Palau

Geography

Palau is an archipelago in the western part of the Pacific. The dwarf state has a total area of only 460 km² (178 mi²) and a total coastline of 1,519 km (943.9 mi). This land area is about 2.6 times the size of Washington, D.C. Palau is thus the tenth smallest country in Oceania and ranked 200th in the world. The highest elevation in the country (Mount Ngerchelchuus) is 242 meters.

The archipelago consists of about 340 partially uninhabited islands. Palau has no direct neighbours.

The climate in Palau

In Palau, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lesser. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 30 and 31 degrees. In the colder months and depending in the region, the temperature lowers down to 25°C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for Palau and 3 individual regions

Languages

mother tongue	distribution
› Palauan	66.6 %
› English	15.5 %
› Filipino	10.8 %
› Chinese	1.8 %
› Carolinian	0.7 %
other	4.6 %

Religions

Branch	distribution
Adventists	5.3%
Roman Catholics	49.4%
other Protestants	25.6%
Jehovah's Witnesses	1.1%
Modekngei	8.7%
other	9.9%

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Economy

GDP:	2.02 bn $
Exportations:	142.6 M $
Importations:	206.8 M $
› Tourism receipts:	123.00 M $
› Unemployment rate:	1.7 %
› Inflation rate:	1.28 %

According to the definition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Palau is one of the developing countries because of its lower economic performance. With an Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.826 Palau counts as one of the high developed economies by UN-definition. However, the IMF does not share this classification. Palau is sometimes referred to as a tax haven.

Land use

7% Urban areas:	31 km²
11% Agricultural areas:	50 km²
88% Forest:	403 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	125 km
Commercial harbors:	232
› Airports:	3