General reference

• Pronunciation
  International Phonetic Alphabet
  The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
  
  :
• Common English country name: Palau
  Palau
  Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
  
  
• Official English country name: The Republic of Palau
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): Palauan
• Demonym(s):
• Etymology
  Etymology
  Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
  
  : Name of Palau
• ISO country codes: PW, PLW, 585
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:PW
  ISO 3166-2:PW
  ISO 3166-2:PW is the entry for Palau in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Palau, ISO 3166-2 codes are defined...
  
  
• Internet
  Internet
  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
  
   country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  : .pw
  .pw
  .pw is the country code top-level domain of the island country of Palau. Its namespace is exclusively licensed to and is intended to host 2nd level domain names that provide a host of services to end consumers.- Usage :...
  
  

Geography of Palau

• Palau is: an island country
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere
    Northern Hemisphere
    The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
    
     and Eastern Hemisphere
    Eastern Hemisphere
    The Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
    
    
  • Pacific Ocean
    Pacific Ocean
    The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
    
    
    • North Pacific Ocean
      • Oceania
        Oceania
        Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
        
        
        • Micronesia
          Micronesia
          Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
          
          
  • Time zone
    Time zone
    A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
    
    : UTC+09
  • Extreme points of Palau
    • High: Mount Ngerchelchuus
      Mount Ngerchelchuus
      Mount Ngerchelchuus is the Republic of Palau's highest point, located at the border of the states of Ngardmau and Ngaremlengui, on the island of Babeldaob....
      
       on Babeldaob
      Babeldaob
      Babeldaob is the largest island in the island nation of Palau. Its area, 331 km² , makes up over 70% of the area of the entire country, and about 30% of the population, with about 6,000 people living there...
      
       242 m (794 ft)
    • Low: North Pacific Ocean 0 m
  • Land boundaries: none
  • Coastline: North Pacific Ocean 1,519 km
• Population of Palau: 20,000 - 211st most populous country
• Area of Palau: 459 km²
• Atlas of Palau

Environment of Palau

• Climate of Palau
• Environmental issues in Palau
• Ecoregions in Palau
• Renewable energy in Palau
• Geology of Palau
• Protected areas of Palau
  • Biosphere reserves in Palau
  • National parks of Palau
• Wildlife of Palau
  Wildlife of Palau
  For information on the wildlife of Palau, see:*List of birds of Palau*List of mammals of Palau...
  
  
  • Flora of Palau
  • Fauna of Palau
    • Birds of Palau
    • Mammals of Palau

Natural geographic features of Palau

• Fjords of Palau
• Glaciers of Palau
• Islands of Palau
• Lakes of Palau
• Mountains of Palau
  • Volcanoes in Palau
• Rivers of Palau
  • Waterfalls of Palau
• Valleys of Palau
• World Heritage Sites in Palau: None

Administrative divisions of Palau

• States of Palau
  States of Palau
  Palau is divided into sixteen administrative regions, called states .-External links:**...
  
  
  • Municipalities of Palau

States of Palau

Municipalities of Palau

• Capital of Palau: Melekeok
• Cities of Palau

Government and politics of Palau

Main article: Government of Palau and Politics of Palau

Politics of Palau

Politics of Palau takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Palau is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the...

• Form of government
  Form of government
  A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
  
  :
• Capital of Palau: Melekeok

• Elections in Palau
  Elections in Palau
  On a national level, the citizens of Palau elect a president, who serves a four-year term, and acts as head of state. A national bicameral legislature, is also elected, consisting of the Palau National Congress and the Senate of Palau. The National Congress has 16 members, each serving four-year...
  
  
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Palau
• Political scandals of Palau
• Taxation in Palau

Branches of the government of Palau

• Executive Branch, consisting of one Head of Government
  Head of government
  Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
  
  
• Legislative Branch

• • Upper House:Senate
    Senate
    A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
    
    

• • Lower House:House of Delegates
    House of Delegates
    The House of Delegates is the name given to the lower house of the legislature in three U.S. states – Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.House of Delegates may also refer to:...
    
