Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces

MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF

@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Geography

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

 Map references: Oceania

 Area:
 total area: 702 sq km
 land area: 702 sq km
 comparative area: slightly less than four times the size of
 Washington, DC
 note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Truk (Chuuk), Yap, and Kosrae

 Land boundaries: 0 km

 Coastline: 6,112 km

 Maritime claims:
 exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
 territorial sea: 12 nm

 International disputes: none

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

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

 Natural resources: forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals

 Land use:
 arable land: NA%
 permanent crops: NA%
 meadows and pastures: NA%
 forest and woodland: NA%
 other: NA%

 Irrigated land: NA sq km

 Environment:
 current issues: NA
 natural hazards: typhoons (June to December)
 international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law
 of the Sea

 Note: four major island groups totaling 607 islands

@Micronesia, Federated States Of:People

 Population: 122,950 (July 1995 est.)

 Age structure:
 0-14 years: NA
 15-64 years: NA
 65 years and over: NA

 Population growth rate: 3.35% (1995 est.)

 Birth rate: 28.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Net migration rate: 11.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Infant mortality rate: 36.52 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

 Life expectancy at birth:
 total population: 67.81 years
 male: 65.84 years
 female: 69.81 years (1995 est.)

 Total fertility rate: 3.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)

 Nationality:
 noun: Micronesian(s)
 adjective: Micronesian; Kosrae(s), Pohnpeian(s), Trukese, Yapese

 Ethnic divisions: nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups

 Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other and none 3%

 Languages: English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian,
 Yapese, Kosrean

 Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
 total population: 89%
 male: 91%
 female: 88%

 Labor force: NA
 by occupation: two-thirds are government employees
 note: 45,000 people are between the ages of 15 and 65

@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Government

 Names:
 conventional long form: Federated States of Micronesia
 conventional short form: none
 former: Kosrae, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts (Trust Territory of
 the Pacific Islands)

 Abbreviation: FSM

 Digraph: FM

 Type: constitutional government in free association with the US; the
 Compact of Free Association entered into force 3 November 1986

 Capital: Kolonia (on the island of Pohnpei)
 note: a new capital is being built about 10 km southwest in the
 Palikir valley

 Administrative divisions: 4 states; Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk (Truk), Yap

 Independence: 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN
 Trusteeship)

 National holiday: Proclamation of the Federated States of Micronesia,
 10 May (1979)

 Constitution: 10 May 1979

 Legal system: based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the
 legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws

 Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

 Executive branch:
 chief of state and head of government: President Bailey OLTER (since
 21 May 1991); Vice President Jacob NENA (since 21 May 1991); election
 last held 11 May 1991 (next to be held 7 March 1995); results - Bailey
 OLTER elected president; Jacob NENA elected vice-president
 cabinet: Cabinet

 Legislative branch: unicameral
 Congress: elections last held 5 March 1991 (next to be held 7 March
 1995); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (14 total) independents
 14

 Judicial branch: Supreme Court

 Political parties and leaders: no formal parties

 Member of: AsDB, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, ITU, SPARTECA, SPC,
 SPF, UN, UNCTAD, WHO

 Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission: Ambassador Jesse B. MAREHALAU
 chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383
 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391
 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Tamuning (Guam)

 US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission: Ambassador March Fong EU
 embassy: address NA, Kolonia
 mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Pohnpei, Federated States of
 Micronesia 96941
 telephone: [691] 320-2187
 FAX: [691] 320-2186

 Flag: light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the
 stars are arranged in a diamond pattern

Economy

 Overview: Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming
 and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting,
 except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry
 exists, but the remoteness of the location and a lack of adequate
 facilities hinder development. Financial assistance from the US is the
 primary source of revenue, with the US pledged to spend $1 billion in
 the islands in the 1990s. Geographical isolation and a poorly
 developed infrastructure are major impediments to long-term growth.

 National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $160 million (1990
 est.)
 note: GDP was supplemented by approximately $100 million in grant aid
 in 1990

 National product real growth rate: 4% (1994)

 National product per capita: $1,500 (1990 est.)

 Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

 Unemployment rate: 27% (1989)

 Budget:
 revenues: $45 million
 expenditures: $31 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
 (FY94/95 est.)

 Exports: $3.2 million (f.o.b., 1990)
 commodities: fish, copra, bananas, black pepper
 partners: Japan, US

 Imports: $91.2 million (c.i.f., 1990)
 commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment,
 beverages
 partners: US, Japan, Australia

 External debt: $NA

 Industrial production: growth rate NA%

 Electricity:
 capacity: 18,000 kW
 production: 40 million kWh
 consumption per capita: 380 kWh (1990)

 Industries: tourism, construction, fish processing, craft items from
 shell, wood, and pearls

 Agriculture: mainly a subsistence economy; black pepper; tropical
 fruits and vegetables, coconuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, pigs,
 chickens

 Economic aid:
 recipient: under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US will
 provide $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001

 Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

 Exchange rates: US currency is used

 Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Transportation

 Railroads: 0 km

 Highways:
 total: 226 km
 paved: 39 km (on major islands)
 unpaved: stone, coral, laterite 187 km

 Ports: Colonia (Yap), Kolonia (Pohnpei), Lele, Moen

 Merchant marine: none

 Airports:
 total: 6
 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
 with paved runways under 914 m: 1

@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Communications

 Telephone system: 960 telephones on Kolonia and Truk
 local: NA
 intercity: islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used mostly for
 government purposes
 international: 4 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth stations

 Radio:
 broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 1
 radios: 16,000

 Television:
 broadcast stations: 6
 televisions: 1,125 (1987 est.)

@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Defense Forces

 Note: defense is the responsibility of the US


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