| Official name | Republic of Palau |
| Name in local language | Belau - Beluu er a Belau (pau) |
| Continent | Oceania |
| Subcontinent | Oceania |
| Population (ranking: 234e) | 17,820 inhabitants (2018) |
| Population growth | 0.30 % / year |
| Area | 416 km² |
| Density | 42.84 inhabitants / km² |
| GDP (ranking: 236e) | 0.310 billions $USD (2018) |
| GDP/capita (ranking) | 17,318 $USD (2018) |
| GDP growth | 5.00 % / year (2018) |
| Life expectancy (ranking) | 73.70 years (2018) |
| Birth rate | 10.68 ‰ (2010) |
| Fertility rate | 2.21 children / woman (2015) |
| Death rate (ranking) | 7.81 ‰ (2010) |
| Infant mortality rate (ranking) | 12.78 ‰ (2010) |
| Literacy rate | 98.66 % (2015) |
| Official languages | English, Palauan, Japanese |
| Currency | United States dollar ($ USD) |
| HDI (ranking: 79e) | 0.814 / 1 (2018) |
| EPI (ranking) | 0.00 (2018) |
| Government | Unitary presidential constitutional republic |
| Head of State | President Tommy Remengesau |
| National Day | 9 July (referendum of independence of 1978) |
| ISO Codes | PW, PLW |
| Demonym | Palauan |
| Tourists (ranking) | 122,050 people (2017) |
A young country
Palau is an Oceanian country located in Micronesia, east of the Philippines, north of Western New Guinea in Indonesia, west of the Federated States of Micronesia and occupying the westernmost tip of the archipelago of Carolinas. The country is divided into sixteen states spread over several hundred islands of which only a few are inhabited.
Palau became independent of United States tutelage in 1994, making the archipelago a very young country. Its economic dependence on the United States remains strong, but development is now mainly based on tourism.
The Asia-Pacific region has for decades been growing economically, and thanks to good infrastructure, the country receives more and more tourists from the countries of this region. They come to admire beautiful seabed water that is 29°C all year, and increasingly well preserved by the local population, which sees a real advantage.
Indeed, faced with the rise in sea level, more and more perceptible locally, residents have decided to move forward with a more sustainable development. It remains to be seen if in the long run, this state of mind will continue.
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Urban areas (2018)
| Urban areas | Population |
|---|---|
| Koror | 11,892 inhabitants |
| Melekeok | 257 inhabitants |
See all urban areas
Administrative divisions
| States | Population | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Aimeliik | 334 inhabitants | 37 km² |
| Airai | 2,455 inhabitants | 49 km² |
| Angaur | 119 inhabitants | 8 km² |
| Hatohobei | 25 inhabitants | 1 km² |
| Kayangel | 54 inhabitants | 2 km² |
| Koror | 11,892 inhabitants | 58 km² |
| Melekeok | 257 inhabitants | 25 km² |
| Ngaraard | 413 inhabitants | 29 km² |
| Ngarchelong | 316 inhabitants | 8 km² |
| Ngardmau | 185 inhabitants | 30 km² |
| Ngatpang | 282 inhabitants | 35 km² |
| Ngchesar | 291 inhabitants | 38 km² |
| Ngeremlengui | 350 inhabitants | 61 km² |
| Ngiwal | 282 inhabitants | 16 km² |
| Peleliu | 484 inhabitants | 17 km² |
| Sonsorol | 40 inhabitants | 3 km² |