Palau

Palau is a country located in Oceania in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines, covering an area of approximately 459 square kilometers. As of 2025, Palau has a population of about 21,947, with Palauan and English as official languages alongside widely spoken Filipino and Chinese. The country features varying topography from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs, with a tropical climate that is hot and humid with a wet season from May to November. Ngerulmud serves as the capital, and the government operates as a presidential republic in free association with the United States.

Palau has a high-income Pacific island economy with a GDP of $281.85 million and a GDP per capita of $15,800, driven by tourism, fishing, and subsistence agriculture. Key agricultural products include coconuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, fish, pigs, chickens, eggs, bananas, papaya, breadfruit, taro, and various vegetables, while natural resources include forests, minerals, marine products, and deep-seabed minerals. Palau is environmentally fragile with a subsistence agriculture and fishing base, and it relies on US aid. The country is rebounding post-pandemic with a growing tourism industry and services sector, maintaining a very high living standard and low unemployment.