    
• Judiciary Branch

Legislative branch of the government of Palau

• Parliament of Palau - Olbiil Era Kelulau (bicameral)
  • Upper house
    Upper house
    An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
    
    : Senate of Palau
    Senate of Palau
    The Senate of Palau is the upper house of the Palau National Congress . The Senate has 9 members serving four-year terms in single-seat constituencies. In the elections held on 2 November 2004 only non-partisans were elected. No political parties exist.-Presidents of the Senate:...
    
    
  • Lower house
    Lower house
    A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
    
    : House of Delegates
    House of Delegates
    The House of Delegates is the name given to the lower house of the legislature in three U.S. states – Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.House of Delegates may also refer to:...
    
    

Judicial branch of the government of Palau

• Supreme Court of Palau
  Supreme Court of Palau
  This is the Highest Court in the small Pacific Island nation of Palau.Palau, a former part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, has embraced an essentially American-style legal system....
  
  
• National Court

• Court of Common Pleas
  Court of Common Pleas
  Court of Common Pleas may refer to several different courts:England and Wales and Ireland:* Court of Common Pleas * Court of Common Pleas...
  
  

• Land Court
  Land Court
  Land Court or Land claims court is a type of court which is charged with dealings over cases involving land titles and for disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies...
  
  

Foreign relations of Palau

• Diplomatic missions in Palau
• Diplomatic missions of Palau
  Diplomatic missions of Palau
  This is a list of diplomatic missions of Palau. The Republic of Palau, a small Pacific island state in a Compact of Free Association with the United States, only has a small number of diplomatic missions.-North America:** Washington DC...
  
  
• United States-Palau relations

International organization membership

• African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
• Asian Development Bank
  Asian Development Bank
  The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
  
   (ADB)
• Food and Agriculture Organization
  Food and Agriculture Organization
  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
  
   (FAO)
• International Atomic Energy Agency
  International Atomic Energy Agency
  The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
  
   (IAEA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
  
   (IBRD)
• International Civil Aviation Organization
  International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
  
   (ICAO)
• International Development Association
  International Development Association
  The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
  
   (IDA)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...
  
   (IFRCS)
• International Finance Corporation
  International Finance Corporation
  The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
  
   (IFC)
• International Monetary Fund
  International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
  
   (IMF)
• International Olympic Committee
  International Olympic Committee
  The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
  
   (IOC)

• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
  
   (ICRM)
• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is a member organization of the World Bank Group that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in...
  
   (MIGA)
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Pacific Islands Forum
  Pacific Islands Forum
  The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum...
  
   (PIF)
• Secretariat of the Pacific Community
  Secretariat of the Pacific Community
  The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC , is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose membership includes both nations and territories...
  
   (SPC)
• South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement
  South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement
  The South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement is a nonreciprocal trade agreement in which Australia and New Zealand offer duty-free and unrestricted access for specified products originating from the developing island member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum...
  
   (Sparteca)
• United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   (UN)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
  
   (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• World Health Organization
  World Health Organization
  The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
  
   (WHO)

Law and order in Palau

• Capital punishment in Palau
• Constitution of Palau
• Crime in Palau
• Human rights in Palau
  • LGBT rights in Palau
    LGBT rights in Palau
    - References :...
    
    
  • Freedom of religion in Palau
• Law enforcement in Palau
  Law enforcement in Palau
  Defense of Palau is the responsibility of the United States, but local police matters are handled by the Palau Police, the national police force, and some of the sixteen states had separate police departments in the 1980s and 1990s....
  
  

Military of Palau

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    Commander-in-Chief
    A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
    
    :
    • Ministry of Defence of Palau
• Forces
  • Army of Palau
  • Navy of Palau
  • Air Force of Palau
  • Special forces of Palau
• Military history of Palau
• Military ranks of Palau

History of Palau

Main article: History of Palau

History of Palau

Palau was initially settled over 3,000 years ago, and perhaps 4,500 years ago, probably by migrants from the Philippines. British traders became prominent visitors in the 18th century, followed by expanding Spanish influence in the 19th century. Following its defeat in the Spanish-American War,...

