placestats

Last European coloniser: Germany. These are labels that describe the country, not numbers, so they are never compared with other measures. The numbers behind them, such as population shares, are.

Palau

Against high income countries, Palau ranks 27th of 67 on labour and 76th of 80 on infrastructure. Each ranking counts only the countries that report that score, so the totals differ and the two ranks can’t be compared directly. Both compare Palau with countries of similar wealth. That is the only kind of ranking that tells you something a ranking by income does not already show.

How it has changed

Every measure Palau reports, over all the years it has been published. Pick one. Hover or use the arrow keys to read a year. Gaps in a line are years with no data. They are left open, not filled in.

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Scores by area

Each score averages the measures in one area, such as health. Each measure is first put on a common scale and turned so that higher is always better. Zero is the average country in an average year. One point is a typical gap between countries (a standard deviation), so +1 means about one typical gap above average. These are summaries, not measurements. See how the country scores are built and how the topic scores compare with each other.

ScoreValueRank, all countriesRank, similar incomeMostly income?
Health score 2023-0.10122 of 19347 of 63moderate +0.32
Education score 2023+0.8455 of 19946 of 72proxy +0.81
Infrastructure score 2023+0.86118 of 21076 of 80proxy +0.90
Gender score 2014-0.54165 of 18654 of 58moderate +0.37
Environment score 2024-0.47161 of 21359 of 83moderate -0.33
Labour score 2023+0.8329 of 19527 of 67high +0.79

The last column shows how closely each score just tracks national income. The number is its link with GDP per person (the value of everything a country produces, divided by its people), from −1 to +1. A score marked proxy is mostly a measure of how rich the country is. Its rank among all countries says little that GDP per person does not. That is why the rank among similar-income countries sits beside it.

The measures behind them

Every measure reported for Palau, grouped by area. Some measures have no agreed better direction, such as population growth, inflation and military spending. They are listed here but left out of every score, since there is no fair way to say which way is better. Some names use technical terms: PPP means adjusted for what money buys in each country, HDI is a United Nations score combining life expectancy, schooling and income, and a Gini indexmeasures how unequally income is shared. Each measure’s own page explains it.

crime

Conflict deaths0per 100,000 people2025higher is worse
Armed conflict present01 if any conflict, else 02025higher is worse
Homicide rate11.2per 100,000 population2018higher is worse

culture

Women in a union48.3%% of women aged 15-492020no agreed direction

demography

Median age37.8years2023no agreed direction
Age at childbearing28.5years2023no agreed direction
Population17,663people2025no agreed direction
Population growth-0.181%% per year2025no agreed direction
Urbanization79.3%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 65+11.8%% of population2025no agreed direction
Population 0-1417.9%% of population2025no agreed direction
Fertility rate1.88births per woman2024no agreed direction
Birth rate10.7per 1,000 people2024no agreed direction
Net migration-16people2025no agreed direction
Migrant share of population29.5%% of population2024no agreed direction

economy

HDI0.786index, 0 to 12023higher is better
Inequality-adjusted HDI0.616index, 0 to 12023higher is better
GDP per capita (PPP)$19,699international $2025higher is better
GNI per capita (PPP)$18,498international $2024higher is better
GDP per capita (market)$15,617US$2025higher is better
GDP growth6.29%% per year2025no agreed direction
Inflation-0.418%% per year2025no agreed direction
Trade openness106%% of GDP2024no agreed direction
FDI inflows21.5%% of GDP2024no agreed direction
Tax revenue18.1%% of GDP2020no agreed direction
Government consumption38.3%% of GDP2024no agreed direction
Government expense59%% of GDP2020no agreed direction

education

Expected schooling14.1years2023higher is better
Mean years of schooling13.3years2023higher is better
Education spending3.44%% of GDP2023no agreed direction
Primary enrollment107%% gross2024higher is better
Secondary enrollment95.7%% gross2024higher is better
Tertiary enrollment71.8%% gross2024higher is better
Adult literacy99.8%% of adults2020higher is better
Compulsory schooling12years2025no agreed direction
Out of school, primary1.33%% of primary-age children2024higher is worse

environment

CO2 per capita82.8t CO2e per capita2024higher is worse
Forest area90.5%% of land area2023higher is better
Agricultural land9.35%% of land area2023no agreed direction
Protected land31.4%% of land area2025higher is better

gender

Gender Development Index0.992ratio of women's HDI to men's2023no agreed direction
Women ministers12.5%% of ministers2024higher is better
Women in parliament25%% of seats2025higher is better
Women in management45.5%% of managers2020higher is better

governance

Political rights (FH)1rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Civil liberties (FH)1rating (1-7, 1 = most free)2025higher is worse
Refugees originating28.2per 100,000 people2023higher is worse
Control of corruption0.505index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Rule of law1.17index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Government effectiveness0.01index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Regulatory quality0.481index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Voice and accountability1.04index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better
Political stability1.24index (approx. -2.5 to 2.5)2024higher is better

health

Life expectancy69.4years2024higher is better
Infant mortality18.6per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Under-5 mortality21.4per 1,000 live births2024higher is worse
Health spending10.9%% of GDP2023no agreed direction
Hospital beds4.34per 1,000 people2010no agreed direction
Basic water access99.5%% of population2024higher is better
Basic sanitation99%% of population2024higher is better
Adolescent fertility30.2births per 1,000 women aged 15-192024higher is worse
Maternal mortality89per 100,000 live births2023higher is worse
Skilled birth attendance97.2%% of births2020higher is better
Tobacco use23%% of adults2024higher is worse
Road traffic deaths4.78per 100,000 population2013higher is worse
Physicians1.81per 1,000 people2023higher is better
DTP3 immunisation97%% of children aged 12-23 months2024higher is better
Tuberculosis incidence28per 100,000 people2024higher is worse
Anaemia in women25.9%% of women aged 15-492023higher is worse
Out-of-pocket health spending12.1%% of health spending2023higher is worse
Food insecurity28.1%% of population2023higher is worse
Adult obesity40.5%% of adults2024higher is worse
Health coverage index75index, 0 to 1002023higher is better

infrastructure

Internet users83.9%% of population2024higher is better
Mobile subscriptions135per 100 people2023higher is better
Electricity access100%% of population2024higher is better
Slum share of urban population0.618%% of urban population2022higher is worse
Fixed broadband7.33per 100 people2023higher is better

labor

Informal employment7.27%% of employment2023higher is worse
Youth not in work or study11.3%% of 15 to 24 year olds2023higher is worse

Values are the most recent in 2010–2025, and different measures can come from different years. The year is shown beside each. Nothing here ranks countries by merit. An area score averages whatever measures its publishers happen to collect, and the choice of what to collect is itself a judgement made by someone else. All countries · How the country data works

Countries to compare with Palau

Also in East Asia & Pacific: American Samoa, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Dem. People's Rep., Korea, Rep., Lao PDR, Macao SAR, China, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Fed. Sts., Mongolia, Myanmar, Naoero, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Viet Nam.

Also high income, in other regions: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Austria, Bahamas, The, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, and more on the full list of countries.