Palau

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Palau (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Paelau, Palau-de-Cerdagne, or Palau-del-Vidre.
"Belau" redirects here. For the municipality in Germany, see Belau, Schleswig-Holstein.

Republic of Palau
Beluu er a Belau (Palauan)
Anthem: Belau rekid

"Our Palau”

Location of Palau
Location of Palau
CapitalNgerulmud
7°30′N 134°37′E / 7.500°N 134.617°E / 7.500; 134.617
Largest cityKoror
7°20′N 134°29′E / 7.333°N 134.483°E / 7.333; 134.483
Official languages
Recognized regional languages
Ethnic groups
(2020 census[1])
Religion
(2020 census)[1]
Demonym(s)Palauan
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic under a non-partisan democracy
• President
Surangel Whipps Jr.
Uduch Sengebau Senior
LegislaturePalau National Congress
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
House of Delegates
Independence 
from the United States and Micronesia
18 July 1947
• Constitution
2 April 1979
• Establishment of the Republic of Palau
1 January 1981
1 October 1994
Area
• Total
459 km2 (177 sq mi) (180th)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• 2021 estimate
18,024[2][3] (192nd)
• 2021 [4] census
16,766
• Density
38.375/km2 (99.4/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $308 million[5]
• Per capita
Increase $18,209[5] (81st)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $322 million[5]
• Per capita
Increase $17,448[5]
HDI (2022)Decrease 0.797[6]
high (71st)
CurrencyUnited States dollar (USD)
Time zoneUTC+9 (PWT)
• Summer (DST)
not observed
Date formatDD-MM-YYYY
Drives onright
Calling code+680
ISO 3166 codePW
Internet TLD.pw
Website
PalauGov.pw
  1. GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2004 estimate).

Palau,[a] officially the Republic of Palau,[b][7] is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific. The republic consists of approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia.

It has a total area of 466 square kilometers (180 sq mi), making it the sixteenth smallest country in the world.[8] The most populous island is Koror, home to the country's most populous city of the same name. The capital, Ngerulmud, is located on the largest island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with international waters to the north, the Federated States of Micronesia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and the Philippines to the northwest.

The country was originally settled approximately 3,000 years ago by migrants from Maritime Southeast Asia.[9][10] Palau was first drawn on a European map by the Bohemian missionary Paul Klein[11] based on a description given by a group of Palauans shipwrecked on the Philippine coast on Samar. Palau islands were made part of the Spanish East Indies in 1885. Following Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War in 1898, the islands were sold to Germany in 1899 under the terms of the German–Spanish Treaty, where they were administered as part of German New Guinea.

After World War I, the islands were made a part of the Japanese-ruled South Seas Mandate by the League of Nations. During World War II, skirmishes including the major Battle of Peleliu were fought between American and Japanese troops as part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. Along with other Pacific Islands, Palau was made a part of the United States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. Having voted in a referendum against joining the Federated States of Micronesia in 1978,[12][13] the islands gained full sovereignty in 1994 under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.

Politically, Palau is a presidential republic in free association with the United States, which provides defense, funding, and access to social services. Legislative power is concentrated in the bicameral Palau National Congress. Palau's economy is based mainly on tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing, with a significant portion of gross national product (GNP) derived from foreign aid. The country uses the United States dollar as its official currency. The islands' culture mixes Micronesian, Melanesian, Asian, and Western elements. Ethnic Palauans, the majority of the population, are of mixed Micronesian, Melanesian, and Austronesian descent. A smaller proportion of the population is of Japanese descent. The country's two official languages are Palauan (a member of the Austronesian language family) and English, with Japanese, Sonsorolese, and Tobian recognized as regional languages.

  1. ^ a b 2020 Census of Population and Housing of the Republic of Palau (PDF) (Report). Vol. I Basic Tables. Koror, Palau: Office of Planning and Statistics. August 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  3. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Health Statistics – PalauGov.pw".
  5. ^ a b c d "Palau". imf.org. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  7. ^ Constitution of Palau Archived 26 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. (PDF). palauembassy.com. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  8. ^ "2015 Statistical Yearbook" (PDF). Republic of Palau Bureau of Budget and Planning Ministry of Finance. 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  9. ^ Clark, Geoffrey; Anderson, Atholl; Wright, Duncan (2006). "Human Colonization of the Palau Islands, Western Micronesia". Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology. 1 (2): 215–232. doi:10.1080/15564890600831705. S2CID 129261271.
  10. ^ Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "The Western Malayo-Polynesian Problem". Oceanic Linguistics. 56 (2). University of Hawaiʻi Press: 435–490. doi:10.1353/ol.2017.0021. JSTOR 26408513. S2CID 149377092.
  11. ^ Francis X. Hezel, SJ. "Catholic Missions in the Carolines and Marshall Islands". Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  12. ^ Ming-chao, Tang (25 September 1978). "Referendum on the draft constitution for the Federated States of Micronesia, July 1978" (PDF). United Nations. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  13. ^ Nakayama, Tosiwo; Henry, Bethwel (14 September 1978). "Letter to the United Nations" (PDF). United Nations. pp. 8–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.


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