How many people live in Palau right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
17,598
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 224 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.0002%
- Median age
- 38.9 years
- Children per woman
- 1.84
- Life expectancy
- 69.6 years
- People per km²
- 38
According to UN estimates, about 17,598 people live in Palau right now. It ranks 224th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Saint Martin and Anguilla, and it is home to one in every 473,000 people on the planet.
Every year, about 180 people are born there and about 220 die. Overall, it loses about 50 people a year.
In 1950, about 7,474 people lived there. Today there are 2.4 times as many. It peaked in 2004, at about 19,820, and has been falling since. By 2050 it is projected to have about 15,518 people (12% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 11,126.
Half of its people are younger than 39 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.84 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 70 years (worldwide, 74). There are 38 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Palau in 2026?
- Palau has about 17,598 people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 17,614.
- How many people are born each day in Palau?
- Very few: about 180 a year. About 220 people die each year.
- Is the population of Palau growing?
- No: it shrinks by 0.30% a year, or about 50 people.
- What will the population of Palau be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 15,518.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- San Marino 33,616
- Caribbean Netherlands 32,072
- Saint Martin 23,607
- Anguilla 14,835
- Cook Islands 12,701
- Nauru 12,130
More countries in Oceania
- Australia 27,305,105
- Papua New Guinea 11,005,587
- New Zealand 5,298,027
- Fiji 938,560
- Solomon Islands 864,512
- Vanuatu 344,891
- New Caledonia 298,674
- French Polynesia 283,264
- Samoa 220,922
- Guam 170,549
- Kiribati 139,061
- Micronesia 114,346
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.