Rural population in Palau
Palau: Rural population was 3,659 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Palau, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Palau stood at 3,659.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Palau peaked at 5,832 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 3,340, in 2013.
That places Palau 202nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Palau, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5,233 | — |
| 1961 | 5,181 | -1.0% |
| 1962 | 5,134 | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 5,090 | -0.9% |
| 1964 | 5,054 | -0.7% |
| 1965 | 5,019 | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 4,990 | -0.6% |
| 1967 | 4,931 | -1.2% |
| 1968 | 4,841 | -1.8% |
| 1969 | 4,756 | -1.8% |
| 1970 | 4,737 | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 4,803 | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 4,897 | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 4,971 | +1.5% |
| 1974 | 4,971 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 4,919 | -1.0% |
| 1976 | 4,866 | -1.1% |
| 1977 | 4,810 | -1.2% |
| 1978 | 4,749 | -1.3% |
| 1979 | 4,674 | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 4,602 | -1.5% |
| 1981 | 4,569 | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 4,538 | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 4,481 | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 4,427 | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 4,409 | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 4,443 | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 4,491 | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 4,548 | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 4,601 | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 4,649 | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 4,692 | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 4,728 | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 4,768 | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 4,825 | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 4,919 | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 5,076 | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 5,294 | +4.3% |
| 1998 | 5,526 | +4.4% |
| 1999 | 5,729 | +3.7% |
| 2000 | 5,832 | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 5,702 | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 5,386 | -5.5% |
| 2003 | 5,004 | -7.1% |
| 2004 | 4,669 | -6.7% |
| 2005 | 4,445 | -4.8% |
| 2006 | 4,250 | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 4,050 | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 3,866 | -4.5% |
| 2009 | 3,701 | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 3,557 | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 3,439 | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 3,353 | -2.5% |
| 2013 | 3,340 | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 3,413 | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 3,485 | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 3,540 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 3,593 | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 3,643 | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 3,688 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 3,722 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 3,719 | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 3,709 | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 3,696 | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 3,679 | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 3,659 | -0.5% |
Palau compared with similar countries
- Palau's 3,659 is below the median for high income countries, which is 456,529, 1% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Palau's 3,659 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 1% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5,023 | 4,756 | 5,233 | 10 |
| 1970s | 4,840 | 4,674 | 4,971 | 10 |
| 1980s | 4,511 | 4,409 | 4,602 | 10 |
| 1990s | 5,021 | 4,649 | 5,729 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4,690 | 3,701 | 5,832 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3,505 | 3,340 | 3,688 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,697 | 3,659 | 3,722 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Palau
- 199 Marshall Islands 7,581 compare
- 200 Greenland 6,494 compare
- 201 United States Virgin Islands 4,786 compare
- 203 Northern Mariana Islands 3,406 compare
- 204 Tuvalu 3,280 compare
- 205 Turks and Caicos Islands 2,626 compare
More agriculture & rural data for Palau
- Rural population, per capita 0.2072 units per person (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.5% (2025)
- Rural population 20.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.7% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.2% (2018)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.7% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 496.19 current US$ per person (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0273 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Palau?
- Rural population in Palau was 3,659 in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Palau?
- The highest recorded value was 5,832 in 2000.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Palau?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,340 in 2013.
- How does Palau rank for rural population?
- Palau ranks 202nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Palau?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Palau data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.