y

Location:
Oceania, Micronesia, in the North Pacific Ocean, 850 km southeast of
the Philippines
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total area:
458 sq km
land area:
458 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
1,519 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
Climate:
wet season May to November; hot and humid
Terrain:
about 200 islands varying geologically from the high, mountainous main
island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large
barrier reefs
Natural resources:
forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed
minerals
Land use:
arable land:
NA%
permanent crops:
NA%
meadows and pastures:
NA%
forest and woodland:
NA%
other:
NA%
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
NA
natural hazards:
subject to typhoons (June to December)
international agreements:
NA
Note:
includes World War II battleground of Peleliu and world-famous rock
islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in
the Caroline chain

@Pacific Islands (Palau), Trust Territory of the, People

Population:
16,366 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.81% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
22.54 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
6.61 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
25.07 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
71.01 years
male:
69.14 years
female:
73.02 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.91 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Palauan(s)
adjective:
Palauan
Ethnic divisions:
Palauans are a composite of Polynesian, Malayan, and Melanesian races
Religions:
Christian (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the
Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints),
Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion
which is indigenous to Palau)
Languages:
English (official in all of Palau's 16 states), Sonsorolese (official
in the state of Sonsoral), Angaur and Japanese (in the state of
Anguar), Tobi (in the state of Tobi