8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Oceania / Micronesia

Born in Micronesia

About 1 in 52,844 people born in 2023 started life in Micronesia. A boy can expect to live 64 years and a girl 71, up from 46 and 52 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 90% have basic drinking water.

1 in 52,844
odds of being born here
2,500 births · Ranked 192nd of 230
64 / 71
years of life, boys / girls
Was 46 / 52 in 1950
$2,326
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 163rd of 203 · extrapolated
22%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 19 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 172 in every 1,000 births to 23.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
050100150200195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth63.5 years for boys, 71.1 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 522.8 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year1,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.0World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles86%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year397 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.6 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.8.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.75UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.9 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 46 and the poorest fifth 6.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2013
6%Poorest fifth
11%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
46%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,326 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth46% / 6% (2013)World Bank PIP
Price rises5.4% a year (2022)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person0.7% (2023)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment87% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Palikir, with 6,942 people.

22%
live in cities
87%
have electricity at home
90%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Palikir6,942
Languages
Share of people who can use each
English57%
Chuukese30%
Pohnpeian23%
Kosraean8%
Yapese7%
English is official.

People on the move

About 12% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Guam11,767
Northern Mariana Islands1,132
Palau421
Residents born abroad2.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 12.0% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostGuam (11,767), Northern Mariana Islands (1,132), Palau (421)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $23.3 million a year (2014)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

97% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

97%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2020)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202465Our World in Data, from WHO

Now live it.

Born in Micronesia, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Micronesia

Elsewhere in Oceania

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences