Micronesia, Federated States of (2001) | Bouvet Island (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
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Agriculture - products | black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens | - |
Airports | 7 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
702 sq km land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Truk (Chuuk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae |
total: 49 sq km
land: 49 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on US aid. | This uninhabited volcanic island is almost entirely covered by glaciers and is difficult to approach. It was discovered in 1739 by a French naval officer after whom the island was named. No claim was made until 1825, when the British flag was raised. In 1928, the UK waived its claim in favor of Norway, which had occupied the island the previous year. In 1971, Norway designated Bouvet Island and the adjacent territorial waters a nature reserve. Since 1977, it has run an automated meteorological station on the island. |
Budget | revenues:
$161 million ($69 million less grants) expenditures: $160 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
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Capital | Palikir | - |
Climate | tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage | antarctic |
Coastline | 6,112 km | 29.6 km |
Constitution | 10 May 1979 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federated States of Micronesia conventional short form: none former: Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) abbreviation: FSM |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bouvet Island |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Debt - external | $111 million (1997 est.) | - |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice and Police from Oslo |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Diane E. WATSON embassy: address NA, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jesse Bibiano MAREHALAU chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Tamuning (Guam) |
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Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US will provide $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001 | - |
Economy - overview | 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. In 1996, the country experienced a 20% reduction in revenues from the Compact of Free Association - the agreement between the US and Micronesia in which Micronesia receives $1.3 billion in financial and technical assistance over a 15-year period until 2001 - as a result of the second step-down under the agreement. Since these revenues accounted for 57% of consolidated government revenues, reduced Compact funding resulted in a severe depression. While Micronesia's economy appears to have bottomed out in 1999, the country's medium-term economic outlook remains fragile due to likely further reductions in external grants made under the US Compact funding. Geographical isolation and a poorly developed infrastructure remain major impediments to long-term growth. | no economic activity; declared a nature reserve |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Totolom 791 m |
lowest point: South Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Olav Peak 935 m |
Environment - current issues | overfishing | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups | - |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | - |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Leo A. FALCAM (since 21 July 1999); Vice President Redley KILLION (since 21 July 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Leo A. FALCAM (since 21 July 1999); Vice President Redley KILLION (since 21 July 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from among the four senators-at-large for four-year terms; election last held NA May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2003) election results: Leo A. FALCAM elected president; percent of Congress vote - NA%; Redley KILLION elected vice president; percent of Congress vote - NA% |
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Exports | $73 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) | - |
Exports - commodities | fish, garments, bananas, black pepper | - |
Exports - partners | Japan, US, Guam | - |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | - |
Flag description | light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern | the flag of Norway is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $263 million (1999 est.)
note: GDP is supplemented by grant aid, averaging perhaps $100 million annually |
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GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19% industry: 4% services: 77% (1996 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (1999 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 6 55 N, 158 15 E | 54 26 S, 3 24 E |
Geography - note | four major island groups totaling 607 islands | covered by glacial ice; declared a nature reserve |
Highways | total:
240 km paved: 42 km unpaved: 198 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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Imports | $168 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.) | - |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages | - |
Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia | - |
Independence | 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | tourism, construction, fish processing, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (FY98/99) | - |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, ESCAP, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | - |
Labor force | NA | - |
Labor force - by occupation | two-thirds are government employees | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (93% ice) (2005) |
Languages | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean | - |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral Congress (14 seats; members elected by popular vote; four - one elected from each of state - to serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts delineated by population - to serve two-year terms)
elections: elections for four-year term seats last held 2 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003); elections for two-year term seats last held 6 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14 |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89% male: 91% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
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Location | Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia | island in the South Atlantic Ocean, southwest of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) |
Map references | Oceania | Antarctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 4 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is a sovereign, self-governing state in free association with the US; FSM is totally dependent on the US for its defense | defense is the responsibility of Norway |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 10 May (1979) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Micronesian(s) adjective: Micronesian; Kosrae(s), Pohnpeian(s), Trukese, Yapese |
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Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | NA |
Natural resources | forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals | none |
Political parties and leaders | no formal parties | - |
Population | 134,597 (July 2001 est.) | uninhabited |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Ports and harbors | Colonia (Yap), Kolonia (Pohnpei), Lele, Moen | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | - |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other and none 3% | - |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate system domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 11,000 (2001) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | - |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | - |
Terrain | islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Truk | volcanic; coast is mostly inaccessible |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1999 est.) | - |
Waterways | none | - |