Land use: arable land NA%; permanent crops NA%; meadows and
pastures NA%; forest and woodland NA%; other NA%
Environment: subject to typhoons from June to December; archipelago
of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain
Note: important location 850 km southeast of the Philippines;
includes World War II battleground of Peleliu and world-famous rock
islands
PEOPLE
Population: 14,411 (July 1991), growth rate 0.7% (1991)
Birth rate: 25 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 12 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 74 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Palauan(s); adjective--Palauan
Ethnic divisions: Palauans are a composite of Polynesian, Malayan,
and Melanesian races
Religion: predominantly Christian, mainly Roman Catholic
Language: Palauan is the official language, though English is
commonplace; inhabitants of the isolated southwestern islands speak a
dialect of Trukese
Literacy: 92% (male 93%, female 91%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980)
Labor force: NA
Organized labor: NA
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
(no short-form name); may change to Republic of Palau after independence;
note--Belau, the native form of Palau, is sometimes used
Type: UN trusteeship administered by the US; constitutional
government signed a Compact of Free Association with the US on
10 January 1986, after approval in a series of UN-observed plebiscites;
until the UN trusteeship is terminated with entry into force of the
Compact, Palau remains under US administration as the Palau District of
the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Capital: Koror; a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast
in eastern Babelthuap
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: still part of the US-administered UN trusteeship
(the last polity remaining under the trusteeship; the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Commonwealth of the
Northern Marianas have left); administered by the Office of Territorial
and International Affairs, US Department of Interior
Constitution: 11 January 1981
Legal system: based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the
legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
National holiday: Constitution Day, 9 July (1979)
Executive branch: US president, US vice president, national
president, national vice president
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Olbiil Era Kelulau or
OEK) consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of
Delegates
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President George BUSH (since 20 January
1989); represented by the Assistant Secretary for Territorial Affairs,
US Department of the Interior, Stella GUERRA (since NA July 1989);
Head of Government--President Ngiratkel ETPISON (since 2 November
1988)
Political parties: no formal parties
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held on 2 November 1988 (next to be held November
1992); Ngiratkel ETPISON 26.3%, Roman TMETUCHL 25.9%,
Thomas REMENGESAU 19.5%, other 28.3%;
Senate--last held 2 November 1988 (next to be held November 1992);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(18 total);
House of Delegates--last held 2 November 1988 (next to be held
November 1992);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(16 total)
Member of: ESCAP (associate), SPC, SPF (observer)
Diplomatic representation: none;
US--US Liaison Officer Lloyd MOSS; US Liaison Office at Top
Side, Neeriyas, Koror (mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Koror, Republic
of Palau 96940); telephone 160-680-920 or 990
Flag: light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon)
shifted slightly to the hoist side
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture
and fishing. Tourism provides some foreign exchange, although the remote
location of Palau and a shortage of suitable facilities has hindered
development. The government is the major employer of the work force,
relying heavily on financial assistance from the US.
GDP: $31.6 million, per capita $2,260; real growth rate NA% (1986)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 20% (1986)
Budget: revenues $6.0 million; expenditures NA, including capital
expenditures of NA (1986)
Exports: $0.5 million (f.o.b., 1986);
commodities--NA;
partners--US, Japan
Imports: $27.2 million (c.i.f., 1986);
commodities--NA;
partners--US
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 16,000 kW capacity; 22 million kWh produced,
1,540 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: tourism, craft items (shell, wood, pearl), some
commercial fishing and agriculture
Agriculture: subsistence-level production of coconut, copra,
cassava, sweet potatoes
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $2
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $62.6 million
Currency: US currency is used
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 25.7 km paved macadam and concrete roads, otherwise
stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads (1986)
Ports: Koror
Airports: 2 with permanent-surface runways 1,220-2,439 m
