Palau

Official name Beluu er a Belau (Palauan); Republic of Palau (English)
Form of government republic with two legislative houses (Senate [13]; House of Delegates [16])
Head of state and government President: Tommy Remengesau
Capital Melekeok, on Babelthuap1
Official languages Palauan; English
Official religion none
Monetary unit U.S. dollar (U.S.$)
Population (2013 est.) 20,900COLLAPSE
Total area (sq mi) 188
Total area (sq km) 488
Urban-rural population

Urban: (2011) 84.2%

Rural: (2011) 15.8%

Life expectancy at birth

Male: (2011) 68.6 years

Female: (2011) 75.1 years

Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate

Male: (2005) 99.6%

Female: (2005) 99.8%

GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2013) 10,970

1Formal transfer of capital to Melekeok on Babelthuap from Koror took place Oct. 1, 2006.

Background of Palau

Palau, country in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of some 340 coral and volcanic islands perched on the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. The Palau (also spelled Belau or Pelew) archipelago lies in the southwest corner of Micronesia, with Guam 830 miles (1,330 km) to the northeast, New Guinea 400 miles (650 km) to the south, and the Philippines 550 miles (890 km) to the west, A huge barrier reef system, continuous on the west and broken on the east, encircles most of the archipelago. Its major populated islands are Babelthuap (Babeldaob), Koror, Malakal, Arakabesan, and Peleliu. The sparsely populated Kayangel Islands to the north of Babelthuap and the raised coral islands of Angaur, Sonsorol, Pulo Anna, and Tobi south of Peleliu lie outside the barrier reef system.

Palau was a member of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which was established in 1947 and administered by the United States. The U.S. government dissolved the trusteeship in 1986, but repeated measures to win the required support for a compact of free association between Palau and the United States were unsuccessful until 1993. The Republic of Palau officially became a sovereign state on Oct. 1, 1994.

Koror island, rising to 2,061 feet (628 metres) just south of Babelthuap, is home to Koror city, the largest population centre and former capital. Melekeok, on Babelthuap, became the capital in October 2006.

Disclaimer

This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].

Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.