, Timeline of the history of Palau, and Current events of Palau

• Economic history of Palau
• Military history of Palau

Culture of Palau

• Architecture of Palau
• Cuisine of Palau
• Ethnic minorities in Palau
• Festivals in Palau
• Humor in Palau
• Languages of Palau
• Media in Palau
• National symbols of Palau
  • Coat of arms of Palau
    Coat of arms of Palau
    The seal of Palau depicts a traditional meeting center. It is the same as the seal used by the legislative body, the Palau National Congress...
    
    
  • Flag of Palau
    Flag of Palau
    The flag of Palau was adopted on January 1, 1981, when the island group separated from the United Nations Trust Territory. Like in the flags of several other Pacific island groups, blue is the colour used to represent the ocean and the nation's place within it...
    
    
  • National anthem of Palau
• People of Palau
• Prostitution in Palau
• Public holidays in Palau
  Public holidays in Palau
  Public holidays in PalauDateEnglish NameLocal NameRemarksJanuary 1New Year's Day The same as everyone else on the Gregorian Calendar.March 15Youth Day  May 5Senior Citizens Day   June 1President's Day   ...
  
  
• Records of Palau
• Religion in Palau
  Religion in Palau
  Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in Palau; approximately 65 percent of the population are members. Estimates of other religious groups with a sizable membership include the Evangelical Church, 2,000; Seventh-day Adventists, 1,000; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , 300; and...
  
  
  • Buddhism in Palau
  • Christianity in Palau
  • Hinduism in Palau
  • Islam in Palau
    Islam in Palau
    Islam in Palau is practised by approximately 500 Bengali Muslims, and recently a few Uyghurs detained in Guantanamo Bay were allowed to settle in the island nation. There are 2 mosques in Palau, one of which is located in Koror....
    
    
  • Judaism in Palau
  • Sikhism in Palau
• World Heritage Sites in Palau: None

Art in Palau

• Art in Palau
• Cinema of Palau
• Literature of Palau
• Music of Palau
  Music of Palau
  The music of Palau finds its heritage in Micronesia, but it has been supplemented with influences from the United States and Western Europe, as well as Japan....
  
  
• Television in Palau
• Theatre in Palau

Sports in Palau

• Football in Palau
  Football in Palau
  The sport of football in the country of Palau is run by the Palau Soccer Association. The association administers the national football team, as well as the Palau Soccer League....
  
  
• Palau at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Palau

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 186th (one hundred and eighty sixth)

• Agriculture in Palau
• Banking in Palau
  • National Bank of Palau
• Communications in Palau
  Communications in Palau
  Telephones - main lines in use:6,600 Telephones - mobile cellular:0 Telephone system:domestic:Palau National Communications Companyinternational:satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat...
  
  
  • Internet in Palau
• Companies of Palau

• Currency of Palau
  Currency
  In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
  
  : Dollar
  • ISO 4217
    ISO 4217
    ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
    
    : USD

• Economic history of Palau
• Energy in Palau
  • Energy policy of Palau
  • Oil industry in Palau
• Mining in Palau
• Tourism in Palau
• Transport in Palau

• Palau Stock Exchange

Infrastructure of Palau

• Health care in Palau
• Transportation in Palau
  • Airports in Palau
  • Rail transport in Palau
  • Roads in Palau
• Water supply and sanitation in Palau

See also

• Index of Palau-related articles
• List of international rankings
• List of Palau-related topics
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of geography
  Outline of geography
  The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...
  
  
• Outline of Oceania
  Outline of Oceania
  Oceania is a geographical, and often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term is also sometimes used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate Pacific islands,....
  
  
• Palauan language
  Palauan language
  Palauan is one of the two nationally recognized official languages spoken in the Republic of Palau...
  
  

External links

• Official Site of the Republic of Palau
• Palau National Congress - Olbiil Era Kelulau, Senate