The capital, Kolonia, is on the island of Pohnpei. The population is predominantly Micronesian and Christian. The United States spent heavily in the islands in the 1990s, making financial assistance the primary source of income. Other mainstays of the economy are subsistence farming and fishing. The islands are governed by a president, vice president, and unicameral legislature.
Defense is the responsibility of the United States.
Germany purchased the islands from Spain in 1898. During World War II, U.S. forces captured the islands, and in 1947 they became part of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In 1979, as negotiations for termination of the trusteeship continued, they became self-governing as the Federated States of Micronesia. In 1986, they assumed free-association status with the United States. Leo A. Falcam became president in 1999.