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  • Capital Ngerulmud (7°30´N 134°37´E)
  • International airport(s) Roman Tmetuchl International Airport, Airai
  • Official language(s) English, Palauan, Japanese, Sonsorolese, Tobian
  • Currency United States dollar (US$)
  • Time UTC +9
  • Region Pacific
GeographyClimateEconomyCulture
Palau is situated in the western Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines, and consists of some 340 coral and volcanic islands. All but six of Palau's islands sit inside an expansive lagoon enclosed by a huge barrier reef. Palau stretches across 700 km of ocean and its forest coverage is one of the highest in the world. The topography of the islands varies from the mountainous main island, Babelthuap, to many low‐lying coral islands.
Palau has a tropical climate. Annual average temperature is around 28 °C and remains the same throughout the year, with daily highs around 31 °C and lows around 24 °C. The difference between the hottest and coldest months is about 0.8 °C. Heavy rains occur all year, with the least rainfall occurring between February and April. Annual average rainfall is about 3 100 mm. -—
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Palau does not lie directly in the path of tropical cyclones but is nevertheless sometimes affected. One of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded, Haiyan, hit Palau in January 2014.
Tourism, fishing and agriculture are the main economic activities of Palau. Tourism infrastructure is well developed ‐ tourist activities focus on water sports like scuba diving and snorkeling. Helicopter rides are also popular. The service sector accounts for most of the country's GDP with 88 per cent, including retail trade, restaurants and hotels contributing about 30 per cent to GDP. Palau exports fish, especially yellowfin tuna. The main export partners are Japan, Greece and the United States of America. Among the Pacific SIDS, Palau had the highest GDP per capita in 2019 at US$16 000, current prices. -—
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Women play an important role in Palauan society as it is organized around matrilineal clans. Senior women have strong decision making powers with regard to property.

Poetry and dancing are important arts in Palau. Traditional line dances are performed by both men and women. Men's dances often include war‐related elements.

The Palauan cuisine is centered around root vegetables, seafood dishes and the versatile use of coconut. It takes influences from the cuisines of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and the United States, but adds a unique Palauan twist.

Baseball is the most popular sport played in Palau. Palau first joined the Olympic Games in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games but has not yet participated in the Winter Games.
Land areakm2
Arable land%
Forest area%
Coastline
lengthkm
Exclusive economic zonekm2
Nearest
neighbourkm
Economic trendsMaritime transportPopulationInternational tradeEnvironmentInformation and communications technology
Gross domestic product
US dollars at constant prices (2015) in millions
GDP per capita

2019

US$

Productive Capacity Index

2018

Economic and environmental vulnerability index

2019

Consumer Price Index growth

2019

%

Unemployment
rate

Total %
Female %, Male %
Main economic sectors, 2019
Percentage of GDP
Tourist arrivals
Thousands of tourists, percentage of GDP
External financial resources
Percentage of GDP
Public debt as % of GDP

2018

%

Fleet size
Number of ships
Ship type20112019
Total fleet1 4071 407
Oil tankers264266
Bulk carriers311333
General cargo16177
Container ships5249
Other types of ships619682
Port performance
Ranked by 2019 data within SIDS group
Indicators2019SIDS Ranking
Number of port calls036
Median time in port (days)031
Average age of vessels036
Average size (GT) of vessels036
Container port throuput

2019

TEU

Bilateral connectivity index, 2019
Top 5 partners
Liner shipping connectivity index
Maximum China Q1 2006=100
Total population
Thousands of people, share of urban population
Population development indicators
IndicatorsPeriodValue
Poverty headcount (% of population)....
Human development index20180.8
Human assets index202091
Adult literacy rate (15+ years, both sexes %)....
Gender inequality index20100.7
Life expectancy at birth

years

Population density

2019

persons per km2
Dependency
ratio

2019

Child:
Old-age:
Age structure by gender, 2019
Percentage of total population
Merchandise and services trade
US dollars in millions
Indicators20052010201520192019 (% of GDP)
Merchandise exports136672.5
Merchandise imports10510715016960.3
Services exports00000
Services imports00000
Trade openness
Goods and services

% of GDP

Export concentration index

2019

Food import
dependency
Average 2015-2019

Top 5 partners in merchandise trade, 2019
Exports in millions US dollars
Merchandise exports by product group, 2019
Services exports by category, 2019
CO2 emissions per capita
Kg per capita
CO2 emissions per GDP
Kg per 2010 US$ of GDP
Renewable energy share in total energy consumption, 2017
Percentage of total energy consumption
Material
footprint
per capita

2016

kg

Terrestrial
protected
area

2018

%

Marine
protected
area

2018

%

Disasters indicators
Data not available
Trade in ICT goods

Exports: %
Imports: %
Trade in ICT services

Exports: %
Imports: %
Share of
internet users

%

Fixed broadband vs Mobile broadband subscriptions
Number of subscriptions per 100 people
Sources
Source of data: -—
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except indicators listed below.
References
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