The flag of the Federated States of Micronesia has four white stars. The stars are arranged in a diamond-like circle on a blue field and represent the federation's four states: Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap.
The flag was adopted on 30 November 1978, shortly before the country became independent in 1979. Its design developed from the earlier flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which had six stars. That older design represented a larger group of districts, including Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, which did not join the federation.
The blue field represents the Pacific Ocean. A common mix-up is to count six stars by remembering the former trust-territory flag rather than the current national flag. The four stars on today's flag are also sometimes described as points of the compass, emphasizing the geographic spread of the states across the Pacific.