PW
Population · East Asia & Pacific · High income
Palau: population and demography
Population is 17,663 (2025), 215th of 217 in the world and 35th of 37 in East Asia & Pacific. Population growth is -0.18% (2025), 189th of 217 in the world and 30th of 37 in East Asia & Pacific. Urban share is 79.3% (2025), 62nd of 217 in the world and 12th of 37 in East Asia & Pacific.
Population
Palau
Population growth
PalauEast Asia & PacificHigh incomeWorld
12 indicators
Population: Palau in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within East Asia & Pacific; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PopulationPopulation | 17,6632025 | 215/217 | 35/37 | 19,178 | 18,396 | 17,792 | −0.6%since 2015 | 2.4bn | 1.4bn | 8.2bn | |
| Population growthPopulation growth, annual % | -0.18%2025 | 189/217 | 30/37 | 1.45% | -1.69% | -0.03% | −0.5 ppsince 2015 | 0.11% | 0.41% | 0.91% | |
| Urban shareUrban population, % of total | 79.3%2025 | 62/217 | 12/37 | 69.6% | 80.7% | 79.1% | −1.1 ppsince 2015 | 64.8% | 80.2% | 57.8% | |
| DensityPopulation density, people per km² | 38.52024 | 164/216 | 29/37 | 41.7 | 40.0 | 38.8 | −0.1%since 2014 | 97.5 | 27.2 | 62.1 | |
| FertilityFertility rate, births per woman | 1.882024 | 113/217 | 24/37 | 1.82 | 1.94 | 1.97 | −7.3%since 2014 | 1.34 | 1.42 | 2.19 | |
| Birth rateBirth rate, per 1,000 people | 10.72024 | 145/217 | 30/37 | 14.4 | 13.7 | 11.6 | −20%since 2014 | 9.2 | 8.9 | 16.3 | |
| Death rateDeath rate, per 1,000 people | 11.72024 | 19/217 | 2/37 | 9.9 | 9.3 | 11.1 | +27%since 2014 | 7.9 | 9.7 | 7.6 | |
| Aged 0–14Population aged 0–14, % of total | 17.9%2025 | 140/217 | 28/37 | 24.1% | 21.0% | 19.2% | −2.4 ppsince 2015 | 17.6% | 15.5% | 24.4% | |
| Aged 65+Population aged 65+, % of total | 11.8%2025 | 87/217 | 13/37 | 5.2% | 6.1% | 9.5% | +4.3 ppsince 2015 | 13.9% | 20.0% | 10.4% | |
| Dependency ratioAge dependency ratio, % of working-age population | 42.4%2025 | 195/217 | 33/37 | 41.5% | 37.2% | 40.4% | +3.8 ppsince 2015 | 46.2% | 55.4% | 54.5% | |
| Net migrationNet migration, people | -162025 | 89/217 | 13/37 | 120 | -392 | 0 | −45%since 2015 | -37,630 | 2.4m | 0 | |
| Adolescent birthsAdolescent fertility, births per 1,000 women aged 15–19 | 30.22024 | 105/217 | 16/37 | 26.3 | 27.8 | 30.2 | +3.7%since 2014 | 14.3 | 8.7 | 38.3 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
No rated indicator improved over the decade.
Worse than ten years ago
- Adolescent births+3.7%30.2 in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Palau and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Palau. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Palau | Indonesia | Philippines | Micronesia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 17,6632025 | 286m2025 | 117m2025 | 113,6832025 |
| Population growth | -0.18%2025 | 0.78%2025 | 0.81%2025 | 0.46%2025 |
| Urban share | 79.3%2025 | 59.4%2025 | 55.8%2025 | 22.5%2025 |
| Density | 38.52024 | 149.82024 | 388.52024 | 161.42024 |
| Fertility | 1.882024 | 2.122024 | 1.892024 | 2.742024 |
| Birth rate | 10.72024 | 15.82024 | 15.92024 | 22.32024 |
| Death rate | 11.72024 | 7.62024 | 6.32024 | 7.72024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 17.9%2025 | 24.2%2025 | 27.1%2025 | 31.5%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 11.8%2025 | 7.5%2025 | 5.7%2025 | 6.2%2025 |