constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 1 October 1994
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
30 November 1966 (from UK)
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)
Protestant 63.4% (Anglican 28.3%, Pentecostal 18.7%, Methodist 5.1%, other 11.3%), Roman Catholic 4.2%, other Christian 7%, other 4.8%, none or unspecified 20.6% (2008 est.)
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)
English
Exports
manufactures, sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components
External Debt
$4,490,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Barbadian dollars (BBD) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Area
459 km sq
430 km sq
Coastline
1,519 km
97 km
Climate
tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November
