Countries

Palau

Map of Palau

Republic of Palau

President: Tommy Remengesau (2013)

Total area: 177 sq mi (458 sq km)

Population (2011 est.): 21,032 (growth rate: 0.36%); birth rate: 10.79/1000; infant mortality rate: 12.1/1000; life expectancy: 72.06; density per sq mi: 45.5

Capital (2011 est.): Melekeok
Largest City (2011 est.): Koror

Monetary unit: U.S. dollar used

National name: Beluu er a Belau

Current government officials

Languages: Palauan 64.7%, English 9.4%, Sonsoralese, Tobi, Angaur (each official on some islands), Filipino 13.5%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000)

Ethnicity/race: Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 69.9%, Filipino 15.3%, Chinese 4.9%, other Asian 2.4%, white 1.9%, Carolinian 1.4%, other Micronesian 1.1%, other or unspecified 3.2% (2000 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other religion 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4% (2000 census)

National Holiday: Constitution Day, July 9

Literacy rate: 92% (2012 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2008 est.): $164 million note: includes US subsidy; per capita $8,100 (2008 est.). Real growth rate: na% (2005 est.). Inflation: 2.7% (2005 est.). Unemployment: 4.2% (2005 est.). Arable land: 9%. Agriculture: coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; fish. Labor force: 9,777 (2005); agriculture 20%, industry n.a., services n.a. (2004). Industries: tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making. Natural resources: forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals. Exports: $5.882 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): shellfish, tuna, copra, garments. Imports: $107.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs. Major trading partners: U.S., Japan, Singapore, Guam, South Korea (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 7,000 (2009); mobile cellular: 14,500 (2009). Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002). Radios: 12,000 (1997). Television broadcast stations: 1 (cable) (2005). Televisions: 11,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (2010). Internet users: N/A (2010).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 61 km; paved: 36 km; unpaved: 25 km. Ports and harbors: Koror. Airports: 3 (2012).

International disputes: none.

Major sources and definitions

Geography

The Palau island chain consists of about 200 islands located in the western Pacific Ocean, 528 mi (650 km) southeast of the Philippines. Only eight of the islands are permanently inhabited. They vary geologically from the high, mountainous, largest island, Babelthuap, to low coral islands, usually fringed by large barrier reefs.

Government

Constitutional republic.

History

The original settlers of Palau are believed to have arrived from Indonesia as early as 2500 BC The Palau islands' position on the western threshold of Oceania and their proximity to Southeast Asia have combined to form a mixed population of Malay, Melanesian, Filipino, and Polynesian ancestry.

Explored by the Spanish navigator Ruy López de Villalobos in 1543, the islands remained under nominal Spanish ownership for more than 300 years before Spain sold them to Germany in 1899. Japan occupied Palau during World War I and received a mandate over them from the League of Nations in 1920. They remained in Japanese control and served as an important naval base until the U.S. seized them during World War II. After the war, the islands became a UN trusteeship (1947), administered by the U.S. Palau signed a Compact of Free Association with the U.S. in 1992, requiring the United States to provide economic aid in exchange for the right to build and maintain U.S. military facilities in Palau. Palau became a sovereign state in 1994.

In 2000, former vice president Tommy Remengesau won the presidential election. In December 2008 presidential elections, former ambassador to Taiwan Johnson Toribiong defeated Vice President Elias Camsek Chin, 51%–49%. In November 2012, Tommy Remengesau was elected to another term as president. Remengesau took office for the second time on January 17, 2013.

See also Encyclopedia: Palau.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Palau

Pakistan

Countries

Palestinian State (proposed)