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Federated States of Micronesia
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<p>The Federated States of Micronesia , or simply Micronesia, is an <a href="/facts/Island_country/beAg4qWw">island country</a> in <a href="/facts/Micronesia/xUf6LkMv">Micronesia</a>, a region of <a href="/facts/Oceania/vzTEvsfV">Oceania</a>. The <a href="/facts/Federation/R846sufb">federation</a> encompasses the majority of the <a href="/facts/Caroline_Islands/7kIzyxFW">Caroline Islands</a> (excluding <a href="/facts/Palau/sYXMGPbX">Palau</a>) and consists of four <a href="/facts/Administrative_divisions_of_the_Federated_States_of_Micronesia/vGwAsKBV">states</a>—from west to east: <a href="/facts/Yap_State/BM41Rk59">Yap</a>, <a href="/facts/Chuuk_State/YEnL1yt2">Chuuk</a>, <a href="/facts/Pohnpei_State/7ls4N3EP">Pohnpei</a>, and <a href="/facts/Kosrae/3m86AdFL">Kosrae</a>—that span the western <a href="/facts/Pacific/bdxgXRVM">Pacific</a> just north of the <a href="/facts/Equator/CjaxbVaN">equator</a> for a <a href="/facts/Longitude/HsC61ML9">longitudinal</a> distance of almost 2,700 km (1,700 mi). Together, the states comprise around 607 islands and a combined <a href="/facts/Land_area/XQWaBfYo">land area</a> of approximately 702 km2 or 271 sq mi. </p><p>The entire island nation lies across the northern Pacific accordingly: northeast of <a href="/facts/Indonesia/vQnWU3IW">Indonesia</a> and <a href="/facts/Papua_New_Guinea/RLaVlhFC">Papua New Guinea</a>, south of <a href="/facts/Guam/z77Ql3fM">Guam</a> and the <a href="/facts/Marianas/BNdPBDQg">Marianas</a>, west of <a href="/facts/Nauru/ndT45vaC">Nauru</a> and the <a href="/facts/Marshall_Islands/rRV4U7oD">Marshall Islands</a>, east of <a href="/facts/Palau/sYXMGPbX">Palau</a> and the <a href="/facts/Philippines/ARpmxXQV">Philippines</a>, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi) north of eastern <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>, 3,400 km (2,100 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of <a href="/facts/Honolulu/DF2WutFs">Honolulu</a> of the <a href="/facts/Hawaiian_Islands/Q38KXboy">Hawaiian Islands</a>. </p><p>The country's total land area is relatively small, but its waters occupy nearly 3 million km2 (1.2 million sq mi) of the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a>, giving the country the 14th-largest <a href="/facts/Exclusive_economic_zone/UtMbSd3w">exclusive economic zone</a> in the world. The nation's capital is <a href="/facts/Palikir/FI1XTCQ7">Palikir</a>, on <a href="/facts/Pohnpei_Island/LjxE11wp">Pohnpei Island</a>, and its largest city is <a href="/facts/Weno/tMtfYpY5">Weno</a>, an island municipality in the <a href="/facts/Chuuk_Lagoon/qrkBLm1o">Chuuk Lagoon</a>. </p><p>Each of its four states is centered on one or more main <a href="/facts/Volcanic_island/uD8BN9K7">volcanic islands</a>, and all but Kosrae include numerous outlying <a href="/facts/Atoll/cPyQIzVS">atolls</a>. The FSM spreads across part of the <a href="/facts/Caroline_Islands/7kIzyxFW">Caroline Islands</a> in the wider region of <a href="/facts/Micronesia/xUf6LkMv">Micronesia</a>, which region consists of thousands of small islands divided among several countries. The term <i>Micronesia</i> may refer to the Federated States of Micronesia or to the region as a whole. </p><p>The FSM was a part of the former <a href="/facts/Trust_Territory_of_the_Pacific_Islands/C4Fqc3CU">Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands</a> (TTPI), a <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> Trust Territory administered by the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> from 1947 to 1994. On May 10, 1979, the islands ratified a constitutional government and then became a sovereign state after attaining independence on November 3, 1986—under a <a href="/facts/Compact_of_Free_Association/AyCyg8WC">Compact of Free Association</a> with the United States. Other neighboring island entities (also former members of the TTPI), also formed constitutional governments, becoming the <a href="/facts/Marshall_Islands/rRV4U7oD">Republic of the Marshall Islands</a> and the <a href="/facts/Palau/sYXMGPbX">Republic of Palau</a>. The FSM has a seat in the United Nations and has been a member of the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Community/CtgqFzY9">Pacific Community</a> since 1983. </p>