A Guam Business series for 2018 providing assets and data for Micronesia

     Chuuk and Yap are member states of the Federated States of Micronesia. The FSM was formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which the United States administered on behalf of the United Nations from 1947 to 1978. The FSM adopted its own constitution and became an independent country in 1979. It entered into a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1986 and became a United Nations member in 1991.

     Chuuk, formerly known as Truk, is a cluster of 290 islands in the eastern Caroline islands, 250 of which are uninhabited. The chief islands are Tonoas, Fefan, Uman, Uatschaluk, Tol and Weno, which is the capital.

     The state of Yap, which is famous for its giant stone money, is an archipelago in the western Caroline Islands comprised of four islands: Gagil-Tamil, Maap, Rumung and Yap itself, which is the largest of the islands. Colonia, the capital of Yap state, is on the east coast of Yap Island.

     The economy of the FSM has traditionally been driven by subsistence farming, fishing and the government. Employment statistics from 2016, however, show that the wholesale, retail and repair industries have taken prominence in the private sector. Close behind are the transportation, storage, communications and hospitality industries.