Micronesia, Federated States of

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 7,000 (2022 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 6 (2022 est.)

Broadcast media

no TV broadcast stations; each state has a multi-channel cable service with TV transmissions carrying roughly 95% imported programming and 5% local programming; about half a dozen radio stations (2009)

Internet country code

.fm

Internet users

percent of population: 41% (2022 est.)

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 7,000 (2021 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 6 (2022 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 22,000 (2021 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 19 (2021 est.)

Agricultural products

coconuts, cassava, vegetables, sweet potatoes, bananas, pork, plantains, fruits, beef, eggs (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

Budget

revenues: $137.795 million (2020 est.) expenditures: $111.963 million (2020 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Current account balance

$12 million (2017 est.) $11 million (2016 est.) $22.408 million (2014 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

Economic overview

lower middle-income Pacific island economy; US aid reliance, sunsetting in 2024; low entrepreneurship; mostly fishing and farming; US dollar user; no patent laws; tourism remains underdeveloped; significant corruption

Exchange rates

the US dollar is used

Exports

$129.5 million (2024 est.) $125.789 million (2023 est.) $90.466 million (2022 est.) note: GDP expenditure basis - exports of goods and services in current dollars

Exports - commodities

fish, diamonds, garments (2023) note: top export commodities based on value in dollars over $500,000

Exports - partners

Thailand 64%, China 16%, Philippines 11%, Japan 5%, Ecuador 1% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

GDP (official exchange rate)

$471.425 million (2024 est.) note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 23.3% (2023 est.) industry: 5% (2023 est.) services: 69.2% (2023 est.) note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Imports

$325.9 million (2024 est.) $310.669 million (2023 est.) $274.334 million (2022 est.) note: GDP expenditure basis - imports of goods and services in current dollars

Imports - commodities

poultry, fish, plastic products, cars, prepared meat (2023) note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Imports - partners

USA 35%, China 20%, Japan 13%, Taiwan 6%, Philippines 4% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

Industrial production growth rate

0.8% (2023 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Industries

tourism, construction; specialized aquaculture, craft items (shell and wood)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.4% (2022 est.) 3.2% (2021 est.) 0.6% (2020 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

Public debt

27.8% of GDP (2020 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$432.679 million (2024 est.) $429.59 million (2023 est.) $427.529 million (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

0.7% (2024 est.) 0.5% (2023 est.) -2.9% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP per capita

$3,800 (2024 est.) $3,800 (2023 est.) $3,800 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

Remittances

5.3% of GDP (2023 est.) 5.6% of GDP (2022 est.) 6% of GDP (2021 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$497.434 million (2021 est.) $451.913 million (2020 est.) $397.158 million (2019 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Taxes and other revenues

7% (of GDP) (2020 est.) note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Electricity access

electrification - total population: 85.3% (2022 est.) electrification - urban areas: 98.6% electrification - rural areas: 79.4%

Petroleum

refined petroleum consumption: 800 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

121,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from petroleum and other liquids: 121,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

Climate

tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage

Environmental issues

overfishing; sea-level rise; water and toxic pollution from mining; solid waste disposal

International environmental agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Land use

agricultural land: 7.1% (2023 est.) arable land: 2.9% (2023 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.) permanent pasture: 4.3% (2023 est.) forest: 92.2% (2023 est.) other: 0.7% (2023 est.)

Particulate matter emissions

8.1 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 23.4% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 26,000 tons (2024 est.) percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 15.2% (2022 est.)

Area

total : 702 sq km land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km (fresh water only) note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae (Kosaie)

Area - comparative

four times the size of Washington, D.C. (land area only)

Climate

tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage

Coastline

6,112 km

Elevation

highest point: Nanlaud on Pohnpei 782 m lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Geographic coordinates

6 55 N, 158 15 E

Geography - note

composed of four major island groups totaling 607 islands

Irrigated land

0 sq km (2022)

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Land use

agricultural land: 7.1% (2023 est.) arable land: 2.9% (2023 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.) permanent pasture: 4.3% (2023 est.) forest: 92.2% (2023 est.) other: 0.7% (2023 est.)

