Population and Demographics of Palau
Population declining at 0.18% in 2024 · 11.34% aged 65 or older
Palau's latest population change is -0.18% a year. Age composition is uneven, with 18.24% below age 15 versus 11.34% at 65 and above; the working-age group accounts for 70.42%. Under the UN medium scenario, the 2050 total is 15.5 thousand, a 12.4% decrease from 2024.
Population Over Time in Palau
Palau's population stood at 0.019M in 2000 and 0.018M in 2024, equivalent to a -7.7% change over that period. For 2050, the medium projection is 0.016M. That is a difference of about 0.00 million people from the 2024 estimate. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
Looking beyond the headline population number, Palau's 2024 age structure is mixed. At 18.24%, the under-15 group is larger than the 11.34% aged 65+, while ages 15 to 64 account for 70.42%. The age balance is weighted toward younger residents.
Population by broad age group
The 2024 World Bank sex-share indicator gives Palau a female share of 46.1% and a male share of 53.9%. Males exceed females by 7.8 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Males made up 53.9% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 46.1% females.
What Is Shaping Population Change
Current momentum in Palau combines -0.18% population change with fertility at 1.9, in a structure where 70.42% are working age and 11.34% are 65 or above.
The 2024 total in Palau stands 7.8% below the 2000 reference, while the 2050 medium projection is 12.4% below 2024; this profile does not infer unobserved migration or natural-change components.
2024 estimate for Palau. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Palau vs. World
Using one 2024 comparison table keeps the context consistent. Palau's population change is lower than the global rate, fertility is below the global level, and its population is older than the world median-age profile.
| Indicator | Palau | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | -0.18% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.9 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 38 | 30.6 | 2024 |
The table is built for like-for-like comparison, using 2024 values from a single harmonized source context linked to UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Key Takeaways
The 2024 total is 17,695 people. Annual change in the same harmonized table is -0.18%.
Broad age shares show 11.34% aged 65+ compared with 18.24% under 15; the 15 to 64 group accounts for 70.42%.
The 2024 female and male shares are 46.1% and 53.9% respectively.
On the medium path, 2050 reaches 0.016M, a -12.3% shift from the 2024 level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Palau?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Palau is 17,695 people.
Is the population of Palau growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Palau's population is declining, with annual change of -0.18%.
What percentage of the population of Palau is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 11.34% of Palau's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Palau in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Palau's 2050 population at 15,518.
What is the fertility rate in Palau?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Palau is 1.9 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.