Claim: Ministates include a country.

The Federated States of Micronesia -LRB- -LSB- maɪkroʊˈniːʒə -RSB- abbreviated FSM and also known simply as Micronesia -RRB- is an independent sovereign island nation and a United States associated state consisting of four states from west to east , Yap , Chuuk , Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the Western Pacific Ocean . Together , the states comprise around 607 islands -LRB- a combined land area of approximately 702 km2 -RRB- that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2700 km just north of the equator . They lie northeast of New Guinea , south of Guam and the Marianas , west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands , east of Palau and the Philippines , about 2900 km north of eastern Australia and some 4000 km southwest of the main islands of Hawaii .   While the FSM 's total land area is quite small , it occupies more than 2600000 km2 of the Pacific Ocean , giving the country the 14th largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world . The capital is Palikir , located on Pohnpei Island , while the largest city is Weno , located in the Chuuk Atoll .   Each of its four states is centered on one or more main high islands , and all but Kosrae include numerous outlying atolls . The Federated States of Micronesia is spread across part of the Caroline Islands in the wider region of Micronesia , which consists of thousands of small islands divided among several countries . The term Micronesia may refer to the Federated States or to the region as a whole .   The FSM was formerly a part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands -LRB- TTPI -RRB- , a United Nations Trust Territory under U.S. administration , but it formed its own constitutional government on May 10 , 1979 , becoming a sovereign state after independence was attained on November 3 , 1986 under a Compact of Free Association with the United States . Other neighboring island entities , and also former members of the TTPI , formulated their own constitutional governments and became the Republic of the Marshall Islands -LRB- RMI -RRB- and the Republic of Palau -LRB- ROP -RRB- . The FSM has a seat in the United Nations .