Micronesia

THE FOUR PACIFIC ISLANDS of Pohnpei, Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae make up the Federated States of Micronesia. Formerly administered by the United States as a United Nations Trust Territory, Micronesia attained independence in 1986. As part of its administrative duties, the United States poured millions of dollars into the Micronesian economy in the 1970s. Most of the money was used for building schools, enhancing healthcare, constructing public buildings, and improving water, power, and sewage facilities. Micronesia's only valuable natural resource is high-grade phosphate. Tourism is limited because of the remote location and a lack of facilities on the islands. The Micronesian economy suffers from a poorly developed infrastructure, the depletion of fishing resources, and overdependence on aid from the United States.

With a per capita annual income of $2,000, Micronesia is considered a middle-income nation. The government employs two-thirds of the labor force. Because government employees receive such high wages, other workers cannot earn equivalent incomes. The result is continuing inequality and a poverty rate of 26.7 percent. Farming and fishing at the subsistence level provide most domestic revenue for the islands. Unemployment hovers at 16 percent. Assessing poverty on Micronesia is difficult because data on important social [Page 715]indicators are missing, just as they are for much of Oceania. Because of this the United Nations does not rank Micronesia on general quality-of-life issues or on the Human Poverty Index.

Among the population of 108,105 in of Micronesia, life expectancy is 69.75 years. The projected life span has been steadily lengthening since 1980. Females generally outlive males by four years. Over 37 percent of the population are under the age of 14, and three percent are over the age of 65. Approximately 94 percent of the population have access to improved drinking water, but less than one-third of all Micronesians have access to improved sanitation. Urban residents fare somewhat better at 61 percent sanitation access than rural residents do with only 14 percent access. There are 59 physicians for every 100,000 residents on the islands, and 95 to 100 percent of the people are able to afford essential drugs.

In 2003, infant mortality was estimated at 19 deaths per 1,000 live births. At a mortality rate of 26.97 per 1,000, female infants have an advantage over male infants at 33.3 deaths per 1,000. Approximately 18 percent of Micronesian infants are underweight at birth, but malnutrition rates for other children are not known. The mortality rate for all children under the age of 5 is 23 per 1,000 deaths. Childhood immunization rates are in the low 90s for children between the ages of 12 and 23 months. However, infant immunizations are considerably lower. Among this group, 84 percent are immunized against measles, 79 percent against polio, and 75 percent against DPT3. The rate of tuberculosis immunizations for infants is dismally low at 39 percent.

Between 1970 and 1990, the fertility rate of Micronesian women fell from 6.9 children per woman to 4.8 children per woman. By 2005 the fertility rate had dropped to 3.25 children per woman. Among teenage mothers, the fertility rate is 37 out of 1,000 births. Some 45 percent of all Micronesian women use some method of birth control. Trained medical staff now attend 93 percent of all births on the islands. Modeled estimates indicate that maternal mortality stands at 120 deaths per 100,000 live births.

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