Location

Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia

Map references

Oceania

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Natural hazards

typhoons (June to December)

Natural resources

timber, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate

Population distribution

the majority of the population lives in the coastal areas of the high islands; the mountainous interior is largely uninhabited; less than half of the population lives in urban areas

Terrain

islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk

Administrative divisions

4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae (Kosaie), Pohnpei (Ponape), Yap

Capital

name: Palikir geographic coordinates: 6 55 N, 158 09 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: Micronesia has two time zones note: Palikir became the new capital of the country in 1989, three years after independence; Kolonia, the former capital, remains the site for many foreign embassies; it also serves as the Pohnpei state capital

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of FSM dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Constitution

history: drafted June 1975, ratified 1 October 1978, entered into force 10 May 1979 amendment process: proposed by Congress, by a constitutional convention, or by public petition; passage requires approval by at least three-fourths majority vote in at least three fourths of the states note: at least every ten years, voters are asked as part of a general or special election whether to hold a constitution convention; a majority of affirmative votes is required to proceed

Country name

conventional long form: Federated States of Micronesia conventional short form: none local long form: Federated States of Micronesia local short form: none former: New Philippines; Caroline Islands; Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts abbreviation: FSM etymology: the name is a 19th-century construct of two Greek words, mikros (small) and nesoi (islands), and refers to its thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jennifer L. JOHNSON (since 13 September 2023) embassy: 1286 US Embassy Place, Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941 mailing address: 4120 Kolonia Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-4120 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186 email address and website: koloniaacs@state.gov https://fm.usembassy.gov/

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jackson T. SORAM (since 27 February 2024) chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 email address and website: dcmission@fsmembassy.fm https://fsmembassy.fm/ consulate(s) general: Honolulu, Portland (OR), Tamuning (Guam)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Wesley W. SIMINA (since 12 May 2023) head of government: President Wesley W. SIMINA (since 12 May 2023) cabinet: Cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of the 8 executive departments election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected by Congress from among the 4 'at large' senators for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term) most recent election date: 12 May 2023 expected date of next election: 2027 note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

Flag

description: light blue with four five-pointed white stars centered and arranged in a diamond pattern meaning: blue stands for the Pacific Ocean, and the stars for the four island groups of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap

Government type

federal republic in free association with the US

Independence

3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

International law organization participation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

International organization participation

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Federated States of Micronesia Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and not more than 5 associate justices and organized into appellate and criminal divisions) judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the FSM president with the approval of two-thirds of Congress; justices appointed for life subordinate courts: the highest state-level courts are: Chuuk Supreme Court; Korsae State Court; Pohnpei State Court; Yap State Court

Legal system

mixed system of common and customary law

Legislative branch

legislature name: Congress legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 14 (all directly elected) electoral system: plurality/majority scope of elections: partial renewal term in office: 2 years most recent election date: 3/4/2025 percentage of women in chamber: 21.4% expected date of next election: March 2027

National anthem(s)

title: "Patriots of Micronesia" lyrics/music: unknown history: adopted 1991

National color(s)

light blue, white

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 1 (cultural) selected World Heritage Site locales: Nan Madol: Ceremonial Center of Eastern Micronesia

National holiday

Constitution Day, 10 May (1979)

National symbol(s)

