Micronesian islands: how to tell them apart

5 places · Updated 4 November 2026

Micronesia means "small islands", and these five countries are scattered across a vast stretch of the western and central Pacific, mostly just north of the equator. Some are high, green volcanic islands. Others are coral atolls so low and narrow that you can see the lagoon on one side of the road and the open ocean on the other. Nauru is different again: one round, raised coral island with a rocky middle.

The quickest way to sort them is the side of the road. Kiribati and Nauru drive on the left, while the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands, which all have close ties with the United States, drive on the right.

English appears on signs in all five, so look closely at the local words. Palauan names often begin with "Ng". Marshallese uses letters with small hooks and bars, such as ļ, ņ and ā. Pohnpei greets visitors with "Kaselehlie". Gilbertese, the language of Kiribati, has only 13 letters and says "ti" like "s".

Then check the land. Tall, cloud-capped, forested mountains suggest Pohnpei or Kosrae in the Federated States, or Babeldaob in Palau. Dead-flat ribbons of palm-covered sand mean the Marshall Islands or Kiribati. A short ring road with a limestone ridge rising behind it means Nauru.

At a glance

🇫🇲 Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia is made up of four island states spread across the Caroline Islands: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. Each has its own language and character. The high islands are steep, wet and covered in rainforest, ringed by mangroves and coral reefs, with small towns and quiet roads.

Language and signs

English is the shared language and is used on most official signs. Each state also has its own language, so on Pohnpei you may see the greeting "Kaselehlie". Pohnpeian spellings often put an h after a vowel, as in Pohnpei, Sokehs and Madolenihmw.

Roads

Traffic drives on the right. On Pohnpei, a road loops around the whole island, linking the town of Kolonia with villages along the shore and winding past mangroves, streams and small stores. Road signs tend to follow American designs.

Landscape and towns

Pohnpei and Kosrae are high volcanic islands with cloud-hidden peaks, waterfalls and dense rainforest, and Pohnpei's mountain interior is one of the rainiest places on Earth. Mangroves fringe much of the coast. Chuuk is a huge lagoon dotted with green islands, while Yap is lower, with gentle rolling hills.

Kolonia, Pohnpei's main town, is a small place of low concrete buildings, stores, churches and offices. Houses are usually concrete or wood with metal roofs. On Yap, look for huge stone discs with a hole in the middle, propped up along paths and outside meeting houses: this is traditional stone money.

Easily confused with

• Palau: Palau also drives on the right and has green, hilly islands, but its place names often start with "Ng", and its mushroom-shaped Rock Islands near Koror are a giveaway.
• Guam: Guam is far more built up, with multi-lane highways, malls and American chain stores. The Federated States have narrower, quieter roads and much smaller towns.

Did you know? Off the coast of Pohnpei lies Nan Madol, an ancient town built from huge black basalt columns on nearly 100 small artificial islands. Seen from the sea, Kosrae's mountains look like a woman lying on her back, so it is nicknamed the Island of the Sleeping Lady.

🇵🇼 Palau

Palau lies at the western edge of Micronesia, east of the Philippines. Most people live in and around Koror, while the big island of Babeldaob to the north is quieter, with forest, red earth and a long ring road. The Rock Islands, green limestone domes rising from a turquoise lagoon, are Palau's best-known sight.

Language and signs

English and Palauan share most signs. Palauan names are easy to spot: many begin with "Ng", as in Ngerulmud, Ngchesar and Ngardmau, and "ch" turns up often, as in Chelbacheb. "Alii" means hello and "sulang" means thank you.

Roads

Traffic keeps to the right, though you may notice cars with the steering wheel on the right, bought second-hand from Japan. A bridge links Koror to Babeldaob, where a smooth, quiet ring road loops through hills, forest and cuttings of orange-red soil. In Koror, one main road winds through town past shops and hotels.

Landscape and towns

Babeldaob is the second-largest island in Micronesia after Guam, with low volcanic hills, open grassy areas, rainforest and mangrove-lined bays. South of Koror, hundreds of small limestone islands covered in jungle stick out of the lagoon, many worn away at the waterline so they look like mushrooms. It is hot and humid all year.

Koror is the busiest town, with hotels, dive shops, restaurants and stores along its main street. Buildings are mostly low, made of concrete with metal roofs. On Babeldaob, look for the capitol at Ngerulmud, a large white government building with a dome, and traditional meeting houses called bai, with tall, steep, painted gables.

Easily confused with

• Micronesia: Pohnpei and Kosrae are steeper, wetter and more mountainous than Babeldaob, and their names lack Palau's "Ng" starts. Palau's long ring road and red-earth cuttings are good clues.
• Philippines: The Philippines, not far to the west, also drives on the right, but its towns are far busier, with jeepneys, tricycles and signs in Filipino.

Did you know? In 2009, Palau created the world's first shark sanctuary, protecting sharks across all of its waters. Visitors to Palau sign a promise, stamped into their passport, to look after the islands' nature.

🇲🇭 Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands are a scatter of coral atolls in the central Pacific, with almost no land more than a few metres above the sea. Most people live on Majuro and Ebeye. On Majuro, a single road follows a thin curve of land around a vast lagoon, often with water in view on both sides.

Language and signs

Marshallese and English are both official. Marshallese spelling uses unusual marks: a little hook under ļ, m̧, ņ and o̧, and a bar over ā, ō and ū. "Iakwe" (often written "Yokwe") is the everyday greeting, and "kommol" means thank you.

