Polity · 1981 CE – present
Palau
Republic of Palau · Belau · パラオ
Also recorded as Republic of Palau
- Peak recorded area
- 659 km²
- 1996 CE
- Rulers on record
- 21
- from 1981 CE
- Data series
- 175
- 1981 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country located in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, while the eastern and central parts make up the Federated States of Micronesia.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 45 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 17.7Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 69.49years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -16persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -0.243% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 72.08years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 67.35years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 50 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 16.3Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd82 obs · 1970 CE–2025 CE | 345Mcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| PPP Conversion Factor34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 0.8563ratio2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Renewable Energy Consumption %31 obs · 1992 CE–2022 CE | 0.9%2022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fdi Net Inflows % GDP29 obs · 1989 CE–2023 CE | 28.87%_gdp2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Current Account % GDP26 obs · 2000 CE–2025 CE | -19% of GDP2025 CE · IMF World Economic Outlook |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score23 obs · 1994 CE–2016 CE | 0CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption23 obs · 1994 CE–2016 CE | 12Kcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production23 obs · 1994 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel23 obs · 1994 CE–2016 CE | 0persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure22 obs · 1994 CE–2016 CE | 0current USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 38 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %66 obs · 1991 CE–2023 CE | 0.6522% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %66 obs · 1991 CE–2023 CE | 90.54% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Surface Area63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 460sq. km2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Co2 Emissions Mt Co2e55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 1.47mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Co2 Emissions per capita55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 82.84t_co2e_per_capita2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Methane Emissions Mt Co2e55 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 0.0388mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Rule Of Law Wb Index25 obs · 1996 CE–2023 CE | 0.9355index2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Voice Accountability Index25 obs · 1996 CE–2023 CE | 1.09index2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Political Stability Index21 obs · 2003 CE–2023 CE | 1.08index2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Control Of Corruption Index16 obs · 2008 CE–2023 CE | 0.5886index2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Government Effectiveness Index16 obs · 2008 CE–2023 CE | 0.4423index2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Regulatory Quality Index16 obs · 2008 CE–2023 CE | 0.4014index2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Development
6 of 31 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Dpt Immunization %39 obs · 1986 CE–2024 CE | 97%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %39 obs · 1986 CE–2024 CE | 96%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Who Skilled Birth Attendance39 obs · 1985 CE–2023 CE | 89.42%2023 CE · WHO Global Health Observatory |
| Electricity Access %34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 100%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity Access Rural %34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 100%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Electricity Access Urban %34 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 100%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
21 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Alfonso OiterongVice President of Palau1981 CE – 1985 CE
- Haruo RemeliikPresident of Palau1981 CE – 1985 CE
- Alfonso OiterongPresident of Palau1985 CE
- Lazarus SaliiPresident of Palau1985 CE – 1988 CE
- Thomas RemengesauVice President of Palau1985 CE – 1988 CE
- Thomas RemengesauPresident of Palau1985 CE
- Kuniwo NakamuraVice President of Palau1989 CE – 1993 CE
- Ngiratkel EtpisonPresident of Palau1989 CE – 1993 CE
- Kuniwo NakamuraPresident of Palau1993 CE – 2001 CE
- Thomas Remengesau Jr.Vice President of Palau1993 CE – 2001 CE
- Sandra PierantozziVice President of Palau2001 CE – 2005 CE
- Thomas Remengesau Jr.Head of Government2001 CE – 2009 CE
- Thomas Remengesau Jr.Head of State2001 CE – 2009 CE
- Elias Camsek ChinVice President of Palau2005 CE – 2009 CE
- Johnson ToribiongPresident of Palau2009 CE – 2013 CE
- Kerai MariurVice President of Palau2009 CE – 2013 CE
- Antonio BellsVice President of Palau2013 CE – 2017 CE
- Raynold OilouchVice President of Palau2017 CE – 2021 CE
- Jerrlyn Uduch Sengebau SeniorVice President of Palau2021 CE –
- Surangel Whipps Jr.Head of Government2021 CE –
- Surangel Whipps Jr.Head of State2021 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
- 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); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate; also includes the vice president;
- Ethnic groups
- Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70.6%, Carolinian 1.2%, Asian 26.5%, other 1.7% (2020 est.)
- Natural resources
- forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals
- Economy
- high-income Pacific island economy; environmentally fragile; subsistence agriculture and fishing industries; US aid reliance; rebounding post-pandemic tourism industry and services sector; very high living standard and low unemployment
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1994 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
IMF World Economic Outlook9.0.0
International Monetary Fund. World Economic Outlook (WEO). https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:WEO
© IMF, https://www.imf.org/external/terms.htm
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
WHO Global Health Observatory2024
World Health Organization (2024). Global Health Observatory data repository.
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0