Palau Economy:
The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture, and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 63,000 in 2003. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$174 million (2001 est.)
note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy
GDP — real growth rate:
1% (2001 est.)
GDP — per capita:
purchasing power parity: $9,000 (2001 est.)
GDP — composition by sector:
agriculture: NA
industry: NA
services: NA
Labor force:
9,845 (2000 est.)
Labor force — by occupation:
agriculture: 20%, industry: NA, services: NA (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate:
2.3% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.4% (2000 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $57.7 million
expenditures: $80.8 million including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.)
Agriculture — products:
Coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes
Industries:
tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making
Industrial production growth rate:
NA
Exports:
$18 million (f.o.b. 2001 est.)
Exports — commodities:
shellfish, tuna, copra, garments
Exports — partners:
US, Japan, Singapore (2000)
Imports:
$99 million (f.o.b. 2001 est.)
Imports — commodities:
machinery and equipment, fuels, metals, foodstuffs
Imports — partners:
US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, South Korea (2000)
Debt — external:
$0 (FY99/00 est.)
Economic aid — recipient:
$155.8 million
note: The Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities
Currency:
US dollar (USD)
Exchange rates:
the US dollar is used
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September
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