Page:The World Factbook (1990).djvu/223

 Micronesia, Federated States of



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Geography

Total area: 702 km²; land area: 702 km²; includes Pohnpei, Truk, Yap, and Kosrae

Comparative area: slightly less than four times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 6,112 km

Maritime claims:
 * Extended economic zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Environment: subject to typhoons from June to December; four major island groups totaling 607 islands

Note: located 5,150 km west-southwest of Honolulu in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and Indonesia

People

Population: 104,937 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: -2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 73 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.0 children born/woman (1990)

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

Ethnic divisions: nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups

Religion: predominantly Christian, divided between Roman Catholic and Protestant; other churches include Assembly of God, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist, Latter Day Saints, and the Baha'i Faith

Language: English is the official and common language; most indigenous languages fall within the Austronesian language family, the exceptions are the Polynesian languages; major indigenous languages are Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, and Kosrean

Literacy: NA%, but education compulsory through eight grades

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

Organized labor: NA

Government

Long-form name: Federated States of Micronesia (no short-form name)

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, Truk, Yap

Independence: 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship; formerly the Kosrae, Pohnpei, Truk, and Yap districts of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)

Constitution: 10 May 1979

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

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

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—President John R. HAGLELGAM (since 11 May 1987); Vice President Hiroshi H. ISMAEL (since 11 May 1987)

Political parties and leaders: no formal parties

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections: President—last held 11 May 1987 (next to be held May 1991); results—John R. Haglelgam was elected;

House of Representatives—last held on NA (next to be held NA); results—percent of vote NA; seats—(NA total)

Communists: none

Member of: SPF, ESCAP (associate)

Diplomatic representation: Deputy Representative Jesse B. MAREHALAN; Representative Office at 706 G Street SE, Washington DC 20003; telephone (202) 544-2640; US—Representative Michael G. WYGANT; US Office at address NA, Kolonia (mailing address is P. O. Box 1286, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 96941); telephone 691-320-2187

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

Economy

Overview: 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. Micronesia also earns about $4 million a year in fees from foreign commercial fishing concerns. 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; note—GNP numbers reflect US spending.

GNP: $150 million, per capita $1,500; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: 80%

Budget: revenues $110.8 million; expenditures NA, including capital expenditures of NA (1987 est.)

Exports: $1.6 million (f.o.b., 1983); commodities—copra; partners—NA

Imports: $48.9 million (c.i.f., 1983); commodities—NA; partners—NA

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 15,000 kW capacity; 35 million kWh produced, 340 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearl

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

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

Currency: US currency is used

Exchange rates: US currency is used 207