Micronesia6.89° N, 158.23° E
No land border at all — every neighbor is across water, along 6,112 km of coast, the 22nd longest on Earth.
land borders 0 km · 164th/230 · coastline 6,112 km · 22nd/229
CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · ranks computed across the countries in this atlas that carry the value
geometry: Natural Earth 1:50m · EPSG:6933 equal-area
Each line is every country in this atlas that carries the value, ordered smallest to largest. The line down the middle is the world median; the mark on each line is this country.
A 19th-century name, Micronesia combines the Greek words "mikros," meaning "small," and "nesoi," meaning "islands." The name refers to its small islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
In 1947, the Marshall Islands became one of six districts in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under US administration.
In 1979, the Marshall Islands was among the other three districts that opted to pursue separate political status, while Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap ratified the FSM Constitution and declared independence.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
Tropical conditions bring heavy rainfall throughout the year, especially across the eastern islands. On the southern edge of the typhoon belt, the islands occasionally suffer severe damage from typhoons.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
Its people include Chuukese/Mortlockese, Pohnpeian, Kosraean, Yapese, and Yap outer islanders. Polynesian, Asian, and other groups are also part of the population.
Roman Catholic and Protestant affiliations stand alongside Church of Jesus Christ, other faiths, and people with none or unspecified affiliations. Protestant communities include Congregational, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, and Assembly of God congregations. The majority of the population lives in the coastal areas of the high islands, while the mountainous interior is largely uninhabited.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
A federal republic in free association with the US is Micronesia’s form of government. Its legal system is a mixed system of common and customary law. The constitution was drafted June 1975, ratified 1 October 1978, and entered into force 10 May 1979. Independence came 3 November 1986 from the US-administered UN trusteeship, and Constitution Day is 10 May (1979).
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
CIA World Factbook
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