World geography › Micronesia › Palau

Palau: map and facts

Palau is in Micronesia. It has 17,663 people (2025), the 191st largest population. It covers 460 km², the 179th largest by area. That is about 38 people per km². Its highest point is Mount Ngerchelchuus, at 242 m.

Palau and the sea around it. The triangle marks its highest point, Mount Ngerchelchuus; the circle marks its capital, Ngerulmud. Boundaries follow India’s official position.

Facts

Population: 17,663 (2025, World Bank)
Area: 460 km² (2024, World Bank). This figure covers a different area from the one this map shows: as drawn, about 493 km².
Capital: Ngerulmud
Highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus, 242 m (Wikidata)
Forest: 90.8% of the land (2024, World Bank)

Mountains and landscapes

Its highest peaks:

Mount Ngerchelchuus: 242 m (its highest point)

Plateaus, plains, deserts and other regions: Palau Islands.

Land

Landforms, worked out from the height of the land (USGS GMTED2010): plains 69.1%, hills 30.9%.

Forests covered 90.8% of its land in 2024, up from 84.5% in 1995 (World Bank).

Neighbours

Palau has no land borders on this map.

Explore the map of Palau

In the game you can zoom into its rivers, mountains, minerals, terrain and forests. Free, with no sign-up.

Sources

India’s boundaries are drawn according to India’s official position, simplified for small-scale maps (data: Natural Earth, India view). Each figure shows its year and source; some are rounded. Data release 2026.2.

Natural Earth (naturalearthdata.com), public domain. Boundaries follow India's official position (Natural Earth's India point of view). Terms
GMTED2010 courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey (Danielson and Gesch 2011, USGS Open-File Report 2011-1073). Terms
The World Bank: World Development Indicators, Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL): UN Population Division, national statistical offices (2025 data, retrieved 2026-10-17). CC BY 4.0. Rounded by Make Me Smarter. Terms
The World Bank: World Development Indicators, Surface area (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2): FAO (2024 data, retrieved 2026-10-17). CC BY 4.0. Terms
The World Bank: World Development Indicators, Forest area (% of land area) (AG.LND.FRST.ZS): FAO, FAOSTAT (2024 data, retrieved 2026-10-17). CC BY 4.0. Rounded by Make Me Smarter. Terms
Wikidata (CC0): names, capitals, peak heights and river lengths, checked by Make Me Smarter. Terms
Landforms worked out by Make Me Smarter from GMTED2010.

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