{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
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. Around the same time, Kosrae was united in a kingdom centered in Leluh by 1250. 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. Christian missionaries arrived in the 1800s, in particular to Chuuk and Kosrae. By the 1870s, nearly every Kosraean had converted to Christianity and religion continues to play an important role in daily life on the island. 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. The Japanese navy built bases across most of the islands and headquartered their Pacific naval operations in Chuuk. The US bombed Chuuk in 1944 during Operation Hailstone in World War II, destroying 250 Japanese planes and 40 ships. The US military largely bypassed the other islands in its leapfrog campaign across the Pacific.
The FSM came under US administration as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947, 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 statuses. In 1982, the FSM signed a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US, which granted the FSM financial assistance and access to many US domestic programs in exchange for exclusive US military access and defense responsibilities; the COFA entered into force in 1986 and its funding was renewed in 2003. 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 and may not be held.
Eligible Micronesians can live, work, and study in any part of the US and its territories without a visa - this privilege reduces stresses on the island economy and the environment. Micronesians serve in the US armed forces and military recruiting from the FSM, per capita, is higher than many US states.
Economic activity consists largely of subsistence farming and fishing, and government, which employs two-thirds of the adult working population and receives funding largely - 58% in 2013 – from Compact of Free Association assistance provided by the US. The islands have few commercially valuable mineral deposits. The potential for tourism is limited by isolation, lack of adequate facilities, and limited internal air and water transportation.
Under the terms of the original Compact, the US provided $1.3 billion in grants and aid from 1986 to 2001. The US and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) negotiated a second (amended) Compact agreement in 2002-03 that took effect in 2004. The amended Compact runs for a 20-year period to 2023; during which the US will provide roughly $2.1 billion to the FSM. The amended Compact also develops a trust fund for the FSM that will provide a comparable income stream beyond 2024 when Compact grants end.
The country's medium-term economic outlook appears fragile because of dependence on US assistance and lackluster performance of its small and stagnant private sector.
" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2019": { "text": "$390 million (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2018": { "text": "$390 million (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2017": { "text": "$389 million (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2017 dollars" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2017": { "text": "2% (2017 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2016": { "text": "2.9% (2016 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2015": { "text": "3.9% (2015 est.)" } }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2019": { "text": "$3,500 (2019 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars" }, "Real GDP per capita 2018": { "text": "$3,500 (2018 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars" }, "Real GDP per capita 2015": { "text": "$3,200 (2015 est.)" } }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$328 million (2017 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2017": { "text": "0.5% (2017 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2016": { "text": "0.5% (2016 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "26.3% (2013 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "18.9% (2013 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "54.8% (2013 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "83.5% (2013 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "48.4% (2016 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "29.5% (2016 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "1.9% (2016 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "27.5% (2016 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-77% (2016 est.)" } }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "coconuts, cassava, vegetables, sweet potatoes, bananas, pork, plantains, fruit, eggs, beef" }, "Industries": { "text": "tourism, construction; specialized aquaculture, craft items (shell and wood)" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "NA" }, "Labor force": { "text": "37,920 (2010 est.)" }, "Labor force - by occupation": { "agriculture": { "text": "0.9%" }, "industry": { "text": "5.2%" }, "services": { "text": "93.9% (2013 est.)" }, "note": "note: two-thirds of the labor force are government employees" }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2010": { "text": "16.2% (2010 est.)" } }, "Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": { "total": { "text": "18.9%" }, "male": { "text": "10.4%" }, "female": { "text": "29.9% (2014)" } }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "41.2% (2013 est.)" