Micronesian Countries: Full List, Capitals, and Map

Micronesia covers a region of the Pacific Ocean within Oceania, although the exact boundaries of the region can vary depending on the definition used.

In broad terms, Micronesia consists of thousands of small islands and low-lying atolls scattered across the northwestern Pacific, generally located north of Melanesia and west of Polynesia.

There is no single, universally accepted scope for Micronesia, but most geographic classification systems share a similar core region.

List of countries in Micronesia

For clarity and consistency, this page follows the United Nations (UN) geoscheme, which defines Micronesia as consisting of five sovereign countries:

• Federated States of Micronesia
• Kiribati
• Marshall Islands
• Nauru
• Palau

Non-sovereign territories

In addition to independent states, the Micronesian region also includes several non-sovereign territories:

• Guam (United States)
• Northern Mariana Islands (United States)
• United States Minor Outlying Islands (United States)

The United States Minor Outlying Islands are a group of largely uninhabited territories scattered across Micronesia and Polynesia.

Under the UN geoscheme, this group is included within the Micronesian region for statistical classification, even though most of the individual islands have no permanent population.

Micronesian countries table

The table below lists the Micronesian countries along with their capitals, population estimates, and land area, based on international data sources.

For broader context, you can also explore how these nations compare in size and population across the continent.

Countries in Oceania Map

Micronesia forms one of the three Pacific island subregions of Oceania, alongside Melanesia and Polynesia, and is characterized by extremely small landmasses spread across vast ocean distances.

The region is dominated by coral atolls and low-lying islands, with limited freshwater resources and high exposure to sea-level rise and climate-related impacts.

How Micronesia is defined

UN Geoscheme (most common)

The United Nations geoscheme is the most widely used modern classification for Micronesia.

It is applied by the UN, World Bank, and international statistical agencies and includes the five sovereign countries listed above.

The geoscheme is geographic, not cultural or political, and is designed to provide consistency in global data reporting.

Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is an independent country within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania and is sometimes informally referred to as “Micronesia.”

It consists of four states, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, spread across 607 islands and two million square kilometers of the western Pacific Ocean.

The FSM is a sovereign state in free association with the United States under a Compact of Free Association, which shapes its defense and certain economic arrangements while preserving full political independence.

Historical and cultural background

The term Micronesia comes from the Greek words mikros (“small”) and nesos (“island”) reflecting the region’s many tiny island chains and atolls.

Micronesians are part of the sea-migrating Austronesian peoples, with the earliest settlements in the region appearing in the Mariana Islands.

Many Micronesian societies were organized around hereditary chiefs, but social structure varied between islands. Larger islands such as Yap and Palau developed more complex systems of leadership.

Today, Micronesia is recognized primarily as a geographic subregion of Oceania, while political authority is divided among independent states and non-sovereign territories administered by larger powers.

Global regions map

To place Micronesia within the wider UN classification system, the global regions map below shows how all world subregions are organized.

The UN geoscheme groups every member state into a clearly defined region to allow consistent comparisons across countries and continents.

Antarctica is excluded because the framework applies only to UN member states.

Within Oceania, the UN recognizes four subregions:

• Australia and New Zealand
• Melanesia
• Micronesia
• Polynesia.

In total, the geoscheme identifies 22 geographical subregions worldwide.