rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

9. Palau
Population
20 796 (July 2009 est.)
Age 0–14 years: 22.9%
15–64 years: 70.8%
65 years and over: 6.2% (2009 est.)
Gender
Literacy
Total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2009 est.
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 92%
Male: 93%
Female: 90% (1980 est.)
Unemployment 4.2% (2005 est.) (#52)
Employment by sector Agriculture: 20%
Industry: Not available
Services: Not available (1990)
Currency
Exchange rate —
United States dollar (US$)
105
Source:
9.1 Introduction
Palau is located in the northern Pacific, some
800 kilometres east of the Philippines. 491
Palau comprises 340 islands, only eight of
which are inhabited, 492 with 70 per cent of
the population residing on the main island
of Koror. 493
Demographics
According to a July 2008 estimate, the population
of Palau is 21 093. 494 Population
diversity in Palau is reported to be increasing,
largely due to the arrival of migrant
labour. The people of Palau are mainly of
Micronesian ethnicity at 69.9 per cent of the
population, with Malayan and Melanesian
admixtures. The balance of the population
491 Country Background Note: Palau. Prepared for UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific,
Cluster Meeting, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 14–16 November 2005.
492 Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Palau Country Brief, available
at: (accessed March 2009).
493 Palau Ministry of Health (2008), UNGASS 2008 Country Progress Report: Republic of Palau
(Reporting period January 2006 – December 2007). New York: UN General Assembly Special
Session on HIV/AIDS.
494 Profile on Palau in CIA, The World Factbook .
Cf. 2005 Census data population estimate: 19 907.
Palau