People

• According to the Central Intelligence Agency there are seven main ethnic groups that make up the FSM, all with different traditions and local customs. The largest is the Chuukese who make up 48.8 percent of the population. Many of these ethnic groups feel closer to foreign peoples such as Polynesians and Filipinos. What keeps this mix of people together is a common recent history and an emerging national identity.
  
  

Language

• There are a total of 18 languages spoken throughout the FSM, ranging from Chuukese, which is spoken by 45,900 people to Satawalese which is spoken by a mere 460. Other languages include Kapingamarangu, Yapese, Ulithian, Pohnpeeian, Kosraean, Nukuoro and Woleaian, all of which belong to the Malayo-Polynesian group of languages. To make the process of governing easier with all these different languages, the official language of the FSM is English.
  
  

Music

• Music in the FSM takes the form of a vocal performance of a song that may go back generations. Usually steeped in mythology and folk law, the songs are passed down from generation to generation in an oral tradition.
  
  

Religion

• The traditional pagan religions of the FSM have died out and been replaced by Christianity. According to the U.S. Department of State, 50 percent of the population of the country considers themselves Roman Catholic, while 47 percent belong to a Protestant Church. The remaining three percent practice varying faiths, including Baha'i and Buddhism.
  
  

Food

• Food FSM is largely made up of fish and chicken in combination with a number of carbohydrates such as yams. Other meat such as pork is eaten but is normally reserved for feasting at times of celebration and festivals. Fruit is also a main staple of the Micronesian diet and coconut, banana, papaya and mangoes are consumed throughout the year.
  
  

Economy

• The economy in FSM revolves around three different spheres: the subsistence economy, the cash economy and the prestige economy. Subsistence involves fishing, small-scale horticulture and using natural resources, while the cash economy is based on funds given annually by the U.S. This money is used to pay for the costs of government and to improve the country's infrastructure. Interlinking these two forms of economy is one based on prestige, which focuses on both a person's status within the country in addition to compensation and exchange of goods.
  
  

Gender Roles

• Gender roles are clearly defined, with women seen as homemakers and child-bearers. They are in charge of domestic duties such as meal preparation and laundry, but are also able to harvest subsidence crops, fish inshore, tend to livestock and weave mats. Men are in charge of building and carpentry duties and must take care of the offshore fishing, in addition to carrying out the heavy-duty work associated with farming. In most of the FSM, the society is matrilineal, with titles and property descending through women. This allows women a greater level of prestige and empowerment within the community, though the men are still traditionally in charge of political and economic affairs.