country profile

Marshall Islands

East Asia & PacificUpper middle income38K population

Last updated May 3, 2026

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Fragile/Conflict-Affected Country: This country is classified as experiencing institutional and social fragility.
Microstate notice: This country is classified as a microstate (population under 300,000) and is indexed but not included in GEFRI global or regional rankings.

Composite GEFRI Score

Emerging readiness

Marshall Islands demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (40th percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.

46.38Composite score
Global percentile
40th
Global rank
Not ranked (microstate)
Regional rank
Not ranked (microstate)
Viewing data for
Infrastructure
51.57
34th percentileGlobal avg. 54.77
Human Capital
54.03
62nd percentileGlobal avg. 47.01
Innovation
41.48
45th percentileGlobal avg. 45.21
Governance
58.26
71st percentileGlobal avg. 47.75
Access & Parity
26.58
36th percentileGlobal avg. 49.65

Country profile

Marshall Islands performs close to the global average across all GEFRI dimensions. Progress is evident, yet stronger ambition is needed to reach futures readiness among global peers.

Uneven scores across dimensions highlight areas that need targeted coordination. Limited tertiary enrollment narrows future talent pipelines and innovation capacity.

R&D investment remains modest, affecting long-term innovation potential. Regulatory quality falls short of global standards, signalling structural hurdles in policy execution. 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.

Note: Several indicators use imputed values. Policymakers and planners should validate results further before committing to major initiatives.

Key insights

  • Falls below many peers at the 40th percentile.
  • Scores range from Governance (58.3) 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 rankRegional rankCountryScore
21Hong Kong SAR, China78.84
32Korea, Rep.78.17
43Singapore77.81
124Australia75.95
135Japan75.88
196New Zealand73.08
NauruMicrostate61.59
Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate61.43
487Brunei Darussalam61.13
American SamoaMicrostate61.09
498Macao SAR, China61.06
GuamMicrostate60.74
509Thailand60.74
5310Indonesia60.55
5511Fiji60.34
New CaledoniaMicrostate59.24
French PolynesiaMicrostate58.11
PalauMicrostate57.53
6712Viet Nam57.46
6913Mongolia57.00
7314Malaysia56.66
7715China55.08
8516Philippines52.64
SamoaMicrostate51.59
TuvaluFCSMicrostate49.72
TongaMicrostate48.28
KiribatiFCSMicrostate46.97
Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate46.38
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate42.67
11017Timor-LesteFCS41.47
11118Vanuatu41.25
12219Korea, Dem. People's Rep.36.56
12720Cambodia33.92
12821MyanmarFCS33.78
13622Lao PDR31.66
13823Solomon IslandsFCS31.58
15124Papua New GuineaFCS26.21