Data at glance of Palau - average on period

History

Humans arrived in the Palauan archipelago from Southeast Asia around 1000 B.C. and developed a complex, highly organized matrilineal society where high-ranking women picked the chiefs. The islands were the westernmost part of the widely scattered Pacific islands north of New Guinea that Spanish explorers named the Caroline Islands in the 17th century. The 18th and 19th centuries saw occasional visits of whalers and traders as Spain gained some influence in the islands and administered it from the Philippines. Spain sold Palau to Germany in 1899 after losing the Philippines in the Spanish-American War. Japan seized Palau in 1914, was granted a League of Nations mandate to administer the islands in 1920, and made Koror the capital of its South Seas Mandate in 1922. By the outbreak of World War II, there were four times as many Japanese living in Koror as Palauans. In 1944, the US invasion of the island of Peleliu was one of the bloodiest island fights of the Pacific War. After the war, Palau became part of the US-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Palau voted against joining the Federated States of Micronesia in 1978 and adopted its own constitution in 1981, which stated that Palau was a nuclear-free country. In 1982, Palau signed a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US, which granted Palau financial assistance and access to many US domestic programs in exchange for exclusive US military access and defense responsibilities. However, many Palauans saw the COFA as incompatible with the Palauan Constitution because of the US military’s nuclear arsenal, and seven referenda failed to achieve ratification. Following a constitutional amendment and eighth referendum in 1993, the COFA was ratified and entered into force in 1994 when the islands gained their independence. Its funding was renewed in 2010. Palau has been on the frontlines of combatting climate change and protecting marine resources. In 2011, Palau banned commercial shark fishing and created the world’s first shark sanctuary. In 2017, Palau began stamping the Palau Pledge into passports, reminding visitors to act in ecologically and culturally responsible ways. In 2020, Palau banned coral reef-toxic sunscreens and expanded its fishing prohibition to include 80% of its exclusive economic zone.

Environment

Area: 459 sq km km2

Climate: tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November

Natural resources: forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70.6%, Carolinian 1.2%, Asian 26.5%, other 1.7% (2020 est.)

Languages:

Religions: Roman Catholic 46.9%, Protestant 30.9% (Evangelical 24.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 5%, other Protestant 1.4%), Modekngei 5.1% (indigenous to Palau), Muslim 4.9%, other 12.3% (2020 est.)

Government

Capital: Ngerulmud

Government type: presidential republic in free association with the US

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Surangel WHIPPS, Jr. (since 21 January 2021)

Head of government: President Surangel WHIPPS, Jr. (since 21 January 2021)

Legislative branch

Description: National Congress (Olbiil Era Kelulau) - bicameral

Industries

tourism, fishing, subsistence agriculture

GDP by sector: Agriculture: 3% (2023 est.), Industry: 9.9% (2023 est.), Services: 76.7% (2023 est.)

Trade

Export partners: India 41%, Turkey 26%, Taiwan 10%, USA 9%, Japan 5% (2023)

Export commodities: ships, refined petroleum (2023)

Import partners: Italy 32%, China 25%, USA 11%, Turkey 10%, Japan 6% (2023)

Import commodities: ships, refined petroleum, additive manufacturing machines, cars, plastic products (2023)

Geography

Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines