Palau
Everything Palanor holds about Palau, in one place: 35 public signals, what its economy runs on, how often America’s largest companies name it, the news that names it, and Country Posture. Every figure is computed from stored readings and carries its source and date.
OceaniaAsia-Pacific
The latest read
- GDP in current U.S. dollars: $0.35 billion (2025); record high since 1990; 1y +9.4%.
- Household consumption, share of GDP: 74.6% of GDP (2024); 73rd percentile since 2005; lowest since 2019; 1y −6.46 pts.
- Net exports, share of GDP: -40.4% of GDP (2024); 23rd percentile since 2005; highest since 2019; 1y +14.07 pts.
Country Posture
What Palau’s economy is doing
Momentum
2024Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.590 below 0.60; AUC 0.590 below the single-input baseline (0.624); 2010–2022: AUC 0.595 below 0.60; AUC 0.595 below the single-input baseline (0.641).
Inputs
| Real GDP growth | 12.0 |
| Growth against its three-year average | 15.7 |
| Change in unemployment | — |
| Change in the employment rate | — |
| Export volume growth | -60.9 |
| OECD leading indicator | — |
Resilience
2025Withheld: 1 of 5 core inputs reported for 2025.
Inputs
| Interest as a share of revenue | — |
| Budget balance | — |
| Reserves, months of imports | — |
| Current account | — |
| Governance (WGI mean) | 0.76 |
| External debt | — |
Pressure
2025Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.657 below the single-input baseline (0.672).
Inputs
| Inflation | -0.4 |
| Change in inflation | -2.7 |
| Currency move against the dollar | 0.0% |
| Conflict deaths per million | 0.0 |
| Political stability | 1.30 |
| Private credit, three-year change | — |
| Bond spread over U.S. Treasuries | — |
Posture describes what an economy is doing; it is not a rating and never ranks countries. Each input is read against the country’s own history and against every other economy that year. An axis shows a score only after passing a back-test fixed before any result was computed. Method and back-test.
Passport reach
Where a Palau passport opens doors
The share of world GDP, outside Palau itself, in the economies whose published rules let a holder of this passport in, as of October 2026. Palanor records the rules of destinations holding 88% of world GDP, from each government’s own list, and weights them by World Bank GDP for 2025. Rank is among 199 passports.
Work
26.0%rank 32 of 199
the right to work (free movement in full; treaty and working-holiday routes at half); 1 destination in full.
Recorded changes
- 2025-01-08United Kingdom · visit: Visa-free → Online travel authorisation source
Reach is shown here and not weighted into Country Strength: it rewards membership of a free-movement area or a treaty more than the strength of an economy. Entry is always at the border officer’s discretion, and conditions (length of stay, fees, age limits) vary. Method, sources and the full ranking: Passports and citizenship.
Palanor calculation from each destination government's published rules; GDP weights from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0), one year for the whole line, so it moves only when a list changes.
GDP by expenditure
What Palau’s economy runs on
In 2024, household spending was 74.6% of GDP, government consumption 38.3%, investment 35.0% and net exports -40.4% (exports 32.7%, imports 73.1%). In 2020, 2023, 2024 the parts miss 100 by more than three points (the statistical discrepancy in Palau’s national accounts).
World Bank national accounts. The parts can miss 100 by a few points (the statistical discrepancy).
Same World Bank definition for every country, so the shares compare directly: What each economy runs on.
IMF World Economic Outlook
The IMF’s outlook for Palau
The latest year before the October 2026 edition (often still an IMF estimate) and the IMF’s own projections. These are the IMF’s published forecasts, shown as published; Palanor does not project them further. Since the previous edition the IMF raised its growth forecast for this year by 1.0 percentage points (Palanor calculation).
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 IMF f’cast | 2027 IMF f’cast | 2031 IMF f’cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real GDP growth% | 6.0 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
| Inflation, average consumer prices% | 0.2 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 2.0 |
| GDP, current US dollarsUS$ bn | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| GDP at purchasing-power parityintl $ bn | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| GDP per person, US dollarsUS$ | 20,041 | 21,308 | 22,737 | 27,363 |
| Current account balance% of GDP | -11.6 | -13.8 | -14.0 | -12.2 |
| Government gross debt% of GDP | 52.8 | 53.8 | 55.5 | 41.0 |
| Government overall balance% of GDP | -0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2026. Provided by the IMF “as is” and free of charge from the IMF; the IMF does not endorse Palanor.
Signals
Every series about Palau
Grouped by theme, the most-read first. All 35 in the Library.
Growth and output1
- Palau · GDP · USD bn (current)record high since 1990; 1y +9.4%$0.35bn2025
Trade and capital flows1
- Palau · Net International Investment Position, % of GDP (IMF)record low since 2005; 1y −84.37 pts-158.9% of GDP2022
Migration1 of 3
- U.S.-Born People Living in Palau (UN)44th percentile since 1990341 people2024
Peers
Elsewhere in Oceania
Alphabetical. Palanor does not rank countries.
American SamoaAustraliaCook IslandsFijiFrench PolynesiaGuamKiribatiMarshall IslandsMicronesiaNauruNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNiueNorthern Mariana IslandsPapua New GuineaSamoaSolomon IslandsTongaTuvaluVanuatu