Federated States of Micronesia

Located in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Indonesia, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are part of the geopolitical region known as Oceania and part of the larger island grouping of Micronesia. The FSM's 607 islands are collected into four major island groupings represented by the states of Chuuk (formerly Truk), Kosrae (formerly Kosaie), Pohnpei (formerly Ponape), and Yap.

Once a part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the United States, the Federated States of Micronesia achieved near-full independence in 1986. The United States has pledged to continue to supply economic aid until at least 2023.

General Information

• Full name of country: Federated States of Micronesia
• Former name(s): Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts
• Region: Australia-Oceania
• Nationality: Micronesian(s) (noun), Micronesian; Chuukese, Kosraen(s), Pohnpeian(s), Yapese (adjective)
• Official language: English
• Population: 100,319 (2023 est.)
• Population growth: –0.7% (2023 est.)
• Currency (money): United States dollar
• Land area: 702 sq km (271 sq miles)
• Time zone: UTC +11
• Capital: Palikir
• Flag: The flag of the Federated States of Micronesia is light blue, which represents the Pacific Ocean. In the center of the flag are four white stars, representing Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Yap.
• Motto: “Peace, Unity, Liberty”
• Independence: November 3, 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
• Government type: federal republic in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force on November 3, 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal system: mixed legal system of common and customary law
• National anthem: "Patriots of Micronesia," by Unknown
• National holiday: Constitution Day, May 10 (1979)

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: The Federated States of Micronesia are home to nine primary ethnic groups derived from the islands of Micronesia and Polynesia. Of these, the Chuukese/Mortlockese and Pohnpeian groups make up the overwhelming majority, accounting for 49.3 percent and 29.8 percent of the population, respectively, according to the 2010 census. Social groupings in Micronesia are organized primarily around clans in which extended families, including close relations and adopted individuals, live together. Most of the FSM's residents live in or around the urban centers located in each state.

Although the official language is English, other common languages include Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosraean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, and Kapingamarangi.

The islands' residents are overwhelmingly Christian. According to the 2010 Census, 54.7 percent of the population, most of them residents of Yap, practiced Roman Catholicism, and 41.1 percent practiced some form of Protestantism.

Life expectancy is fairly high, averaging 74.71 years overall (72.61 years for men, 76.91 years for women) in 2023. The infant mortality rate in 2023 was estimated at 21.37 deaths per 1,000 live births. Poverty remains widespread, and the region's high emigration rate means that Micronesia's population is declining.

Indigenous People: Micronesia's earliest inhabitants came by outrigger canoe from the Philippines and Indonesia to settle on the island of Yap anywhere between 4,000 and 2,000 years ago. Later peoples traveled from the islands of Melanesia to populate the rest of Micronesia's current territory.

Education: Education in Micronesia is divided into three levels: primary (grades one through six), lower secondary (grades seven and eight), and upper secondary (grades nine through twelve). Attendance is free and compulsory through lower secondary school, between the ages of six and fourteen. The US Peace Corps still plays an active role in providing teachers, although the islands have been adding more citizens to the nation's supply of teachers.

Participation in upper secondary school is low. A large proportion of private secondary schools are religious institutions. One notable private institution is the Jesuit-run Xavier High School in Chuuk.

The College of Micronesia–FSM is the only university in the country. It has a national campus in the capital, Palikir, on Pohnpei, as well as a campus in each state. The Fisheries and Maritime Institute on Yap is also part of the COM-FSM. Many of Micronesia's university-educated residents received their degrees from American institutions with educational grants and financial aid from the US government.

Health Care: Micronesia has no national health insurance system. A small number of health clinics are scattered throughout the islands. Most health care is provided through the hospitals located on Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Medical supplies are often scarce in some of these hospitals, and care varies widely. The state governments subsidize public clinics and hospitals.

Food: The Micronesian diet is based mainly on seafood and breadfruit, a large tree-grown fruit. Restaurants are usually American or Japanese. Yams are common food on Pohnpei, where dog meat is occasionally served at ceremonies. Pohnpei also boasts a large number of sakau bars, serving a narcotic drink made from the kava plant.

The Chuukese specialize in oppot, a combination of breadfruit and banana leaves left to ferment for months in a rock-covered pit. Yap is famous for its residents' habit of chewing buw, or betel nut, often supplemented with tobacco or vodka-soaked tobacco.

Arts & Entertainment: Though Western habits and tastes have had a significant impact on Indigenous Micronesian culture, traditional arts and entertainment remain vital. Traditional dancing is an important part of life within Micronesian clans, particularly in Yap, the FSM's most traditional region. Men and women dance separately in traditional dances built around shaking and shuffling movements, sometimes including chanting.

