The president is both chief of state and head of government and receives assistance from the vice president. Both offices are indirectly elected for four-year terms by members of Congress, with candidates from among the legislature’s four at-large, directly elected state representatives, known as senators. In May 2023, Wesley Simina, the Chuuk senator, was chosen as president after the incumbent, David Panuelo, lost his seat in the March elections. Aren B. Palik remains vice president.

Each of the four states (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae) has its own elected governor.

The 14-member unicameral Congress includes four senators, one from each state, who serve four-year terms and are elected by proportional representation. Another 10 members serve two-year terms in single-member districts allocated by population. Each state also has its own elected legislature. Elections for the FSM Congress were held in March 2023.

Elections in the FSM, which are generally considered free and fair, are administered by a government agency headed by a national election director and one commissioner from each state. Constitutional amendments must be approved by three-quarters of voters in at least three of the four states.

In July 2023, FSM voters participated in a referendum to decide on nine proposed amendments to the constitution. One proposed amendment would allow for dual citizenship and the resumption of citizenship for those who had renounced it. Another would make it more difficult for Congress to override presidential vetoes. FSM voters approved all nine amendments, which President Simina then proclaimed in October.

There are no formal political parties, but there are no restrictions on their formation. All candidates run as independents.

The FSM has an established record of democratic power transfers. Under an informal agreement, the presidency has typically rotated among the four states, but Congress has sometimes deviated from this pattern.

Traditional leaders and institutions exercise significant influence in society, especially at the village level. However, neither these nor donor countries like the United States and China exert undue control over the political choices of voters or candidates. Investments from the United States and China have been met with pushback in recent years, as citizens are concerned about how those funds might impinge upon the FSM’s political, economic, and cultural independence.

Women and minority groups formally have full political rights, and they are free to participate in practice, though women’s political engagement is limited to some extent by discriminatory attitudes. Two women held seats in Congress after the March 2023 polls; one was Perpetua Sappa Konman, who had entered Congress after a 2021 by-election and was reelected in 2023. A small number of women are elected to state-level legislatures.

Elected officials determine and implement policy and legislation at the federal level, though considerable authority is vested in the states and their elected governments. Some leading politicians from Chuuk, by far the most populous state, have advocated independence from the FSM in recent years, and the issue remained a topic of public discussion under the guidance of the Chuuk Political Status Commission (CPSC). Opponents of Chuuk’s secession have argued that its separation from the FSM would be unconstitutional. A referendum planned for 2019 has been delayed several times, while the CPSC’s work reportedly ended in 2022.

The FSM relies on defense guarantees and economic assistance from the United States under the CFA, originally agreed in 1986. In 2019, the funding and security commitments of the CFA were reaffirmed by the United States. In 2021, Palikir and Washington reached an agreement on the construction of a US military base in the FSM. Negotiations with the United States over a new CFA were finalized in May 2023.

China has become an increasingly important partner for trade and development aid in recent years. Though its role does not amount to an undue interference in FSM governance, citizens and officials have been wary of it becoming so. Congress voted to reaffirm the FSM’s ties to Beijing in April 2023, a month after outgoing president Panuelo called on the FSM to instead back Taiwan. Panuelo had accused Beijing of “political warfare” and of wielding inappropriate influence.

Official corruption is a problem and a source of public discontent. Complaints about misuse of public resources are frequent, particularly from US authorities overseeing aid funds. Government entities responsible for combating corruption, including the attorney general’s office and public auditor, are independent and fairly effective, though some corrupt officials reportedly enjoy impunity.

In June 2023, Radio New Zealand reported on the contents of a Transparency International survey which found that “sextortion”—where sex is exchanged for public services—was occurring in the FSM.

Government operations and legislative processes are generally transparent, though there is no comprehensive law guaranteeing public access to government information. Limited technical capacity and the country’s sprawling geography pose practical barriers to openness and accountability. Officials are not legally obliged to submit asset disclosures.

The news media operate freely. Print outlets include government-published newsletters and several small, privately owned weekly and monthly newspapers. There are several radio stations, cable television is available, and satellite television is increasingly common. The FSM’s internet penetration rate stood at 40.4 percent as of January 2023.

Lack of resources is a problem for the broadcasting of important meteorological forecasts for the population of Chuuk, which will face rising sea levels and extreme weather events.

Religious freedom is generally respected, and religious groups are not required to register with the government. Some 96 percent of the population is Roman Catholic or Protestant. A small Ahmadi Muslim community has reported some instances of discrimination and vandalism. Intolerance for non-Christian religions in several states is a growing concern.

The educational system is free from extensive indoctrination.

The constitution guarantees freedom of expression, and there are no significant constraints on this right in practice. The government does not improperly monitor personal communications or social media activity.

Freedom of assembly is constitutionally protected. Demonstrations typically proceed peacefully.

Citizens are free to organize in civic groups, and a number of students’ and women’s organizations are active.

Union rights are generally respected, and there are no laws to prevent workers from forming unions, engaging in collective bargaining, or striking. However, such activities are not specifically protected or regulated by law, and few employers are large enough to support unionization in practice.

The judiciary is independent. The chief justice, who administers the judicial system, and the associate justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president with the approval of a two-thirds majority in Congress. They are appointed for lifelong terms and cannot be removed arbitrarily.

The police respect legal safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention, and defendants are generally provided with basic due process guarantees surrounding trials and appeals. However, a shortage of lawyers may sometimes impair detainees’ access to counsel in practice.

Criminal activity does not pose a major threat to physical security, though police have struggled to deal with illegal fishing. Mistreatment of individuals in custody is known to occur.

The constitution gives citizens equal protection under the law and prohibits discrimination based on race, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, language, or social status. In 2018, Congress passed a landmark law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, which then president Peter Christian signed. However, the law did not mention gender identity, leaving transgender people vulnerable to continued discrimination.

Half as many women enjoy formal employment as do men, and women generally participate far less in the formal and informal labor markets.

Freedom of movement is generally respected. Under the CFA, Micronesians are free to travel to the United States without visas for residence, education, and employment. Many Micronesians have migrated to US Pacific states and territories.

Property rights are protected by law, and individuals are able to operate private businesses; most such enterprises are small and family-owned in practice. Property and business rights are somewhat restricted for foreigners. Noncitizens are legally prohibited from owning land, and a number of regulations limit the kinds of businesses that they can own and operate.

Personal social freedoms are largely protected. However, there are no specific laws against spousal rape, and both rape and domestic violence are rarely prosecuted due to societal inhibitions against reporting such crimes. The FSM’s first support center for survivors of gender-based violence opened in Chuuk in 2020.

Forced labor is prohibited, and the government enforces basic standards for working conditions in the formal sector. Foreign migrant workers nevertheless remain vulnerable to exploitative labor practices, including on foreign fishing vessels in FSM waters. Micronesian women are at risk of sex trafficking.

The 2023 edition of the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report noted that the FSM government made progress in training law enforcement personnel and operating more shelters for trafficking victims, but Micronesian authorities did not initiate any prosecutions against suspected traffickers during the State Department’s reporting year.