Caroline Islands

Caroline Islands

Native name: Islas Carolinas Nickname: New Philippines
Map of the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau
Location of Caroline Islands in the Pacific
Geography
Location	Western Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	7°N 147°E / 7°N 147°E / 7; 147
Archipelago	Micronesia
Adjacent to	Pacific Ocean
Total islands	963
Major islands	Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Palau
Area	1,300 km2 (500 sq mi)
Length	3,540 km (2200 mi)
Highest elevation	791 m (2595 ft)
Highest point	Dolohmwar, Pohnpei
Administration
Federated States of Micronesia and Palau
Demographics
Population	125,000 (2024)
Languages	Micronesian languages, English
Ethnic groups	Micronesian, Filipino, Japanese
Additional information
Time zone	UTC+10, UTC+11
Area and population estimates include Federated States of Micronesia and Palau

The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the central and eastern parts of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines,^[1] because they were part of the Spanish East Indies and were governed from Manila in the Philippines.

The Carolines are scattered across a distance of approximately 3,540 kilometres (1,910 nmi), from the westernmost island, Tobi, in Palau, to the easternmost island, Kosrae, a state of the FSM.^[2]