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Location: Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean,
about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia
Geographic coordinates: 6 55 N, 158 15 E
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total: 702 sq km
land: 702 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Truk (Chuuk) Islands, Yap
Islands, and Kosrae
Area - comparative: four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 6,112 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive 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 occasionally severe damage
Terrain: islands vary geologically from high mountainous
islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei,
Kosrae, and Truk
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Totolom 791 m
Natural resources: forests, marine products, deep-seabed
minerals
Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures: NA%
forests and woodland: NA%
other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: typhoons (June to December)
Environment - current issues: overfishing
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
Geography - note: four major island groups totaling 607
islands
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.
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