The Federated States of Micronesia, or the FSM, is made up of an archipelago of 607 islands, also known as the Caroline Islands. The FSM extends 1,800 miles east to west between the Marshall Islands and the Philippines and is divided into four island states. They are, from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. Each of these states is named after one larger island. Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei also include a variety of outlying atolls, thin ribbons of low land around lagoons, some hundreds of miles from the main island, known collectively as “the outer islands.” Outer islands tend to be more sparsely populated and to adhere more closely to traditional culture. Pohnpei is the seat of government of this loosely bound federation of island states, which actually vary greatly in language and culture. WorldTeach volunteers are placed on the main islands of Pohnpei and Kosrae.
Mainland Pohnpei is the largest island in the FSM at 129 square miles. Kosrae is somewhat smaller at 42 square miles. Both are “high islands;” the towering, long-inactive volcanoes that make up these islands are now covered with lush vegetation fed by some of the highest rainfalls on earth. Pohnpei’s highest peak reaches over 2,500 feet above sea level. Rainfalls are lower near the coast, where virtually the entire population of these islands lives. Pohnpei’s coastline is fringed with mangroves leading out into a lagoon surrounded by a protective reef. Kosrae is ringed by sand and coral beaches, as well as some mangroves, and a diverse coral reef.
Most people earn their living from subsistence agriculture and fishing, from running small businesses such as food stores, and from government jobs (including school teachers). The GDP per capita is about $2,200. The FSM exports of fish, garments, and betel nut, primarily to Japan in the amount of $19 million; annual imports are $133 million, primarily from the United States, paid for by a huge foreign aid flow. Over half the workers are employed by the government, which is largely funded by money from the "Compact of Free Association" that exists between the United States and the FSM. Fishing rights to the vast ocean area of FSM bring in $20 million annually (in licenses sold to foreign tuna fishing companies), which is about 30% of the country’s domestic income. Tourism is a budding industry, with spectacular scuba diving throughout the FSM.
The Compact of Free Association with the US gives the FSM government and citizens special rights, such as military protection, freedom to live and work in the United States, roughly $92 million a year in “direct assistance”, and tens of millions in government grants. In exchange, the United States retains, among other things, the right to use the islands as military bases should the need arise. The Compact was first entered into in 1986 and was renewed in 2004. The financial aid component of the Compact will phase out over the next decade. The FSM gained independence in 1986; from the end of World War II to that time it was administered by the United States under a mandated United Nations Trusteeship, as were the Marshall Islands and Palau. Between World Wars the region was under Japanese domination, and before that the Germans and Spanish governed it.
Pohnpeian and Kosraean are the native languages, respectively, of Pohnpei and Kosrae. English is the official language of government and business in the FSM. Elementary school, grades 1 – 8, is compulsory, and all education is nominally in English from 3rd grade onwards, though students' English ability varies greatly. Admittance to public high school is by examination. About one-third of students who take the examination pass and are able to attend the public high schools, which is where most WorldTeach volunteers teach. The high school curriculum is very similar to that of the United States.
On Pohnpei is the College of Micronesia (COM-FSM) campus, an attractive and serious community college that attracts students throughout Micronesia. COM also has four state campuses for vocational studies and those students who need remedial studies in order to pass the entrance test to gain admission to the degree program at the national campus. Currently, three WorldTeach volunteers are placed each year at the COM Pohnpei State Campus in Kolonia, Pohnpei. Also there is the Micronesian Seminar, the premier think-tank on Micronesia headed by the venerable Francis X. Hezel, S.J., who has published numerous papers and books, produced a continuing series of documentary films, and been a most respected academic on Micronesia, especially on the social issues that the region faces, since the 1960s. Anyone interested in Micronesia should visit the MicSem website and read diverse topics Fr. Hezel has so insightfully addressed.
Pohnpei and Kosrae both have intriguing prehistoric roots as well, materially evident in the ruins of the ancient temple cities of Nan Madol on Pohnpei, and Lelu on Kosrae. Back to top
Web Resources for the Federated States of Micronesia
PREL | Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. You may be particularly interested in the section TEAMS, Teaching Educators about Micronesian Students
Government information on the FSM
Micronesian Seminar | Contains papers which address cultural issues, written primarily by Fr. Francis X. Hezel SJ, the premier scholar on Micronesia. Fr. Hezel’s MicSem, with its extensive library on Micronesia, is located on Pohnpei in Kolonia.
