constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 1 October 1994
republic
Independence date
15 August 1945 (from Japan)
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)
Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census)
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)
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
Exports
semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals
External Debt
$397,300,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
South Korean won (KRW) per US dollar - 1,101.7 (2008 est.), 929.2 (2007), 954.8 (2006), 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
31
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Area
459 km sq
99,720 km sq
Coastline
1,519 km
2,413 km
Climate
tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November
temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
