The 1994 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Names:
conventional long form:
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
conventional short form:
none
note:
may change to Republic of Palau after independence; the native form of
Palau is Belau and is sometimes used incorrectly in English and other
languages
Digraph:
PS
Type:
UN trusteeship administered by the US
note:
constitutional government signed a Compact of Free Association with
the US on 10 January 1986, which was never approved in a series of
UN-observed plebiscites; until the UN trusteeship is terminated with
entry into force of the Compact, Palau remains under US administration
as the Palau District of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands;
administrative authority resides in the Department of the Interior and
is exercised by the Assistant Secretary for Territorial and
International Affairs through the Palau Office, Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands, J. Victor HOBSON Jr., Director (since 16 December
1990)
Capital:
Koror
note:
a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast in eastern
Babelthuap
Administrative divisions:
there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US
Government, but there are 16 states: Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur,
Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngardmau, Ngaremlengui, Ngatpang,
Ngchesar, Ngerchelong, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol, Tobi
Independence:
the last polity remaining under the US-administered UN trusteeship
following the departure of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the
Federated States of Micronesia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Marianas from the trusteeship; administered by the Office of
Territorial and International Affairs, US Department of Interior
National holiday:
Constitution Day, 9 July (1979)
Constitution:
1 January 1981
Legal system:
based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal,
common, and customary laws
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
President Kuniwo NAKAMURA (since 1 January 1993), Vice-President Tommy
E. REMENGESAU Jr. (since 1 January 1993); election last held on 4
November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - Kuniwo
NAKAMURA 50.7%, Johnson TORIBIONG 49.3%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Olbiil Era Kelulau or OEK)
Senate:
elections last held 4 November 1992 (next to be held NA November
1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (14 total);
number of seats by party NA
House of Delegates:
elections last held 4 November 1992 (next to be held NA November
1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (16 total);
number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court, National Court, Court of Common Pleas
Member of:
ESCAP (associate), SPC, SPF (observer)
Diplomatic representation in US:
trust territory of the UN administered by the US: Administrative
Officer Charles UONG, Palau Liaison Office, 444 North Capitol Street
NW, Suite 308, Washington, DC 20001
US diplomatic representation:
director:
US Liaison Officer Lloyd W. MOSS
liaison office:
US Liaison Office at Top Side, Neeriyas, Koror
mailing address:
P.O. Box 6028, Koror, PW 96940
telephone:
(680) 488-2920; (680) 488-2911
Flag:
light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted
slightly to the hoist side

@Pacific Islands (Palau), Trust Territory of the, Economy

Overview:
The economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing.
Tourism provides some foreign exchange, although the remote location
of Palau and a shortage of suitable facilities has hindered
development. The government is the major employer of the work force,
relying heavily on financial assistance from the US.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $31.6 million (1986)
note:
GDP numbers reflect US spending
National product real growth rate:
NA%
National product per capita:
$2,260 (1986)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%
Unemployment rate:
20% (1986)
Budget:
revenues:
$6 million
expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1986 est.)
Exports:
$500,000 (f.o.b., 1986)
commodities:
trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts
partners:
US, Japan
Imports:
$27.2 million (c.i.f., 1986)
commodities:
NA
partners:
US
External debt:
about $100 million (1989)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
capacity:
16,000 kW
production:
22 million kWh
consumption per capita:
1,540 kWh (1990)
Industries:
tourism, craft items (shell, wood, pearl), some commercial fishing and
agriculture
Agriculture:
subsistence-level production of coconut, copra, cassava, sweet
potatoes
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.56 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $92
million
Currency:
1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
US currency is used
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September

@Pacific Islands (Palau), Trust Territory of the, Communications

Highways: total: 61 km paved: 36 km unpaved: gravel 25 km Ports: Koror Airports: total: 3 usable: 3 with permanent-surface runways: 1 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 0 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 3 Telecommunications: broadcast stations - 1 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station

@Pacific Islands (Palau), Trust Territory of the, Defense Forces

Note:
defense is the responsibility of the US and that will not change when
the UN trusteeship terminates if the Compact of Free Association with
the US goes into effect

@Pacific Ocean, Geography

Location:
body of water between the Western Hemisphere, Asia, and Australia
Map references:
Asia, North America, Oceania, South America, Standard Time Zones of
the World
Area:
total area:
165.384 million sq km
comparative area:
about 18 times the size of the US; the largest ocean (followed by the
Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean); covers about
one-third of the global surface; larger than the total land area of
the world
note:
includes Bali Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait,
Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Java Sea,
Philippine Sea, Ross Sea, Savu Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk,
South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea, and other tributary water
bodies
Coastline:
135,663 km
International disputes:
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate:
the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the
summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the
land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow
from the Asian land mass back to the ocean
Terrain:
surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise,
warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the
southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the
northern Pacific sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in
winter; in the southern Pacific sea ice from Antarctica reaches its
northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific
is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is
dissected by deep trenches, including the world's deepest, the 10,924
meter Marianas Trench
Natural resources:
oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates,
placer deposits, fish
Environment:
current issues:
endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter,
seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South
China Sea
natural hazards:
surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity
sometimes referred to as the Pacific Ring of Fire; subject to tropical
cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December
(most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes)
may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from
June to October (most common in August and September); southern
shipping lanes subject to icebergs from Antarctica; occasional El Nino
phenomenon occurs off the coast of Peru when the trade winds slacken
and the warm Equatorial Countercurrent moves south, killing the
plankton that is the primary food source for anchovies; consequently,
the anchovies move to better feeding grounds, causing resident marine
birds to starve by the thousands because of their lost food source
international agreements:
NA
Note:
the major choke points are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon
Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific
Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; ships
subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May
and in extreme south from May to October; persistent fog in the
northern Pacific from June to December is a hazard to shipping; dotted
with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern
Pacific Ocean

@Pacific Ocean, Government