Located in the Western Pacific Ocean, the 607 small islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia occupy more than one million square miles. The land area itself takes up less than 270.8 square miles. The land consists of highlands and atolls, covered with dense, extensive forests. The states include Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. The capitol is located in Pohnpei, the largest state and the largest island of over 130 square miles (Government of the FSM [On-line]).

The temperature remains warm throughout the year because of Micronesia’s close proximity to the Equator. The tropical climate is maintained through the frequent rainfall, with Pohnpei being one of the wettest places on Earth averaging 330 inches of rain per year. Drought occurs due to different conditions, and can cause ground water levels to be at emergency low. Weather conditions in Microneia include El Nino and Tropical Typhoons (Government of the FSM [On-line]).

Micronesia has some of the worlds best scuba diving locations, with attractions such as World War II wreckage in Chuuk’s Lagoon, mantas in Yap, and coral reefs. Micronesia appeals to tourists looking for ecologically sound areas (Federated States of Micronesia [On-line]).

The population of Micronesia is slightly over 105,000 people, with a per capita income of $2,000 per year. Employment comes from primarily two areas: agriculture and the ocean. Micronesia’s ocean has the world’s most productive tuna fishing grounds. Every year approximately $200 million worth of tuna is harvested. Agriculture is the most important resource Micronesia has, and is responsible for fifty percent of those employed (Government of the FSM [On-line]).

The Federal States of Micronesia is a very poverty stricken country. Although the economy in Micronesia has been growing in the last few years, they are still highly dependent on the U.S. for financial aid. The main problem that Micronesia is having is that they don’t have the money to survive in the big money world with which we live in. The country is quickly becoming more and more independent, but it will still take a while until they can support themselves.

Currently Micronesia is receiving at least 77.4 million dollars a year from the United States. This is part of a financial aid program that will send Micronesia 1.3 billion dollars from 1986-2001. This is the reason why the currency in Micronesia is the American dollar. Micronesia had 73 million dollars in the export of fish, garments, bananas, and black pepper last year to countries like the U.S., Japan, and Australia. However this does not equal the 168 million that they spent on imports.

Micronesia has an unemployment rate of 27%. This is not to bad for the small country that they are, but 2/3 of the population work for either the federal or the state government. This means that only 6-½% of the population work for independent businesses. This led to an economic conference that was held in the capitol to discuss the economic future of the country and what they should do to improve their economy. A decision was made to downsize the government so that the country could become more economically independent. The two main areas that they are planning to turn into their "cash crops" are the fishing industry and tourism.

The fishing industry will play a very big part in the future of the economy of Micronesia in the future. The government is already selling tuna fishing licenses to other countries to fish tuna in their economic waters. The Micronesians have also started a maritime school to teach the people to use the ocean as a business opportunity. There are also plans to build a few canneries on the islands to help the economy and create some new jobs.

The tourism industry in Micronesia has never been a very big business. The remoteness of the islands and the lack of proper housing in the past have led to a very small tourism industry. Over the last ten years, there have risen 22 new construction companies. 50% of the buildings that have been built in the last ten years by these companies are made of typhoon proof materials. In the future Micronesia could possibly have a tourism driven economy that could be just as big as that of their neighbor Fiji.

A lot of progress has been made in the last ten years. The entire country of Micronesia is changing to keep up with the fast paced world that we live in. The most important thing that we can do is to make sure that we don’t let them fall behind, or that we don’t carry them. We need to help them to keep up until they can run on their own.

The Government of Micronesia

The democratic government of Micronesia is set up similar to the United States’ government with three, separate branches- the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches- and had a Declaration of Rights resembling the US Bill of Rights (General Information on the Federation States of Micronesia, 1999 [Online]). The Federal States of Micronesia was first recognized as a sovereign state in 1982 through the signing of the Compact of Free Association by the governments of Micronesia and the US (Fact Sheets [Online]). The national government deals primarily with foreign affairs and national defense, while the state governments are in charge of most other government functions (General Information on the Federated States of Micronesia, 1999 [Online]).

The Congress of Micronesia is a unicameral congress, containing fourteen Senators, one from each state elected for a four0year term and ten others who are elected for two-year terms according to population. Chuuk has six seats, Pohnpei has four, and Yap and Kosrae each have two seats. Each Senator has one vote except on the final reading of a bill, in which each state delegation has one vote. The powers of the Congress include providing for the National Defense; imposing taxes and regulating currency and banking; governing the national capital, Kolonia, Pohnpei; impeaching the President, Vice President, and the Justices of the Supreme Court; defining major crimes and penalties in accordance with local custom and tradition; and overriding a Presidential veto by a three-fourths vote or more. The President and Vice President, who are currently the Honorable Jacob Nena of Kosrae and the Honorable Leo A. Falcam of Pohnpei, respectively, are elected for four-year terms and cannot be from the same state. The President appoints a cabinet and other officials with the consent of the Congress. The Honorable Jack Fritz of Chuuk is the current Speaker of the Congress (Congress of the Federal States of Micronesia, 1999 [Online]).

The Supreme Court governs the judicial branch of the FSM, which currently consists of three Justices, and no other national Courts. The Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Congress to serve a lifelong appointment. Each state government has its own judicial system. The current Chief Justice is the Honorable Andon Amaraich of Chuuk (General Information of the Federated States of Micronesia, 1999 [Online]).

The state governments contain the three branches similar to the national government, but each state government is created slightly different depending upon different resources. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected by popular vote and are appointed for a four-year term (Fact Sheets, 1999 [Online]). The current governor of Pohnpei is The Honorable Del Pangalinen; the governor of Kosrae is the Honorable Moses Mackwelung; the governor of Yap is the Honorable Vincent Figir; and the acting governor of Chuuk is the Honorable Marceleno Umwech (General Information on the Federated States of Micronesia, 1999 [Online]). Each state constitution allows for the traditional roles of the people to be fulfilled. For example, the state government of Yap allows for two councils of traditional leader, who play an especially important role in choosing the candidates for office. The Constitution of the Federal States of Micronesia tolerates state governments to use local customs in their governmental structure (Fact Sheets, 1999 [Online]).

                                                                                Bibliography

Congress of the Federal States of Micronesia, (1999). The Federal States of Micronesia
    [Online]. Available: http://www.fsmgov.org/congress/ Cited 1999 Sept. 27.

Fact Sheets. (1999) United States Insular Areas and Freely Associated States [Online].
    Available: http://www.doi.gov/oia/oiafacts.html Cited 1999 Sept 27.

General Information on the Federated States of Micronesia. (1999). The Federal States of
    Micronesia [Online]. Available: http://www.fsmgov.org/info/govt.html Cited 1999
    Sept 27.