four five-pointed white stars on a light blue field, hibiscus flower

Political parties

no formal parties

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Background

Each of the four states that compose the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) -- Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap -- has its own unique history and cultural traditions. The first humans arrived in what is now the FSM in the second millennium B.C. In the 800s A.D., construction of the artificial islets at the Nan Madol complex in Pohnpei began, with the main architecture being built around 1200. At its height, Nan Madol united the approximately 25,000 people of Pohnpei under the Saudeleur Dynasty. By 1250, Kosrae was united in a kingdom centered in Leluh. Yap s society became strictly hierarchical, with chiefs receiving tributes from islands up to 1,100 km (700 mi) away. Widespread human settlement in Chuuk began in the 1300s, and the different islands in the Chuuk Lagoon were frequently at war with one another. Portuguese and Spanish explorers visited a few of the islands in the 1500s, and Spain began exerting nominal, but not day-to-day, control over some of the islands -- which they named the Caroline Islands -- in the 1600s. In 1899, Spain sold all of the FSM to Germany. Japan seized the islands in 1914 and was granted a League of Nations mandate to administer them in 1920. During WWII, Japan built military bases across most of the islands and headquartered their Pacific naval operations in Chuuk. The US bombed Chuuk in 1944 but largely bypassed the other islands in its leapfrog campaign across the Pacific. In 1947, the FSM came under US administration as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which comprised six districts: Chuuk, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Pohnpei, and Yap; Kosrae was separated from Pohnpei into a separate district in 1977. In 1979, Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap ratified the FSM Constitution and declared independence while the other three districts opted to pursue separate political status. There are significant inter-island rivalries stemming from their different histories and cultures. Chuuk, the most populous but poorest state, has pushed for secession, but an independence referendum has been repeatedly postponed.

Military - note

defense is the responsibility of the US; in 1982, the FSM signed a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US, which granted the FSM financial assistance and access to many US domestic programs in exchange for exclusive US military access and defense responsibilities; the COFA entered into force in 1986; Micronesians can serve in the US armed forces the FSM has a "shiprider" agreement with the US, which allows local maritime law enforcement officers to embark on US Coast Guard (USCG) and US Navy (USN) vessels, including to board and search vessels suspected of violating laws or regulations within the FSM's designated exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the high seas; "shiprider" agreements also enable USCG personnel and USN vessels with embarked USCG law enforcement personnel to work with host nations to protect critical regional resources (2025)

Military and security forces

no military forces; Federated States of Micronesia National Police (includes a maritime wing)

Age structure

0-14 years: 27% (male 13,673/female 13,239) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 32,527/female 34,487) 65 years and over: 5.7% (2024 est.) (male 2,508/female 3,169)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 1.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) beer: 0.92 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) wine: 0.13 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) spirits: 0.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Birth rate

17.55 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

51.7% (2023 est.)

Death rate

4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 48.6 (2024 est.) youth dependency ratio: 40.2 (2024 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 8.5 (2024 est.) potential support ratio: 11.8 (2024 est.)

Education expenditure

11.6% of GDP (2020 est.) 18.6% national budget (2020 est.)

Ethnic groups

Chuukese/Mortlockese 49.3%, Pohnpeian 29.8%, Kosraean 6.3%, Yapese 5.7%, Yap outer islanders 5.1%, Polynesian 1.6%, Asian 1.4%, other 0.8% (2010 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.06 (2025 est.)

Health expenditure

11% of GDP (2021) 1.9% of national budget (2022 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 20.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) male: 23.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Languages

English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75 years (2024 est.) male: 72.9 years female: 77.2 years

Major urban areas - population

7,000 PALIKIR (capital) (2018)

Maternal mortality ratio

129 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Median age

total: 28.7 years (2025 est.) male: 27.3 years female: 29.1 years

Nationality

noun: Micronesian(s) adjective: Micronesian; Chuukese, Kosraen(s), Pohnpeian(s), Yapese

Net migration rate

-20.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

45.8% (2016)

Physician density

0.97 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Population

total: 99,603 (2024 est.) male: 48,708 female: 50,895

Population distribution

the majority of the population lives in the coastal areas of the high islands; the mountainous interior is largely uninhabited; less than half of the population lives in urban areas

Population growth rate

-0.77% (2025 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 54.7%, Protestant 41.1% (includes Congregational 38.5%, Baptist 1.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 0.8%, Assembly of God 0.7%), Church of Jesus Christ 1.5%, other 1.9%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)

Sanitation facility access

total: 88.3% of population

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.17 children born/woman (2025 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 23.4% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Airports

7 (2025)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

V6

Merchant marine

total: 38 (2023) by type: general cargo 17, oil tanker 4, other 17

Ports

total ports: 4 (2024) large: 0 medium: 0 small: 1 very small: 3 ports with oil terminals: 3 key ports: Colonia, Lele Harbor, Moen, Pohnpei Harbor