Traditional outrigger canoes are still used throughout the islands. Constructed from hollowed-out breadfruit trees, these single-hulled boats are said to have brought the first settlers to Micronesia thousands of years ago.

The Mortlock Islands southeast of Chuuk lagoon are famous for carved masks that were once worn by warriors and used to ward off evil spirits.

Holidays: Micronesians celebrate most of the major holidays celebrated in the United States: Christmas, New Year's, Easter, Halloween, and even Thanksgiving. In addition, each state has its own holidays. Kosrae celebrates its Liberation Day, marking the American defeat of the Japanese army in World War II (1939–45), on September 8. Pohnpei Liberation Day and Chuuk Liberation Day are commemorated later in September. Yap celebrates Yap Day during the first week in March, when traditional dancing and sporting competitions take center stage. Pohnpei Constitution Day is celebrated in early November.

The FSM as a whole celebrates Cultural Day in March, Constitution Day on May 10, United Nations Day in October, and Independence Day on November 3. Yap residents periodically hold mitmits, village-sized feasts in which one village hosts another and everyone is treated to dancing, singing, and the exchanging of gifts.

Environment and Geography

Topography: The Federated States of Micronesia are spread over an expanse of the Pacific Ocean about 2,900 kilometers (1,802 miles) wide. They lie about 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) southwest of Hawaii and 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) east of the Philippines. Papua New Guinea lies about 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) to the southwest.

Most of Micronesia's 607 islands are volcanic, creating rugged landscapes with steep cliffs, deep valleys, and dense tropical vegetation. Volcanic peaks are covered in upland rainforests.

Unlike the islands of the other three states, Yap was created by a ridge in the Asian tectonic plate and is covered in gentle, rolling hills. The FSM's hundreds of islands create a wealth of lagoons, harbors, coral atolls, and volcanic outcroppings.

Half of the nation's land mass is accounted for by Pohnpei.

Natural Resources: Micronesia's most valuable natural resource is its coastal waters, from which it obtains fish, primarily tuna, and other marine products. Other notable resources include timber from the tropical forests, phosphate, and deep-seabed minerals. In 2018, only about 2.3 percent of the country's land was arable, while 19.7 percent was given over to permanent crops.

In recent years, the island of Pohnpei has increased the planting and harvesting of a traditional plant, sakau, more widely known as "kava" (Piper methysticum). A member of the pepper family, kava is a psychoactive compound with wide-ranging and poorly understood effects. It is commonly marketed in the United States and Europe as a sleep and relaxation aid.

Plants & Animals: Micronesia's upland forests, rich volcanic soil, and tropical climate make the islands home to a huge variety of plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Micronesia's remote location in the Pacific Ocean means that there are very few mammals native to the islands. Those that are endemic are endangered by the destruction of forested lands for human cultivation. Environmental organizations are working to protect various species of megabats, also called fruit bats or flying foxes. Endangered species native to the FSM include the Marianas flying fox (Pteropus mariannus) and the Chuuk flying fox (Pteropus insularis). These indigenous fruit bats can have a wingspan of up to 1.06 meters (3.5 feet) and can be seen wheeling about the islands' skies at dawn and dusk.

The Federated States are also home to the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata), also endangered, and the dugong (Dugong dugon), a manatee-like marine animal classified as vulnerable. On Pohnpei, a few remaining Philippine deer (Rusa marianna) are found in unpopulated areas.

Micronesian coastal areas and rainforests are the habitat for a wealth of lizards, skinks, and geckos, though no snakes inhabit the islands. The majority of Micronesia's animal life comes in the form of insects, particularly mosquitoes, gnats, and cockroaches.

The waters off the Micronesian islands are home to a variety of coral, a big draw for scuba divers. These waters also provide the habitat for sea turtles, lionfish, stingrays, whales, sharks, and barracuda.

Climate: The Federated States of Micronesia lie within a tropical climate zone. All of the states, but particularly the eastern islands, experience heavy rainfall throughout the year. There are also occasional severe typhoons during typhoon season, from August to December.

Temperatures on the islands hover around an average of 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the year. Concerns related to climate change and its impacts to Micronesia increased during the twenty-first century. Experts warned that rising sea levels would increasingly threaten low-lying regions of the islands, causing storm surge from tsunamis and cyclones, flooding, and erosion.

Economy

Industry: Micronesia's economy is primarily based in the services sector, with the government employing about two-thirds of the workforce in 2013. Only about 5 percent of Micronesian workers were employed in industry in 2013. There is a small amount of construction on the islands. Other industries are related to the region's marine life and tourism: fish processing, cultivation of marine life, and craft items constructed from shell and wood. In 2021, the FSM's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) was US$375.05 million, or about US$3,300 per capita.

