Palau

• The current population of Palau is 18,035 and increasing.
• The capital of Palau as of now is Ngerulmud, Melekeok. The city became the capital of Palau in 2006 when it replaced the Koror City, the former capital of the nation.
• The total island area is currently 459 km2
• the currency of Palau is the United States dollar (USD).
• The country of Palau consist of 340 islands and on these islands the official languages are Palauan and English, although some islands speak there own native language such as Sonsorolese on Sonsorol and Tobian on Tobi

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Palau is located in the continent of Oceania, Palau covers 459 square kilometers of land, Located 800 km north of the equator, 800 km east of the Philippines, and 3,000 km south-south-east to Townsville, Australia. Palau is a independent democratic republic, the Senate has up to 13 members elected nation-wide and other branches of the government are all democratic meaning members are elected by the public and presidential elections are held every four years.

WAR INVOLVEMENT: At the start of World War I in 1914 Japan had taken over the Caroline islands and Palau had become a Japanese colony. Palau became a significant military base during World War II because of its close proximity to the rest of Asia mainly performing air raids on the Philippines. Following the US's victory over the Japanese, Palau became part of the US-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. However independence from the US, was still a long way off and was achieved many years later. Palau was only strategically involved in the war because of its position in the pacific and was highly sought after to possess by the Japanese and the United states. Who ever possessed the pacific islands had the ability to control the pacific during the war, constructing bases for naval and army purposes to maintain there rule.

RELIGION: A quarter of Palau's population practices Modekngei, which is a hybrid of ancient Palauan customs and Christianity. The religion rised up around the time of the First World War, Followers of the Modekngei faith accept Jesus Christ as savior, but also practice there indigenous rituals and customs of traditional deities. Some of the practices of Modekngei include leading a lifestyle based on purity, with strong attachments to there family and there community. The use of Alcohol and drugs are prohibited by the religion, Church attendance is also high among followers of Modekngei.

RELIGION: Although foreign populations that have immigrated to Palau follow other religions, as you can see on the pie chart on the left. The traditional culture of Modenknegi is mostly only practiced by the native indigenous cultures because of its use of traditional Palaun customs. Palau's culture consists of the village meetinghouses often decorated with painted carvings. They artistically tell the region’s history and the traditional way of life of Palau's people. The country’s social life is much like the Roman Catholics except they still acknowledge there indigenous traditions like marriage, funeral, inheritance, and the passage of traditional titles.

CLIMATE: The average daily temperature in Palau is 28°C throughout the year, changes in the temperature from season to season are relatively small and strongly tied to changes in the surrounding ocean temperature because of its geological position. The main wet season is from May to October, while the driest months are February to April. On average Palau receives more than about 8 inches (200 mm) rainfall every month due to Palau’s location on the edge of the Pacific. The heavy rainfall that Palau experiences is caused by the air rising over warm water where winds converge, resulting in thunderstorm activity. As you can see in the above Chart on the right, average temperatures are increasing every 5 years which is a fast rate and this impact could be the result of the nations new use of industrial industries releasing carbon dioxide or the impacts of climate change and what it means for country's closer to the equator.

GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES: The entire nation consists of more than 300 islands, many of them entirely uninhabited some are actively volcanic, together makeing a marine reserve that's bigger than the U.S. state of California that is 500,000 square kilometres in size. Palau is made up of different types of islands which are volcanic, reef and islands formed out of limestone. Palau is home to a rare geological feature called Jellyfish Lake which a clear water lake filled with nearly two million jellyfish, the salt water from the ocean seeps through gaps in the limestone into the lake, whilst other marine life is kept out. Palau is the second largest landmass in Micronesia with an area of over 200 square kilometres and is recognised as one of the largest undisturbed tropical rainforests in Micronesia. Palau's eastern shore drops off steeply to the Palau Trench which reaches a maximum depth of 27,000 feet while the western shore slopes gradually to depths of 18,000 feet.

NATURAL DISASTERS: Palau is south of the main typhoon zone, so tropical cyclones (or typhoons as they are known in Palau) are rare. However, Palau does experience heavy rains and strong winds from tropical storms and typhoons which pass from the south to the north of the pacific. Large typhoons or tropical storms that pass sadly usually generate heavy swells that can damage reefs which can attract surfing tourist but damage the ecosystem. Two recent natural disasters, both typhoons had hit Palau as seen above the damages had resulted in Palau needing to receive economic aid from allied country's of the United Nations.

RESOURCES: Palau is very limited to resources on land, there are several areas of general environmental concern in Palau because they are the only domestic resources available, including illegal fishing and over-harvesting, extensive sand and coral dredging in the Palau lagoon. Palau also has a problem with a small water supply and limited agricultural land to support the size of the population. Palau’s agriculture consists of farmers that produce coconuts, copra, cassava (manioc, tapioca), sweet potatoes; fish for the local population. Marine resources include more than 3,500 species and at least 270 fish and invertebrates are sources of food, minimum 250 species are sold in the aquarium trade and at least 100 species have medicinal use. this is Unsustainable because overpopulation seems to be a very common problem for economy's and Palau can only produce so much fresh clean water for a certain amount of the population. Over- fishing seems to be another problem among the islands as over-fishing can lead to starvation and poverty around the island too.

