ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Palau

East Asia & Pacific. High income. Capital: Koror. Population 17,663 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
15,510 17,909 20,308 1995 2025 19,699
GDP growth (%)
−11.4 0.0 11.5 1995 2025 6.3
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
−1.0 5.8 12.5 2002 2025 −0.4
Life expectancy at birth (years)
63.4 66.3 69.3 1995 2024 69.4

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 19,699 2025 +1,189 −406 94 of 199
GDP growth% 6.3% 2025 +12.3 pp −2.3 pp 33 of 209
GDP per person growth% 6.5% 2025 +12.5 pp −1.8 pp 12 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 19,890 2025 +4,450 +5,710 67 of 201
Trade% of GDP 105.8% 2024 −9.7 pp −40.0 pp 53 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 16.6% 2025 −0.5 pp +4.3 pp 10 of 195
Central government debt% of GDP 85.2% 2019 * +63.7 pp +60.5 pp –

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual −0.4% 2025 −0.6 pp −1.4 pp 174 of 180

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 17,663 2025 −129 −107 215 of 217
Population growth% annual −0.2% 2025 −0.1 pp −0.5 pp 189 of 217
Urban population% of total 79.3% 2025 +0.2 pp −1.1 pp 62 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 69.4 2024 +0.4 +0.3 157 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 18.6 2024 −1.2 +0.9 71 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 10.9% 2023 −0.3 pp −0.1 pp 18 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 99.8% 2020 * +3.3 pp – –
Government spending on education% of GDP 3.4% 2023 0.0 pp – 112 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 83.9% 2024 – – 86 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 100.0% 2024 0.0 pp +0.2 pp 70 of 215

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 0.9% 2022 +0.3 pp +0.9 pp 196 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 18,557 +0.7 49,305 13,961 1,637 −0.2% 40% 45%
GDP growth 0.2% +0.9 2.2% 3.6% 6.8 – – –
GDP per person growth 0.2% +0.9 1.7% 3.4% 6.8 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 15,218 +4.7 37,020 7,690 999 +3.4% 55% 52%
Trade 114.3% −0.5 100.6% 98.8% 17.5 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 19.1% −0.4 2.1% 2.1% 6.0 – – –
Central government debt 44.7% +1.6 – – 25.2 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 3.4% −0.8 2.3% 2.1% 5.0 – – –
Population 17,775 −2.9 2,930,494 1,418,517 38 −0.1% 1% 1%
Population growth 0.0% −1.1 0.4% 0.6% 0.2 – – –
Urban population 79.5% −0.4 81.3% 65.4% 0.5 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 69.0 +2.1 81.3 73.0 0.2 – – –
Infant mortality 19.1 −0.8 3.6 13.9 0.7 – – –
Health spending 11.8% −0.5 8.0% 5.9% 1.8 – – –
Access to electricity 99.9% +0.4 100.0% 100.0% 0.2 – – –
Renewable energy 0.5% +1.1 11.4% 11.4% 0.3 – – –

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