Agriculture: Subsistence farming is common in Micronesia. Primary harvests include taro, yams, cassava, and tropical fruits such as bananas, citrus, and coconuts. The most common livestock are pigs and chickens. Farmers also cultivate and sell black pepper, kava, and betel nuts.

Tourism: Micronesians hope that a growing tourist trade will help them become less dependent on US aid in the future. About 18,000 international visitors arrived in the country in 2019. The islands' dramatic coastlines, picturesque uplands, and diverse coral reefs are a draw for Western tourists willing to make the long journey across the Pacific. However, the FSM's tourism sector was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020, which shut down most international travel.

Chuuk Lagoon (formerly called Truk Lagoon) was the scene of the largest naval loss in history when US forces attacked the Japanese navy stationed there during World War II. Scuba divers flock to the area to explore the wreckage that litters the seabed.

Government

Micronesia's islands have been ruled by various peoples throughout their thousands of years of history. Spain was the first modern Western empire to claim Micronesia. Whaling ships frequently stopped at the islands during the 1800s, and diseases brought by the whalers killed half of the population on Pohnpei in 1854 and decimated the population of Kosrae. In 1899 Germany purchased the islands from Spain and relocated many of the inhabitants to coconut plantations that were established on land seized by the German government.

Germany lost the islands to Japan during World War I (1914–18). Japan invested in the islands' infrastructure, settling Japanese citizens throughout the area with the intention of annexing them. The economy flourished under the Japanese, but the Micronesians were second-class citizens. After the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the United States responded in 1944 by bombing Japanese ships in Chuuk Lagoon. World War II saw heavy fighting between US and Japanese forces throughout Micronesia until Japan's defeat, and Micronesia's infrastructure and economy were almost entirely destroyed.

After the war, the United Nations gave administrative rights over the states of Chuuk, Pohnpei, Yap, and Kosrae to the United States in the form of a trust territory. Beginning in 1946, the United States cordoned off Micronesia and began the intense testing of nuclear bombs over the Marshall Islands. Experts are still studying the long-term effects of these tests on Micronesia's residents.

The Congress of Micronesia first formed in 1964, though the country remained under executive control of the US government. An investigation later revealed that the Congress had been under surveillance by the CIA. A group of Peace Corps volunteers who arrived from the United States in the 1960s helped mobilize Micronesians to demand self-government. In 1978, the four states voted to share a constitution. The Federated States of Micronesia was established the following year.

In 1982, the Federated States signed a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States, officially signaling its transition from trust territory to independent state. The COFA, which went into effect in 1986, established the Federated States as a fully independent and sovereign nation, although the United States would remain responsible for defense and security and would continue to provide economic aid. In exchange, the United States received the right to maintain military bases in the islands. The agreement was amended in 2003 and renewed for a twenty-year period.

The Federated States of Micronesia has a constitutional government with a president serving as both head of government and head of state. The unicameral Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia has fourteen members, of whom ten are elected by popular vote within their districts to two-year terms. The other four members each represent one of the four states and serve four-year terms. Congress elects the president and vice president from among the four representatives of the states.

Interesting Facts

• Micronesia's monitor lizards can grow up to six feet long.
• Nan Madol, on Pohnpei, is the ruin of a thirteenth-century city made of stacked basalt stone. It was constructed under the Saudeleur Dynasty and served as the capital.
• Prior to the use of international currencies, the traditional currency of Yap was the rai, a stone carved into a disk with a hole through the middle. Rai could be up to four meters (twelve feet) in diameter and could weigh as much as 4,535 kilograms (5 tons).
• Micronesians tend to have matrilineal families (descent through the mother) and consider social distinctions to be very important.
• In 2016, an Australian couple raffled off their resort on the Micronesian island of Kosrae.

Bibliography

"Federated States of Micronesia." Statistics for Development Division, Pacific Community, 2023, sdd.spc.int/fm. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

"Micronesia (Federated States of)." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 8 Sept. 2022, hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/FSM. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

"Micronesia, Federated States of." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 12 Oct. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/micronesia-federated-states-of/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

School Year 2015-2016 FSM JEMCO 21 Education Indicators Report. National Department of Education, Federated States of Micronesia, 2016, national.doe.fm/index.php/documents/ndoe-documents?view=download&fileId=956. Accessed 15 July 2019.

"US Relations with the Federated States of Micronesia." US Department of State, 19 Oct. 2021, www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-the-federated-states-of-micronesia/. Accessed 27 May 2022.