19907
Palauan (official on most islands) 65.2%, other Micronesian 1.9%, English (official) 19.1%, Filipino 9.9%, Chinese 1.2%, other 2.8%
MELEKEOK (capital) 299 (2012)
- Conventional long form
- Republic of Palau
- Conventional short form
- Palau
- Local long form
- Beluu er a Belau
- Local short form
- Belau
presidential republic in free association with the US
- Name
- Melekeok
- Geographic coordinates
- 7 30 N, 134 37 E
- Time difference
- UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
The economy is dominated by tourism, fishing, and subsistence agriculture. Government is a major employer of the work force relying on financial assistance from the US under the Compact of Free Association (Compact) with the US that took effect after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994. The US provided Palau with roughly $700 million in aid for the first 15 years following commencement of the Compact in 1994 in return for unrestricted access to its land and waterways for strategic purposes. The population enjoys a per capita income roughly double that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia.
- Inflation
- 2.754%
- Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
- 75.4%
- Real Interest Rate
- None%
- Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
- 1.089%
- Current Account Balance
- US$ -24,245,932
- Labor Force, Total
- 941,783
- Employment in Agriculture
- 11.80%
- Employment in Industry
- 24.60%
- Employment in Services
- 63.60%
- Unemployment Rate
- 23.70%
- Imports of goods and services
- US$ 207,000,000
- Exports of goods and services
- US$ 179,500,000
- Total Merchandise Trade
- 61.43%
- FDI, net inflows
- US$ 34,583,158
- Commercial Service Exports
- US$ 161,940,447
coconuts, cassava (manioc, tapioca), sweet potatoes; fish, pigs, chickens, eggs, bananas, papaya, breadfruit, calamansi, soursop, Polynesian chestnuts, Polynesian almonds, mangoes, taro, guava, beans, cucumbers, squash/pumpkins (various), eggplant, green onions, kangkong (watercress), cabbages (various), radishes, betel nuts, melons, peppers, noni, okra
tourism, fishing, subsistence agriculture
- Commodities
- shellfish, tuna, other fish (many species)
- Partners
- Commodities
- machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs
- Partners