CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Palau


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!| Background:
 * After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 458 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: extended fishing zone: 200 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
 * 7 30 N, 134 30 E
 * Oceania
 * total: 458 sq km
 * slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 1,519 km
 * territorial sea: 3 nm
 * Tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November
 * varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs
 * lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
 * forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals
 * arable land: 8.7%
 * NA sq km
 * typhoons (June to December)
 * inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
 * westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 68.8% (male 7,456; female 6,319) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 437; female 480) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 32.1 years female: 30 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 13.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 17.07 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 66.67 years female: 73.15 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Palauan !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.)
 * 20,016 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 26.6% (male 2,746; female 2,578)
 * total: 31.1 years
 * 1.46% (2004 est.)
 * 18.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.89 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
 * total: 15.3 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 69.82 years
 * 2.46 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Palauan(s)
 * Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.)
 * Christian (Roman Catholics 49%, 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)
 * English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official)
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Palau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) local long form: Beluu er a Belau !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% !| Legislative branch: elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (four new members elected); House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 (one new member elected) !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 chancery: 1800 K Street NW, Suite 714, Washington, DC 20006 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Palau
 * constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 1 October 1994
 * Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror
 * 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol
 * 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship)
 * Constitution Day, 9 July (1979)
 * 1 January 1981
 * based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
 * bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
 * Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas
 * none
 * NA
 * ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey KYOTA
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Francis J. RICCIARDONE, US ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
 * light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2001 est.) !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: NA services: NA !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development.
 * purchasing power parity - $174 million
 * 1% (2001 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.)
 * agriculture: NA
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 3.4% (2000 est.)
 * 9,845 (2000)
 * agriculture 20%, industry NA, services NA (1990)
 * 2.3% (2000 est.)
 * revenues: $57.7 million
 * coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes
 * tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making
 * NA
 * $18 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
 * shellfish, tuna, copra, garments
 * US, Japan, Singapore (2000)
 * $99 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
 * machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs
 * US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, Korea (2000)
 * $0 (FY99/00)
 * $155.8 million ; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities
 * US dollar (USD)
 * USD
 * the US dollar is used
 * 1 October - 30 September
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: NA international: country code - 680; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
 * 6,700 (2002)
 * 1,000 (2002)
 * general assessment: NA
 * AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002)
 * 12,000 (1997)
 * 1 (cable) (2005)
 * 11,000 (1997)
 * .pw
 * 1 (2002)
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!| Highways: paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.)
 * total: 61 km
 * Koror
 * none
 * 3 (2003 est.)
 * total: 1
 * total: 2
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!| Military branches: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: !| Military - note:
 * no regular military forces; Police Force
 * NA
 * NA
 * defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years
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