Yap State

Yap State is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, located in the westernmost portion of the country. The state borders Palau to the southwest, Guam to the north, and Chuuk State to the east. According to the Federated States of Micronesia population census carried out in 2023, the total population is 10,739 residing across a total area of 119.54 sq km (46.15 sq mi), though a large majority of the area is water. The only town area in the state, Colonia, serves as the state capital.What is now current-day Yap State and some parts of Chuuk State were the historical Yapese Empire, which at its peak, controlled 1,300 km of the western Pacific comprising all the inhabited islands and atolls between Yap and Chuuk. The rulers of the chiefdom of Gagil in Yap maintained sovereignty of these islands to the east and extracted resources and tribute, maintaining close economic and political relationships with the different island groups. After losing its influence and becoming incorporated territories of Spain, the German Empire, the Japanese Empire, and the United States through the UN-mandated Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), Yap and the islands and atolls between Yap and Chuuk formed Yap State upon the founding of the FSM. According to the FSM Statistics Office, the population of Colonia and the municipalities of Yap State was 11,577 in 2020. The state has a total land area of 102 km2 (39 sq mi).