• Subregion of Oceania with about 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean
• Shares cultural history with Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and Melanesia
• Includes four main archipelagos: Caroline Islands, Gilbert Islands, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands

• Political control varies among six sovereign nations
• Some Caroline Islands are governed by Palau and Federated States of Micronesia
• Gilbert Islands are part of the Republic of Kiribati
• Mariana Islands are affiliated with the U.S. (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands)
• Nauru is a sovereign nation; Marshall Islands belong to their republic
• Wake Island's sovereignty is contested between the U.S. and Marshall Islands

• "Micronesia" lacks real cultural unity despite historical usage
• Human settlement began millennia ago, linked to Austronesian expansion
• Europeans first contacted Micronesia in 1521 with Magellan
• Term "Micronesia" was coined in 1832 by Jules Dumont d'Urville.

List of newspapers published in Micronesia.