Micronesia

Micronesia spans more than 600 islands and atolls forming four states: Yap in the west, Chuuk Lagoon, Pohnpei, and Kosrae in the east. Each state features volcanic peaks, mangrove-lined coastlines, and coral reefs teeming with manta rays and reef sharks. Pohnpei's Nan Madol ruins rise from basalt boulders over tidal channels, while Yap's stone money banks display huge rai discs. The islands sit near the equator, facing typhoons, king tides, and coral bleaching linked to warmer seas.

Ancestors of the Micronesian peoples navigated these waters 3,000 years ago using stick charts, star paths, and outrigger canoes called proa. European explorers visited in the 1500s, and Spain, Germany, Japan, and finally the United States administered the islands at different times. After World War II the islands joined the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under U.S. oversight. In 1986 the Federated States of Micronesia adopted its own constitution and entered a Compact of Free Association with the United States, later renewed to support defense, infrastructure, and education funding.

Micronesia is a federal presidential republic. Voters elect state legislatures and a national Congress of 14 members. The president and vice president are chosen by Congress from among its four at-large senators. Each state maintains its own governor, agencies, and custom councils—such as Yap's Council of Pilung and Council of Tamol—that oversee traditional law and navigation rites. Municipal leaders coordinate water systems, schools, and disaster preparedness, while national agencies manage fisheries, meteorology, and digital connectivity.

The economy relies on subsistence farming, fishing, government employment funded by Compact grants, tourism, and remittances. Farmers grow breadfruit, taro, sakau (kava), and bananas, while divers visit Chuuk Lagoon's WWII shipwrecks and Pohnpei's waterfalls. Marine biologists study manta cleaning stations in Yap, and entrepreneurs export pepper, coconut oil, and handicrafts. Renewable-energy projects add solar arrays and coconut biodiesel to remote islands, and youth programs teach aquaculture and coding.

Culture varies by state but shares respect for elders, chiefs, and the ocean. Yapese navigators still sail proa canoes using stars and swells, Kosraeans sing choral hymns, Chuukese carvers build family meeting houses, and Pohnpeian dancers perform stick dances with rhythmic clapping sticks. Students learn English plus local languages such as Yapese, Chuukese, Pohnpeian, and Kosraean, while joining coral-planting brigades, robotics clubs, and journalism teams that report on climate impacts. Festivals serve breadfruit chips, reef fish cooked in coconut milk, and sakau beverages shared in carved bowls called pweipwei.