Total fertility rate (children per woman) 2.21 births per woman (2015) Population growth rate and projected population numbers: 0.56% as of 2019 and 2020, expecting to grow another 0.29% by 2025. 2.21 births per woman (2015)

Currently Palau's population is going to shrink in the future and is in the stage 3 category because theirs less children then adults, adding that there is far more males then females which is a problem for population growth. This pyramid shows the 20-30 age group isn't having as much births as the older generations did. A small population is never good for a nations economy, a small populations results in no taxes and the consequences for that is less government funding is provided for things such as medicine, schools, roads, agriculture. which causes economy's to dive into extreme poverty without financial aid/help from other nations.

Life expectancy for males and females

• male: 70.2 years
• female: 76.8 years

Total Fertility Rate:

• 2.21 births per woman.

How many people have significant diseases? In 2012 34% of deaths attributed to cerebrovascular/cardiovascular disease, followed by cancer (21%) and diabetes (14%) with 45 cases being reported for Tuberculosis and leprosy. From December 1st 2018 to August 11, 2019 there were 486 cases of dengue fever.

Under-Five Mortality Rate: 15.3 per 1000 live births. 

life expectancy in Palau was 70.2 years for men and 76 years for women as of 2018, the life expectancy has stayed relatively the same over the years with only a two-year decrease since 1995. Overall Palau has many diseases, because of its Geological position and beauty Palau is a beacon for tourist and Sea- birds which are carriers of foreign viruses and diseases. Another reason is because almost half (48.1%) of adults in Palau did not receive an annual check-up in the past year, and one out five (19.6%) adults have never had an annual check-up. So Adults or Infants born with diseases or infants unfortunate enough to get contaminated with illnesses are unchecked and they could turn fatal or spread the illness.

• GDP per capita:
• Palau's GDP per capita for 2018 was $17,318, a 6.41% increase from 2017.
• GNI per capita:
• Palau's GNI per capita for 2018 was $16,910, a 9.1% increase from 2017.
• Unemployment rate:
• 1.7%
• Poverty rate:
• less than 10 percent of the population live in poverty.

Agriculture and mainly tourism are Palau’s main income, mainly the service sector which contributes 80% of the total GDP and employs over 75% of the workforce. The service sector thrives off of tourism and is the most important service industry in Palau and is the country’s economic support. Agriculture sadly only contributes less than 2% of the GDP because of its lack of education on farming and Palau's geographical terrain doesn't suit the requirements to farm. The fishing industry is not only a source of livelihood for the majority of Palauan, but it is also a major contributor to the national economy, the main export of Palau is Non-fillet Fresh Fish which had a total income of $18m. These industries and exports are not sustainable however, because major environmental damaging contributors like pollution and climate change can change the fish’s migration patterns or destroy their habitat resulting in a loss of major income. Although the economy is growing and the evidence of 2017 compared to now says so, in 2017 The total value of exports was US$ 6 million and the next year increased another two million reaching the value of $8,620,908. When measured by GDP per capita because of its support by the U.S it is compatible to countries such as China and Colombia. Palau relies on its agriculture, tourism and fishing and doesn’t produce any other major exports, this forces them to depend on financial assistance from the United States. This is the result of the deal made in which Palau receives $700 million in U.S. aid for over 15 years in return for military facilities.

• Primary school completion rate:
• 80.3% that attend have completed primary school
• High school enrollment rate:
• %95.7 are enrolled into highschool
• Literacy rate:
• 99.5% in Palau can read and write
• Percentage of people who have the internet:
• 30%

Education is improving Palau’s economy because its teaching the future generations how to keep the society evolving into a better one. Whether its Learning new agriculture techniques or even the geography of the island and even why there’s so many storms, they can be educated on the issues and taught how to fix them. There is parity between boys and girls if anything the girls in Palau have at times had higher enrollment rates than boys and men and there is parity between boys and girl students. The main issue with Palau’s education is that the school staff is not capable of the teachings needed. The Government doesn’t seem to spend enough on teachers, and this is supported by the fact that ‘In primary schools in 2018, the CBE -– Life Sciences Education found that only 40 percent of teachers possessed a high school diploma’. The government won’t just hire the right teachers but also many schools do not even have enough funding for school supplies and many buildings are in desperate need of renovations.

Palau suffers on mainly three different main issues that affect its future economy, the Governments lack of support and financial funding for school infrastructure and staff is hurting its students future. Adding that the economy heavily relies on their fishing and tourism service industries and the financial aid from the US, in which if even one of those sources of income collapse then so will Palau. While Diseases, virus's and an unhygienic community risk spreading sickness by not going to seek medical assistance.

