World Factbook
Palau
Beluu er a Belau
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
459 sq km
water
0 sq km
total
459 sq km
Climate
tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November
Terrain
varying topography from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs
Land use
other
0% (2023 est.)
forest
90.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
9.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 0.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 4.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 4.3% (2023 est.)
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Coastline
1,519 km
Elevation
lowest point
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point
Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m
Irrigated land
0 sq km (2022)
Map references
Oceania
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
typhoons (June to December)
Geography - note
westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes world-famous Rock Islands
Natural resources
forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals
Area - comparative
slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.
Geographic coordinates
7 30 N, 134 30 E
Population distribution
most of the population is located on the southern end of the main island of Babelthuap