Busy, crowded
p. 53 · Read in the full issue
Ebeye
Far to the north of Pitcairn, in Micronesia, is the 70 acre island of Ebeye {pictured), which has the highest number of people per square mile of any island in the Pacific, and possibly the highest per capita population in the world.
Only 55 acres are available to the islanders, as the island also has a coast guard station. Today, 4,580 live on Ebeye; between them they have about 240 cars for the two miles of road. Ebeye is a “dormitory” island for the US anti-missile missile base on nearby Kwajalein (seen at top of picture).
Many Marshallese work on Kwaja lein during the day, commuting by ferry because they aren’t allowed to remain at the base overnight.
Ebeye also houses Marshallese moved from some other islands on the atoll because of possible danger. The US planned that Ebeye should house from 3,000 to 3,500 people, so life now is over crowded. But Ebeye is not isolated. Air traffic streams in and out of Kwajalein.