These issues haven’t gone unnoticed by other nations and the result of this is that the Australian government had come to assist Palau by forming ‘the Aid Investment Plan Republic of Palau: 2016-17 to 2018-19’. Because the grants from the US are due to expire in 2024, after which is the financial aid that Palau has heavily depended on is expected to be drawn from the Palau Compact Trust Fund. Resulting in Australia wanting to help aid Palau in building its economy by setting up WIFI services and improving infrastructures around Palau’s island. The education problems were noticed throughout the early 2000's, the organisation UNICEF through a partnership with San Diego State University is now offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education to give to teachers that will be employed by Pacific island countries that need Educational staff. UNICEF even tried to bring native teachers out of retirement by providing and increasing financial support which resulted in teachers staying on the job and retired teachers to return to the teaching force. Also adding that President Tommy Remengesau of Palau cut back the amount of tourism by making tourism more expensive to tourist, in an attempt to help protect the environments around them from overpopulation and pollution to its waters. The next course of action is that the government of Palau should start investing funding into its Agriculture, setting up educational courses on how to farm to the public. Because the Palauan government relies mostly on tourism and fisheries only 3% contributes to the GDP. Starting with constructing infrastructures to support farms across the islands to employ the citizens and eventually build their agriculture to such a standard where they don’t rely so much on the income from tourism.

Cia.gov. (2019). Australia - Oceania :: Palau — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency. [online] Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ps.html [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Geography of Palau. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Palau [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Legacy.lib.utexas.edu. (2019). Palau Maps - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection - UT Library Online. [online] Available at: https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/palau.html [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Map, W., Australia, O. and Palau, W. (2019). Where is Palau?. [online] WorldAtlas. Available at: https://www.worldatlas.com/oc/pw/where-is-palau.html [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Misachi, J. (2019). What Languages Are Spoken in Palau?. [online] WorldAtlas. Available at: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-palau.html [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

OCHA. (2019). Palau. [online] Available at: https://www.unocha.org/office-pacific-islands/palau [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].

ReliefWeb. (2019). Dengue 3 Outbreak, Palau, December 2018 – August 2019 - Report Date: August 13, 2019 - Palau. [online] Available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/palau/dengue-3-outbreak-palau-december-2018-august-2019-report-date-august-13-2019 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

ReliefWeb. (2019). Palau. [online] Available at: https://reliefweb.int/country/plw [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].

Video.nationalgeographic.com. (2019). In Gorgeous Palau, Explorers Find Wonders Worth Protecting. [online] Available at: https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/0000014d-e87f-d444-a35f-e97f4c020000 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

World Wildlife Fund. (2019). Island group of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean | Ecoregions | WWF. [online] Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/oc0110 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Worldatlas.com. (2019). Palau Map and Information, Map of Palau, Facts, Figures and Geography of Palau -Worldatlas.com - WorldAtlas.com. [online] Available at: https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/oceania/pw.htm [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Anon, (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/09_Situation_Analysis_of_Children_Palau.pdf [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Asian Development Bank. (2019). Palau: Economy. [online] Available at: https://www.adb.org/countries/palau/economy [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2019). Aid Investment Plan Republic of Palau: 2016-17 to 2018-19. [online] Available at: https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/aid-investment-plan-aip-palau-2016-17-to-2018-19.aspx [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Diveadventures.com.au. (2019). Palau Diving - Dive Adventures. [online] Available at: https://www.diveadventures.com.au/pages/destinations/Micronesia/palau.htm [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Economywatch.com. (2019). Palau Natural Resources, Agricultural Products, Land Use and Water Use | Economic Statistics and Data Points. [online] Available at: https://www.economywatch.com/economic-statistics/Palau/Natural_Resources/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). Palau - Economy. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Palau/Economy [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Macrotrends.net. (2019). Palau GNI Per Capita 2002-2019. [online] Available at: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/PLW/palau/gni-per-capita [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Pacificclimatechangescience.org. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.pacificclimatechangescience.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2_PCCSP_Palau_8pp.pdf [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Rethman, M. (2019). An In Depth Look At Education in Palau | The Borgen Project. [online] The Borgen Project. Available at: https://borgenproject.org/update-on-education-in-palau/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

RNZ. (2019). Palau - a brief history from 15 - Palau | RNZ. [online] Available at: https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/nff-palau/about-palau [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Unicef.org. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.unicef.org/worldfitforchildren/files/Palau_WFFC5_Report.pdf [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Unicef.org. (2019). Where we work. [online] Available at: https://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/where-we-work [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

World Wildlife Fund. (2019). Island group of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean | Ecoregions | WWF. [online] Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/oc0110 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Worldometers.info. (2019). Palau Population (2019) - Worldometers. [online] Available at: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/palau-population/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].