Telemedicine*

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean; they became part of a UN Trust Territory under US administration following World War II. The eastern four island groups adopted a constitution in 1979 and chose to become the Federated States of Micronesia. (The westernmost island group became Palau.) Independence came in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association with the US, which was amended and renewed in 2004. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, overdependence on US foreign aid, and state perception of inequitable allocation of US aid.

Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia

6 55 N, 158 15 E

Oceania

four times the size of Washington, DC (land area only)

0 km

6,112 km

tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage

islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk

timber, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate

arable land 2.3%; permanent crops 19.7%; permanent pasture 3.5%

NA

typhoons (June to December)

overfishing, climate change, pollution

four major island groups totaling 607 islands

Chuukese/Mortlockese 49.3%, Pohnpeian 29.8%, Kosraean 6.3%, Yapese 5.7%, Yap outer islanders 5.1%, Polynesian 1.6%, Asian 1.4%, other 0.8% (2010 est.)

English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi

Roman Catholic 54.7%, Protestant 41.1% (includes Congregational 38.5%, Baptist 1.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 0.8%, Assembly of God .7%), Mormon 1.5%, other 1.9%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)

105,216 (July 2015 est.)

-0.46% (2015 est.)

20.54 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

-20.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

PALIKIR (capital) 7,000 (2014)

2.49 children born/woman (2015 est.)

12.6% of GDP (2013)

0.18 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

3.2 beds/1,000 population (2009)

urban: 94.8% of population

rural: 87.4% of population

total: 89% of population

urban: 5.2% of population

rural: 12.6% of population

total: 11% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 85.1% of population

rural: 49% of population

total: 57.1% of population

urban: 14.9% of population

rural: 51% of population

total: 42.9% of population (2015 est.)

NA

NA

NA

33.2% (2014)

NA

constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force on 3 November 1986 and the Amended Compact entered into force in May 2004

4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae (Kosaie), Pohnpei (Ponape), Yap

3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)

Constitution Day, 10 May (1979)

drafted June 1975, ratified 1 October 1978, entered into force 10 May 1979; amended 1990 (2012)

mixed legal system of common and customary law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

no formal parties

NA

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO

light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern; blue symbolizes the Pacific Ocean, the stars represent the four island groups of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap

four, five-pointed, white stars on a light blue field; national colors: light blue, white

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 2002-2003 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.

$312 million (2014 est.)

$311.7 million (2013 est.)

$324.8 million (2012 est.)

$315 million (2014 est.)

0.1% (2014 est.)

-4% (2013 est.)

0.1% (2012 est.)

$3,000 (2014 est.)

$3,000 (2013 est.)

$3,100 (2012 est.)

taro, yams, coconuts, bananas, cassava (manioc, tapioca), sakau (kava), Kosraen citrus, betel nuts, black pepper, fish, pigs, chickens

tourism, construction; specialized aquaculture, craft items (shell and wood)

NA%

37,920 (2010 est.)

16.2% (2010 est.)

26.7% (2000 est.)

61.1 (2013 est.)

63% of GDP (2013 est.)

6.3% of GDP (2013 est.)

28% of GDP (2013)

27% of GDP (2012)

1 October - 30 September

0.7% (2014 est.)

6.3% (2012 est.)

7.1% (2013 est.)

6.4% (2012 est.)

$196 million (31 December 2013 est.)

$225.2 million (31 December 2013 est.)

$56.98 million (2013 est.)

$56.77 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$NA

-$31.6 million (2013 est.)

-$41.2 million (2012 est.)

$88.3 million (2013 est.)

$95.7 million (2012 est.)

fish, sakau (kava), betel nuts, black pepper

$258.5 million (2013 est.)

$263.4 million (2012 est.)

food, beverages, clothing, computers, household electronics, appliances, manufactured goods, automobiles, machinery and equipment, furniture, tools

$75.06 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$93.6 million (2013 est.)

$93.5 million (2012 est.)

$15.8 million (2013 est.)

$34.4 million (2012 est.)

the US dollar is used

192 million kWh (2002)

178.6 million kWh (2002)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

18,000 kW (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

1% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)

3% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014)

0 bbl/day (2014)

0 bbl/day (2014)

0 bbl (1 January 2014)

0 bbl/day (2014)

0 cu m (2014)

105 Mt (2010 est.)

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)

AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)

3 (cable TV also available) (2004)

.fm

6 (2013)

no regular military forces (2012)

defense is the responsibility of the US