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2013": { "text": "40.1 (2013 est.)" } }, "Household income or consumption by percentage share": { "lowest 10%": { "text": "NA" }, "highest 10%": { "text": "NA" } }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "213.8 million (FY12/13 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "192.1 million (FY12/13 est.)" } }, "Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": { "text": "6.6% (of GDP) (FY12/13 est.)" }, "Public debt": { "Public debt 2017": { "text": "24.5% of GDP (2017 est.)" }, "Public debt 2016": { "text": "25.3% of GDP (2016 est.)" } }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "65.2% (of GDP) (FY12/13 est.)" }, "Fiscal year": { "text": "1 October - 30 September" }, "Current account balance": { "Current account balance 2017": { "text": "$12 million (2017 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2016": { "text": "$11 million (2016 est.)" } }, "Exports": { "Exports 2013": { "text": "$88.3 million (2013 est.)" } }, "Exports - partners": { "text": "Thailand 73%, Japan 10%, China 9% (2019)" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "fish and fish products, coral/shells, scrap metals, mollusks, office machinery/parts (2019)" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2015": { "text": "$167.8 million (2015 est.)" }, "Imports 2013": { "text": "$258.5 million (2013 est.)" } }, "Imports - partners": { "text": "United States 32%, China 16%, Japan 14%, Taiwan 9%, Philippines 6%, South Korea 6% (2019)" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "poultry meats, netting, broadcasting equipment, various meats, fish products (2019)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2017": { "text": "$203.7 million (31 December 2017 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2015": { "text": "$135.1 million (31 December 2015 est.)" } }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 2013": { "text": "$93.6 million (2013 est.)" }, "Debt - external 2012": { "text": "$93.5 million (2012 est.)" } }, "Exchange rates": { "text": "the US dollar is used
" } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "82% (2018)" }, "electrification - urban areas": { "text": "93.5% (2018)" }, "electrification - rural areas": { "text": "78.7% (2018)" } }, "Coal": { "production": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "0 metric tons (2020 est.)" } }, "Petroleum": { "refined petroleum consumption": { "text": "1,200 bbl/day (2019 est.)" } }, "Refined petroleum products - production": { "text": "0 bbl/day (2014)" }, "Refined petroleum products - exports": { "text": "0 bbl/day" }, "Natural gas": { "production": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" }, "proven reserves": { "text": "0 cubic meters (2021 est.)" } }, "Carbon dioxide emissions": { "total emissions": { "text": "177,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)" }, "from coal and metallurgical coke": { "text": "0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)" }, "from petroleum and other liquids": { "text": "177,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)" }, "from consumed natural gas": { "text": "0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)" } }, "Energy consumption per capita": { "Total energy consumption per capita 2019": { "text": "0 Btu/person (2019 est.)" } } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "7,000 (2020 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "6 (2020 est.)" } }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "22,000 (2020 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "19 (2020 est.)" } }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "text": "adequate system, the demand for mobile broadband is increasing due to mobile services being the primary and most wide-spread source for Internet access across the region (2020)" }, "domestic": { "text": "islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone, satellite (Intelsat) ground stations, and some coaxial and fiber-optic cable; mobile-cellular service available on the major islands; fixed line teledensity roughly 6 per 100 and mobile-cellular nearly 21 per 100 (2019)" }, "international": { "text": "country code - 691; landing points for the Chuukk-Pohnpei Cable and HANTRU-1 submarine cable system linking the Federated States of Micronesia and the US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)" }, "note": "note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services" }, "Broadcast media": { "text": "no TV broadcast stations; each state has a multi-channel cable service with TV transmissions carrying roughly 95% imported programming and 5% local programming; about a half-dozen radio stations (2009)" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".fm" }, "Internet users": { "total": { "text": "39,834 (2019 est.)" }, "percent of population": { "text": "35% (2019 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "6,000 (2020 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "5 (2020 est.)" } } }, "Transportation": { "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": { "text": "V6" }, "Airports": { "total": { "text": "6 (2021)" } }, "Airports - with paved runways": { "total": { "text": "6" }, "1,524 to 2,437 m": { "text": "4" }, "914 to 1,523 m": { "text": "2 (2021)" } }, "Roadways": { "text": "note - paved and unpaved circumferential roads, most interior roads are unpaved" }, "Merchant marine": { "total": { "text": "38" }, "by type": { "text": "general cargo 19, oil tanker 4, other 15 (2021)" } }, "Ports and terminals": { "major seaport(s)": { "text": "Colonia (Tamil Harbor), Molsron Lele Harbor, Pohnepi Harbor" } } }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "no military forces; Federated States of Micronesia National Police (includes a maritime wing)" }, "Military - note": { "text": "defense is the responsibility of the US" } }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { "text": "none identified
" }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "major consumer of cannabis" } } }