constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 1 October 1994
republic
Independence date
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
Religions
Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4% (2000 census)
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Languages
Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census)
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
Exports
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
External Debt
$136,800,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
6
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Area
459 km sq
2,780,400 km sq
Coastline
1,519 km
4,989 km
Climate
tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
