Demography
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) consists of 607 islands extending 1,800 miles across the archipelago of the Caroline Islands just north of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. About 60 of the islands are inhabited. The FSM includes four major states: Yap, Chuuk (formerly Truk), Pohnpei (formerly Ponape), and Kosrae (formerly Kusaie). The estimated total population is under 110,000, with nearly half the total residing in the state of Chuuk. Pohnpei has about 40,000 people, Yap 15,000, and Kosrae approximately 10,000.
Culture
People in each of these four states have their own distinct culture and tradition, but there are also common, centuries-old cultural and economic bonds. Salient cultural similarities include the importance of the traditional extended family, the matrilineal social structure, and the clan systems found on each island. A significant point of variance, however, is found in the power structure. That is to say, three of the four states recognize the role of traditional leaders and customs, while the fourth, Kosrae, has no traditional leaders.
Ethnicity
The ancestors of today's Micronesian population probably arrived in the region more than 2,500 years ago. The Micronesian people are an ethnic group descended from early island settlers of Melanesian, Polynesian and Malaysian origins. Apart from the Micronesians, there are also a small number of Polynesians living in the FSM, primarily on Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi Atolls, and other Pacific Islanders and Filipinos. Archeologically, the most notable remnant of past civilization is a complex of massive basalt fortifications, about 800 years old, on Pohnpei. More recent historical events have added the influence of European, Japanese and American contacts to the cultural mix.
Religion
Nearly all Micronesians are Christian. Yapese are mostly Catholic, while most Kosraeans are Protestant. Pohnpeians and Chuukese are a mixture of Catholic and Protestant adherents. English is the official language, and has become a commonly spoken tongue that unifies the citizens of the FSM. Eight indigenous Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken: Chuukese, Kosraean, Kapingamarangi, Nukuoran, Pohnpeian, Ulithian, Woleaian and Yapese.
Human Development
The population of Micronesia has a life expectancy at birth of 70.65 years (68.79 for males, and 72.61 for females) and an infant mortality rate of 27.03 deaths/1,000 live births. In terms of literacy, 89 percent (88 percent of the female population and 91 percent of the male population), age 15 and over, can read and write.
About 3.9 percent of GDP is spend on health expenditures. Access to water is considered to be good; however, standards for sanitation are less than optimal in rural areas.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief,
www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for list research sources.