The country has a population of 87,000, which occupies 33 small islands widely scattered across 1.365 million square miles of the central Pacific. The population is primarily Micronesian, with a significant component of Polynesian origin. The judiciary is independent. A police force of about 250 personnel is controlled effectively by civilian authority.
Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing.
The islands' isolation and meager resources, including poor soil and limited arable land, severely limit prospects for economic development. There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings. There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. On some outer islands, the island councils occasionally order strokes with palm fronds to be administered for public drunkenness and other minor offenses, such as petty thievery. Prisons meet minimum international standards.