Map of Micronesia
Micronesia is a country in Oceania with its capital at Palikir, home to about 113,683 people across 702 km². The interactive map below plots 1 cities and towns, 1 mountain summits and 4 ports recorded for Micronesia in YearMaps.
- Population
- 113,683
- Area
- 702 km²
- Capital
- Palikir
- Continent
- Oceania
Interactive Map of Micronesia
Centred on Palikir at 6.9166° N, 158.1500° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), or simply Micronesia ( ), is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four states—from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae—that span the western Pacific just north of the equator for a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,700 mi). Together, the states comprise around 607 islands and a combined land area of approximately 702 km2 or 271 sq mi.
The entire island federation lies across the northern Pacific accordingly: northeast of Indonesia and Papua 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 (1,800 mi) north of eastern Australia, 3,400 km (2,100 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of Honolulu of the Hawaiian Islands.
The country's total land area is relatively small, but its waters occupy nearly 3 million km2 (1.2 million mi2) of the Pacific Ocean, giving the country the 14th-largest exclusive economic zone in the world. The nation's capital is Palikir, on Pohnpei Island, and its largest city is Weno, an island municipality in the Chuuk Lagoon.
Each of its four states is centered on one or more main volcanic islands, and all but Kosrae include numerous outlying atolls. The FSM spreads across part of the Caroline Islands in the wider region of Micronesia, which region consists of thousands of small islands divided among several countries. The term Micronesia may refer to the Federated States of Micronesia or to the region as a whole.
The FSM was a part of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), a United Nations Trust Territory administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. On May 10, 1979, the islands ratified a constitutional government and then became a sovereign state after attaining independence on November 3, 1986—under a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Other neighboring island entities (also former members of the TTPI) also formed constitutional governments, becoming the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau. The FSM has a seat in the United Nations and has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Federated States of Micronesia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Micronesia
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.
- Location
- Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia.
- Climate
- Tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage.
- Terrain
- Islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk.
- Highest point
- Nanlaud on Pohnpei 782 m.
- Lowest point
- Pacific Ocean 0 m.
- Coastline
- 6,112 km.
- Land borders
- Total: 0 km.
- Natural resources
- Timber, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate.
- 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.)
- Natural hazards
- Typhoons (June to December)
- Geographic note
- Composed of four major island groups totaling 607 islands.
- Languages
- English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi.
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Economy
- 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.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Micronesia in Numbers
- Population
- 113,683
- GDP
- US$501.8 million
- GDP per person
- US$4,414
- Life expectancy
- 67.4 years
- Population growth
- 0.46% a year
- Population density
- 161 per km²
- Urban population
- 22.5%
- Surface area
- 701 km²
- Forest cover
- 92.1%
- Arable land
- 3.4%
- Access to electricity
- 88.9%
- Internet users
- 39.5%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Micronesia in Depth
History
The ancestors of the Micronesians settled over four thousand years ago. A decentralized chieftain-based system eventually evolved into a more centralized economic and religious culture centered on Yap Island.
Nan Madol, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, consisting of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals, is often called the Venice of the Pacific. It is located on the eastern periphery of the island of Pohnpei and used to be the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur dynasty that united Pohnpei's estimated 25,000 people from about AD 500 until 1500 when the centralized system collapsed.
European explorers—first the Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) and then the Spanish—reached the Carolines in the sixteenth century.
Geography
The Federated States of Micronesia consists of 607 islands extending 2,900 km (1,802 mi) across the archipelago of the Caroline Islands east of the Philippines. The islands have a combined area of 702 km2 (271 sq mi).
The islands are grouped into four states, which are Yap, Chuuk (called Truk until January 1990), Pohnpei (known as "Ponape" until November 1984), and Kosrae (formerly Kusaie). These four states are each represented by a white star on the national flag. The capital is Palikir, on Pohnpei.
Two terrestrial ecoregions lie within the country's borders: Carolines tropical moist forests and Yap tropical dry forests. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.55/10, ranking it 37th globally out of 172 countries.
Economy
Economic activity in the Federated States of Micronesia consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. Long line fishing of tuna is also viable with foreign vessels from China that operated in the 1990s. 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 U.S. is the primary source of revenue, with the U.S. pledged to spend $1.3 billion in the islands in 1986–2001; when the Compact was amended in 2004, the United States committed to providing $110 million in development aid through 2023. The CIA World Factbook lists high dependence on U.S. aid as one of the main concerns of the FSM.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Federated States of Micronesia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Micronesia: Key Facts
| Currency | United States dollar |
|---|---|
| Official language | English |
| Head of state | Wesley Simina |
| Head of government | Wesley Simina |
| Form of government | federal republic |
| Calling code | +691 |
| Internet domain | .fm |
| Highest point | Dolohmwar |
| Lowest point | Pacific Ocean |
| Established | 3 November 1986 |
Facts from Wikidata Q702 (CC0).
History of Micronesia: Empires and States
The atlas records 6 polities whose mapped territory included part of Micronesia, from Kingdom of Spain in 1877 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of Spain | 1877–1899 CE | Nearly all |
| The Spanish Empire | 1877–1899 CE | Nearly all |
| German Empire | 1900–1914 CE | Nearly all |
| Empire of Japan | 1915–1943 CE | Nearly all |
| United States of America | 1944–2005 CE | Nearly all |
| Micronesia | 1987–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Micronesia
Micronesia on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Largest Cities in Micronesia
1 city recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palikir | 4,645 | — | National capital |
Highest Mountains in Micronesia
1 mountain recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ngihneni | 791 m | 2,595 ft | Oceania |
Ports in Micronesia
4 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moen | 42.1 m | Very Small | Pacific Islands & Hawaii | point_of_interest |
| 2 | Pohnpei Harbor | 38.4 m | Small | Pacific Islands & Hawaii | medium vessels |
| 3 | Lele Harbor | 27.4 m | Very Small | Pacific Islands & Hawaii | point_of_interest |
| 4 | Colonia | 5.5 m | Very Small | Pacific Islands & Hawaii | medium vessels |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Micronesia
1 World Heritage Site recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nan Madol | 2016 | Cultural | (i) (iii) (iv) (vi) |
Largest Islands of Micronesia
5 islands recorded. Ranked by mapped area. An island divided between countries is listed under each, with the area of the whole island.
| # | Name | Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caroline Islands | 1.75M km² | Island group |
| 2 | Truk | 3,537 km² | Island group |
| 3 | Yap Islands | 1,498 km² | Island group |
| 4 | Pohnpei | 342 km² | Island |
| 5 | Oroluk | 84 km² | Island |
Countries Bordering Micronesia
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Oceania
Micronesia: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Micronesia?
- The capital of Micronesia is Palikir.
- What is the population of Micronesia?
- Micronesia has a population of about 113,683, the #195 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Micronesia?
- Micronesia covers 702 km², ranking #194 by area, with about 162 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Micronesia in?
- Micronesia is in Oceania.
- Which countries border Micronesia?
- Micronesia shares a land or maritime border with United States, Papua New Guinea, Palau.
- What is the largest city in Micronesia?
- Palikir is the largest city in Micronesia, with a metropolitan population of about 4,645.
- What is the highest mountain in Micronesia?
- The highest summit recorded for Micronesia in YearMaps is Ngihneni at 791 m (2,595 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.