Roads

Traffic drives on the right. Majuro's main road runs for tens of kilometres along the atoll, from the crowded Delap, Uliga and Djarrit area to the quieter village of Laura at the far end. It is mostly one lane each way, lined with houses, small stores, churches and palm trees.

Landscape and towns

Everything here is flat: white coral sand, coconut palms, pandanus and breadfruit trees. On the lagoon side the water is calm and turquoise; on the ocean side, waves break on a reef of coral rubble. In the most built-up parts of Majuro, the land is so narrow that the sea is never more than a short walk away.

Houses are simple and close together, usually concrete or wood with corrugated metal roofs, often with big plastic tanks to collect rainwater. Churches, schools and small family-run stores line the main road. The capital area has offices, a few hotels and shops, while the outer atolls have only villages.

Easily confused with

• Kiribati: Kiribati's Tarawa looks very similar, with the same flat coral islets and palms, but cars there drive on the left. Marshallese letters like ļ and ā point to the Marshall Islands.
• Tuvalu: Tuvalu is also flat and narrow, but it drives on the left and is far smaller and quieter, with an airport runway down the middle of its main islet.

Did you know? Marshallese navigators made stick charts from palm ribs and shells. They showed how ocean swells bend around islands, helping sailors find their way across open sea.

🇰🇮 Kiribati

Kiribati (said "Kiri-bass") is made up of 33 islands spread across the middle of the Pacific, on both sides of the equator. Most people live on South Tarawa, a chain of flat, narrow coral islets joined by causeways, with a lagoon on one side and open ocean on the other.

Language and signs

English is used on official signs, alongside Gilbertese, the local language. Gilbertese has only 13 letters, with no f, l or s, and "ti" is said like "s", which is why Kiribati sounds like "Kiribass". "Mauri" means hello and "ko rabwa" means thank you.

Roads

Drivers keep to the left. On South Tarawa, one main road runs along the islets from Betio in the west towards the airport at Bonriki, crossing long causeways where the lagoon meets the ocean. It is busy with cars, minibuses and motorbikes.

Landscape and towns

The islands are coral, flat and narrow, often only a few hundred metres wide. Coconut palms, pandanus and breadfruit grow in sandy soil, and the lagoon is pale and shallow. Kiritimati, far to the east, is much drier, with salt flats, low scrub and wide lagoons.

Traditional homes are raised platforms with thatched roofs and open sides. Villages have a maneaba, a large meeting house with a huge thatched roof that slopes almost to the ground. Modern houses are concrete or wood with metal roofs. Bairiki has government offices, and Betio is the busiest islet.

Easily confused with

• Marshall Islands: The Marshall Islands look almost the same but drive on the right. Marshallese uses marked letters such as ļ and ā, while Gilbertese words are plain, full of "ti", "bw" and "ng".
• Tuvalu: Tuvalu also drives on the left and is just as flat, but much smaller and quieter. Tuvaluan uses f, l and s, as in "fakafetai" (thank you), letters Gilbertese never has.

Did you know? Kiribati is the only country with land in all four hemispheres: north, south, east and west. Kiritimati is the largest coral atoll in the world by land area, and one of the first places on Earth to see each new day.

🇳🇷 Nauru

Nauru is a single small island just south of the equator and the world's smallest republic. One road circles the island along a narrow coastal strip, where almost everyone lives. Behind it, a low cliff climbs to the rocky central plateau known as Topside. Traffic drives on the left.

Language and signs

Nauruan is the island's own language and is widely spoken, but most road and shop signs are in English. The names of Nauru's 14 districts, such as Aiwo, Anabar, Ijuw and Uaboe, are short and full of vowels.

Roads

Cars keep to the left, as in Australia, which Nauru has close links with. The ring road is under 20 kilometres long, so a drive all the way round is quick. It passes the airport runway in the south, and a few side roads climb inland to Buada and the plateau.

Landscape and towns

A belt of flat land, coconut palms and small sandy beaches runs around the coast, with a coral reef just offshore. Inland, the ground rises to Topside, where phosphate rock has been dug out over many years, leaving a rough landscape of grey limestone pinnacles and scrubby trees. Buada Lagoon is a small inland lake surrounded by palms and gardens.

There is no town centre as such: houses, stores, churches and government buildings are spread along the ring road. Most homes are single-storey concrete buildings with metal roofs. The parliament and government offices are in Yaren district, close to the airport.

Easily confused with

• Kiribati: Kiribati also drives on the left with English signs, but its islands are flat, narrow atolls around lagoons. Nauru is round and solid, with a ridge rising behind the coast.
• Tuvalu: Tuvalu's Funafuti is a thin ribbon of land with the sea on both sides. On Nauru, the open ocean is on one side of the road and the inland cliff on the other.

Did you know? Nauru has no official capital city. Its parliament meets in the district of Yaren. Covering about 21 square kilometres, Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world, after Vatican City and Monaco.

How players do with Nauru

Across 42 rounds in Far Fetched, players named Nauru correctly 2% of the time.

Quick round-up: green volcanic peaks and US-style signs suggest the Federated States of Micronesia; "Ng" names and mushroom-shaped islets mean Palau. A long, flat atoll road with cars on the right is the Marshall Islands, and the same with cars on the left is Kiribati. One ring road beneath a rocky ridge is Nauru.

Further reading

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