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 March 2019, David Panuelo, the senator representing the state of Pohnpei, was chosen as president, defeating incumbent Peter Christian. Vice President Yosiwo George was reelected.

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. All 10 single-member incumbents in Congress won reelection in the March 2021 midterm elections.

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.

The FSM’s fourth Constitutional Convention was convened in January 2020 but went into recess that March due to COVID-19. It remained in recess as of December 2021. However, proposals to allow dual citizenship and introduce lowered thresholds for referendums will be considered by voters in 2022.

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 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. The FSM remains one of the few countries in the world with no women in its national legislature. A small number of women were 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. Opponents of Chuuk’s secession have argued that its separation from the FSM would be unconstitutional. A referendum was planned for 2019 but was delayed that year and again in 2020; it is now scheduled for 2022.

The FSM relies on defense guarantees and economic assistance from the United States under a 1986 Compact of Free Association (CFA), which extends through 2023. In 2019, the funding and security commitments of the CFA were reaffirmed by the United States. In July 2021, Palikir and Washington reached an agreement on the construction of a US military base in the FSM.

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 and citizens and officials have been wary of it becoming so.

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.

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 in the FSM. Officials are not legally obliged to submit asset disclosures.

In 2020, the Chuuk Office of the Public Auditor warned that records related to the state debt-relief fund were improperly maintained, and that financial statements did not fully report liabilities to the public.

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 35.3 percent as of January 2021.

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. About 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 life-long 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.

In October 2019, the acting attorney general on Yap, American Rachelle Bergeron, was murdered; her murder was allegedly connected to her efforts against human trafficking in the FSM. Frances Choay Buchun and Anthony Rutun Teteeth were accused of conspiring to murder Bergeron that month, though the trial against them was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; they remained in custody as of September 2021. Several people of interest have also been identified after Bergeron’s murder. Status hearings on the Bergeron case have been held, though little progress has been made on its ultimate adjudication.

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 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 or territories such as Hawaii and Guam.

Travel out of the FSM was severely impacted by COVID-19-related measures. Inbound travel was effectively halted by March 2020 but limited repatriation has since been allowed. Outbound travel restrictions ended that November.

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 (GBV) 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 2021 edition of the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report noted the government’s efforts to address trafficking, but also reported that traffickers received light sentences and that efforts to support survivors were insufficient.