The Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation in the western Pacific, a federation of four states spread across more than 600 islands of the wider Caroline Islands group. A diverse country of distinct cultures and languages, it is home to one of the wonders of the Pacific, the ancient ruined city of Nan Madol, built on a network of artificial islets, and to the famous stone money of Yap, giant carved discs that served as currency. Closely associated with the United States, it is a remote, ocean-spanning nation of deep traditions.
The islands were settled by seafaring peoples thousands of years ago, developing distinct societies, including the builders of the remarkable stone city of Nan Madol on Pohnpei. European contact came with Spanish explorers, and the islands passed through Spanish, then German, then Japanese rule, the latter leaving a significant mark before the Second World War brought heavy fighting to the region. After the war the islands were administered by the United States as part of a United Nations trust territory, before the Federated States of Micronesia adopted its own constitution and gained independence in free association with the United States in 1986.
On the island of Pohnpei stand the ruins of Nan Madol, a vast complex of stone palaces, temples, and tombs built on around a hundred artificial islets in a lagoon, constructed from enormous columnar basalt logs. Local tradition holds that twin sorcerers raised the immense stones into place by magic, flying them through the air, and oral histories surround the site with the supernatural. How a pre-industrial island society actually quarried, transported, and stacked the huge basalt remains genuinely uncertain and debated by archaeologists, who reject the magical explanations but have not fully resolved the methods used.
The Federated States of Micronesia stretches across a huge expanse of the western Pacific, comprising more than 600 islands grouped into four states, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, running roughly west to east. The islands vary from high, lush volcanic islands with rainforested mountains and rivers, such as Pohnpei and Kosrae, to low coral atolls and tiny reef islets. Surrounded by warm tropical seas, coral reefs, and lagoons, including the vast Chuuk lagoon, the country is rich in marine life, while its widely scattered geography gives it an enormous ocean territory.
The flag of the Federated States of Micronesia is light blue with four white five-pointed stars arranged in a diamond in the centre. The blue field represents the Pacific Ocean that surrounds and unites the islands, and the four stars stand for the four states that make up the federation, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. The light blue echoes the colours of the United Nations, recalling the islands' period as a trust territory, and the simple, balanced design expresses the union of the country's four diverse island groups.
The Federated States of Micronesia is overwhelmingly Christian, the result of missionary activity, with the population divided mainly between Roman Catholics and various Protestant denominations, the balance differing among the four states. The church is central to community life across the islands, and Christianity is deeply woven into the culture and calendar. Alongside the Christian faith, traditional beliefs, customs, clan systems, and the authority of chiefs remain influential, and respect for custom and for the intricate social hierarchies of the islands continues to shape daily life.
The cuisine of the Federated States of Micronesia draws on the produce of the islands and the abundance of the sea. Fish and seafood are central, along with staples such as taro, breadfruit, yams, bananas, and coconut, often cooked in earth ovens for feasts. Each island group has its own specialities, and on Pohnpei the kava-like drink sakau, pounded from a pepper root, holds an important ceremonial place. The diet, traditionally based on local crops and the ocean, has come to include imported rice and other goods, as elsewhere in the modern Pacific.
Agriculture in the Federated States of Micronesia ranges from subsistence gardening on the high volcanic islands, where the richer soils support taro, yams, breadfruit, bananas, and other crops, to the very limited cultivation possible on the coral atolls. Copra, from coconuts, has been the traditional cash crop and export, along with some tropical produce, betel nut, and the export of fish. The economy depends heavily on fishing and the licensing of its large ocean territory to foreign tuna fleets, and above all on financial assistance from the United States under the compact of free association.
The settlement of the islands and the building of the extraordinary stone city of Nan Madol are the great wonders of the country's deep history, alongside the famous tradition of Yapese stone money. The eras of Spanish, German, Japanese, and American rule, and the heavy fighting of the Second World War, especially around the great Japanese base at Chuuk lagoon, shaped the modern nation, which gained independence in free association with the United States in 1986. The compact, periodically renegotiated, remains central to the country's economy and security.
The Federated States of Micronesia has a population of around 100,000 people, made up of several distinct Micronesian and related ethnic groups across its four states, speaking a number of different languages, with English serving as the common official tongue. The population is spread across the four states and their many islands, with the largest numbers on Chuuk and Pohnpei, the latter home to the national capital, Palikir. Society remains deeply traditional, organised around clans, chiefs, and the extended family, and a significant number of citizens have emigrated to the United States under the compact.
