Palau

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Palau does not have an active military. Instead, it is reliant on the United States for its defence.

Military membership

Palau is a member of two international military organizations which makes it the 183rd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Palau has not partaken in any international war.

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Palau is a member of seven international political organizations which makes it the 189th highest in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Pacific Islands Forum
Pacific Regional Environment Programme
Pacific Community
Alliance of Small Island States
Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Palau is a presidential democracy with free elections, a constitution, and an independent judiciary. It is considered a free and democratic country by international standards.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Palau take place in the form of a presidential republic where the president is head of state as well as head of government. Palau is divided up into several states where each state is represented by a member of the house.

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Palestine.

Known for its jellyfish Lake, its diving sites as well as receiving the highest amount of rainfall in the world, Palau has only been fully independent for 30 years. It is thought that Palau was inhabited by ethnic Indonesians that arrived during the 26th century BC. These people mainly lived an agricultural life. Its first contact with Europeans was with Spanish explorers in the 16th century. At the end of the 19th century, Spain claimed the territory of Palau, but sold it to Germany in 1899. From the first world war until the second world war, the territory was conquered and administered by Japan. After losing the second world war to the United States, Palau became a UN trust territory until it became independent in 1994. Since then, it has remained a relatively stable democracy. .

Palau is an island state which is located in the Pacific Ocean. It lies north of Indonesia and east of the Philippines. The island itself consists of just under 200 separate islands. However, the main island, Koror, is home to the majority of the population. This island has a central mountain range with low lying mountains and its terrain is almost fully covered by forest.

With a total surface area of 461 square kilometers or 178 square miles, Palau is ranked as the 179th largest state in the world being slightly larger than the Seychelles and slightly smaller than Andorra.

It has it has a small river called the Ngerikiil River as well as a small reservoir. This covers less than one square kilometer.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Palau has a tropical climate which had a wet and a dry season. The average temperature is 27.4 degrees Celsius or 81.3 degrees Fahrenheit which is the 12th highest in the world.

During the wet season, the average temperature is 30.4 degrees Celsius or 86.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

During the dry season, the average temperature is 23.6 degrees Celsius or 74.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Its average low temperature is 24.2 degrees farenheit.

With 376 centimetres or 148 inches of rainfall per year, Palau has the highest amount of rainfall in the world. The majority of its rainfall occurs between June to August, but is known to fall throughout the year.

The capital of Palau, Ngerulmud, is home to approximately 1000 people. The capital that is closest located to Ngerulmud is Manilla in the Philippines with a distance of 1670 kilometers or 1037 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Ngerulmud is Brasilia of Brazil with a distance of 18,212 kilometers or 11,316 miles.

The economy of Palau is a semi-developed economy which is reliant on agriculture as well as tourism. Another source of income comes from the United States. Most of its exported goods are fish which are mainly exported to Japan which is solely responsible for more than 75 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from the United States which is solely responsible for nearly 45 percent of all imports.

Palau is a member of six international economic organizations which makes it the 187th most connected in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Asian Development Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance

Its GDP is US$272 million which is the 190th highest in the world and represents less than 0.001 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is US$590,091 per square kilometer or just over US$1.5 million per square mile. This makes it the 84th highest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is US$15,081 which is the 56th highest in the world.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power per capita is US$16,405 which is the 81st highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a total population of 18,049 people, Palau is the 192nd most populous state in the world. Population of Palau is an ethnic mix between Indonesians, Filipinos, American and Japanese that inhabit the islands. Its official language is Palauan, which is spoken by just over 50 percent of the population. The other official language is English which is spoken by nearly 20 percent of the population.

It has 49 people per square kilometer and 101 people per square mile which is the 141st highest in the world.

Emigration from Palau has been limited and only a few people have migrated to the United States.

Immigration to Palau is represented by 3000 people, or 16.7 percent of the population. Palau has a semi-open immigration policy which only allows for rich or skilled migrants to reside within Palau. This is mainly due to a lack of resources as well as living space that Palau has to offer.

Education is based on the American system and is free and compulsory between the ages of five and 16. This has led to a literacy rate of 98.3 percent which is the 53rd highest in the world.

The health care system of Palau is semi-developed and does not offer specialized health care. This means that this type of healthcare is provided by other states. Some of the largest health risks within Palau are cardiovascular diseases as well as diabetes. The average life expectancy is the 88th highest in the world with 69.1 years. Women reach an average age of 73.2 years while men reach an average age of 66 years.

The government of Palau allows freedom of religion towards all religions. The government of Palau generally respects these religions and only requires that they register with the government.

Christianity is represented by 72.4 percent of the population which makes Palau the 80th most Christian state in the world. Christianity was introduced at the end of the 18th century and further grew under Japanese rule when Christian missionaries were sent to Palau.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by less than 500 people and represents 4.1 percent of the population. This makes Palau the 170th most Islamic state in the world.

Buddhism is represented by 0.8 percent of the population and is mainly represented by Shinto Buddhism that arrived from Japan.

There are no official records of Hindus in Palau.

Judaism is represented by less than 0.03 percent of the population and consists of less than 10 businesspeople.

Other religions are represented by 7.6 percent of the population and are mainly found in the Modekngei animistic religion.

Irreligion is represented by 0.9 percent of the population.