Palau Country Overview
Where is Palau located? The island nation of Palau is located in the Pacific Ocean. The time zone map indicates that Palau is located in a world time zone called “Palau Time” which is 9 hours time difference from Coordinated Universal Time. Accordingly, clocks on Palau are 9 hours later than those on the world clock (UTC+9). This time difference stays the same throughout the year as there is no daylight saving time change in Palau.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Palau is 21,685, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 21,685 |
| Population growth rate | 0.39% |
| Birth rate | 11.30 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall life expectancy | 72.33 years |
| Men life expectancy | 69.17 years |
| Women life expectancy | 75.68 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 19.37% |
| 15-64 years | 72.13% |
| 65 years and above | 8.50% |
| Median age | 33.20 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 1.12 |
| Population density | 47.24 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 68.60% |
| Ethnicities | |
| 70% Palau (Micronesians), 28% Asians (Filipinos, Chinese, Vietnamese), 2% North Americans and Europeans | |
| Religions | |
| Christians (Catholics (Roman Catholic), Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one third of the population follows this indigenous religion) | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.814 |
| HDI ranking | 55th out of 194 |
People in Palau
About 21,000 people live in the island republic of Palau. Half of them – 50 out of 100 residents – live on the island of Koror, which was also the capital of the country. This is where most of the job opportunities can be found, as many restaurants, hotels and shops are based here. About 41 people live per square kilometer. In addition to Koror, the islands of Babelthuap, Peleliu and Angaur are settled. Most of Palau’s islands remain uninhabited, however.
70 out of 100 residents – the Palau – are Micronesians, Malay and Melanesians,whereby the population groups mixed. 28 out of 100 people are Asians such as Filipinos, Chinese and Vietnamese. Some whites also live on Palau, most of them originally from Europe.
Languages in Palau
The people speak Palaui and English. Both languages are official languages. Most people speak in Palaui, but the proportion of people who speak Filipino is increasing. 10 out of 100 can also communicate in English. There are also a few other Asian languages such as Chinese and Japanese.
Religions in Palau
Most of the people are Christians and most of them are Catholics. A specialty on Palau is a local religion called Ngara Modekngei or simply Modekngei. In this religion, Christian ideas of God mix with the original beliefs of the local population.