Key Facts
- GDP (ppp) per CAPITA
- $8,100 (2008 est.)
- Inflation Rate
- 2.7% (2005 est.)
- Population
- 20,796 (July 2009 est.)
- Ease of Doing Business
- 91/181
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Palau : Introduction
After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence.
Capital City:
Melekeok (+9 GMT)
Currency:
US dollar (USD)
(convert)
Languages:
Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5%
Calling Code:
680
Voltage:
110
Religions:
Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4%
quick links
Palau: World Bank Doing Business IndicatorsPalau: BBC Country Profile
Palau: MSU Global Access
There are no Suggested Links at this time
Sources:
CIA World Factbook (September 2009)
U.S. Dept. of State Country Background Notes (August 2009)
