IslandsFCS | 33.48 |
| 134 | 22 | Lao PDR | 32.64 |
| 147 | 23 | Papua New GuineaFCS | 27.72 |
| 151 | 24 | MyanmarFCS | 26.22 |