The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is an
independent sovereignisland nation consisting of
four states – from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae – that are spread across the Western Pacific
Ocean. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands (a combined land area of
approximately 702 km2 (271 sq mi)) that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,678 mi)
just north of the equator. They lie
northeast of New Guinea, south
of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,802 mi) north of
eastern Australia and some
4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of Hawaii.
While the FSM's total land area is quite small, it occupies more than
2,600,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi) of the Pacific Ocean. The capital is Palikir, located on Pohnpei Island, while the
largest city is Weno, located in the Chuuk
Atoll.
Each of its four states is centered around one or more main high islands, and all but
Kosrae include numerous outlying atolls.
The Federated States of Micronesia is spread across part of the Caroline Islands in
the wider region of Micronesia,
which consists of thousands of small islands divided between several countries.
The term Micronesia may refer to the Federated States or to the region as
a whole.
The FSM was formerly a part of the Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands (TTPI), a United Nations Trust Territory under U.S.
administration, but it formed its own constitutional government on May 10, 1979,
becoming a sovereign state after independence was attained on November 3, 1986
under a Compact of Free Association with
the United States. Other neighboring island entities, and also former members of
the TTPI, formulated their own constitutional governments and became the Republic of the Marshall
Islands (RMI) and the Republic of Palau (ROP). The FSM has a seat
in the United Nations.
The indigenous population of the Federated States of Micronesia, which is
predominantly Micronesian, consists of various ethnolinguistic groups. It has a
nearly 100% Pacific Islander and Asian population. Chuukese 48.8%, Pohnpeian 24.2%, Kosraean 6.2%,
Yapese 5.2%, Yap outer islands 4.5%, Asian 1.8%, Polynesian 1.5%, other 6.4%,
unknown 1.4%. A sizeable minoriJapanese
ancestry, which is a result of intermarriages between Japanese settlers and
Micronesians during the Japanese colonial period.
ty also have some
There is also growing expatriate population of Americans, Australians,
Europeans, and residents from China and the Philippines since the 1990s. English has become
the common language of the government, and for secondary and tertiary education.
Outside of the main capital towns of the four FSM states, the local languages
are primarily spoken. Population growth remains high at more than 3% annually,
offset somewhat by net emigration. Pohnpei is notable for the prevalence of the
extreme form of color
blindness known as maskun..
