2001 around population was 134,597, indicating a population density of 192 persons per sq km (497 per sq mi). The population is unevenly distributed, with Chuuk state having one-half the population and Pohnpei, one-third. Some 29 % of the population lives in the urban areas on the four main islands. The birth rate is high, but emigration partly offsets the population growth rate. Since the mid-1980s, Micronesians have migrated in sizable numbers to Guam, Hawaii, and the United States mainland.

The indigenous population, which is predominantly Micronesian, consists of various ethnolinguistic groups. English has become the common language. Population growth remains high at more than 3%, ameliorated somewhat by net emigration.