Palau - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Palau. Westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes world-famous Rock Islands. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 89 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Geographical data of Palau
| Location | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 7 30 N, 134 30 E |
| Map references | Oceania |
| Tarrain | varying topography from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
| Natural Resources | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
| Natural Hazards | typhoons (June to December) |
| Irrigated Land | 0 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 0 km |
| Border Countries | |
| Coastline | 1,519 km |
| Climate | tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 459 sq km |
| Water Area | 0 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C. |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m |
| Lowest point | Pacific Ocean 0 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 9.3% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 0.7% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 4.3% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 4.3% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 90.4% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 0.3% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
Most of the population is located on the southern end of the main island of Babelthuap
People and Society
In Palau, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70.6%, Carolinian 1.2%, Asian 26.5%, other 1.7% (2020 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.38% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 11.6 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | |
| Total fertility rate | 1.7 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.83 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 45.6% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | |
| Education expenditures | |
| Net Migration rate | 0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Palauan | Palauan(s) |
| Languages | Palauan (official on most islands) 65.2%, other Micronesian 1.9%, English (official) 19.1%, Filipino 9.9%, Chinese 1.2%, other 2.8% (2015 est.) |
| 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.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 17.5% (male 1,976/female 1,849) |
| 15-64 years | 71.3% (male 8,647/female 6,935) |
| 65 years and over | 11.2% (2024 est.) (male 612/female 1,845) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 40.3 (2024 est.) |
| Youth dependency ratio | 24.5 (2024 est.) |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 15.8 (2024 est.) |
| Potential support ratio | 6.3 (2024 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 35.3 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 34.1 years |
| Female | 37.4 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 82.4% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 1.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 277 NGERULMUD (capital) (2018). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.07 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.25 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.33 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 10.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 8.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 75.2 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 72 years |
| Female | 78.5 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 99.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 99.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.1% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 98.4% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 99% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.9% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 1.6% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 1% of population (2022 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 16.3% (2025 est.) |
| Male | 25.2% (2025 est.) |
| Female | 6.8% (2025 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Palau
Want to know more about Palau? Check all different factbooks for Palau below.
