Micronesia · PLW
Palau
The story · 8 chapters
How it was drawn
The westernmost Caroline Islands passed from Spain to Germany, Japan and the United States, then chose independence on their own in 1994.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states Palau fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Kingdom of Spain1885 to 1899
Spain claims the Carolines, including Palau, and wins a papal ruling against Germany in 1885, but rules lightly. Defeated by the United States in 1898, it sells the islands to Germany the next year.
- German Empire1899 to 1914
Germany rules Palau from 1899, mines phosphate on Angaur and presses islanders into plantation work. Japan seizes the islands in October 1914, at the start of the First World War.
- Empire of Japan1914 to 1945
Japan governs Palau for thirty years and makes Koror its colonial capital, where settlers come to outnumber Palauans. In the war Palau becomes a fortress, and the battle of Peleliu in 1944 devastates the southern islands.
- United States1944 to 1994
American forces take Peleliu and Angaur in 1944 and then run Palau as a UN trust territory. Palau's 1981 constitution bans nuclear material, clashing with American defence needs, and it takes eight votes before a Compact is approved in 1993.
Palau is one of the few states that recognise Taiwan. From 2017 China steered its tour groups away from Palau, and Palau has protested Chinese vessels operating in its waters without permission.
Today
Palau now
C. and developed a complex, highly organized matrilineal society where high-ranking women picked the chiefs. The islands were the westernmost part of the widely scattered Pacific islands north of New Guinea that Spanish explorers named the Caroline Islands in the 17th century. The 18th and 19th centuries saw occasional visits of whalers and traders as Spain gained some influence in the islands and administered it from the Philippines.
- Capital
- Ngerulmud
- Government
- presidential republic in free association with the US
- Head of government
- Surangel Whipps Jr.
- Languages
- Palauan, Japanese, English
- Area
- 460 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population17,8002023 · 7,500 in 1950
- Life expectancy69.3 years2023 · 52.7 years in 1950
- Living in cities79%2025 · 26% in 1950
- Literacy100%2020
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- United States
- Japan
- China
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.