Palau is a Micronesian archipelago of approximately 340 islands lying roughly 500 miles east of the Philippines and 800 miles southwest of Guam. The total land area spans 177 square miles across an oceanic expanse exceeding 250,000 square miles. Babeldaob covers 153 square miles and constitutes the second-largest island in Micronesia after Guam. The Rock Islands number over 300 limestone karst formations rising vertically from shallow lagoons, most uninhabited and covered in dense vegetation rooted in porous limestone. Koror Island served as the national capital until 2006, when government functions transferred to Ngerulmud on Babeldaob. Peleliu lies approximately 28 miles southwest of Koror, measuring six miles long and two miles wide. Angaur sits 25 miles farther south. Kayangel Atoll occupies the northernmost position, 25 miles north of Babeldaob.
The national population reached approximately 18,000 residents according to 2020 census data. Ethnic Palauans constitute roughly 73 percent of this total, descended from Austronesian seafarers who arrived approximately 3,000 years ago based on archaeological pottery evidence and linguistic reconstruction. Filipino residents comprise about 16 percent of the population, concentrated in Koror's service and construction sectors. Smaller populations include Chinese, Bangladeshi, and other Asian nationals working in commercial fishing, retail, and hospitality. Approximately 70 percent of all residents live on Koror, which measures less than three square miles. Ngerulmud houses government offices but remains sparsely populated outside working hours. The population density on Koror exceeds 2,500 persons per square mile, while Babeldaob outside the capital corridor maintains fewer than 20 persons per square mile across its agricultural and forested interior.
Palauan and English hold co-official status under the 1980 constitution. Palauan belongs to the Austronesian language family, specifically the Western Malayo-Polynesian branch, showing closest affinities to languages of eastern Indonesia and the Philippines. The language employs a verb-initial syntax and distinguishes inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns. English serves as the medium of instruction from elementary school onward and dominates government documentation and commercial signage. Japanese persists among residents over 60 who attended school during the mandate period; shopkeepers in Koror frequently use basic Japanese phrases with Japanese tourists who constitute approximately 30 percent of annual arrivals. Sonsorolese speakers number fewer than 100, concentrated in a single settlement on Sonsorol Atoll 350 miles southwest of the main archipelago. Tobian survives among approximately 25 speakers from Tobi Island.
Spanish explorers under Ruy López de Villalobos made documented contact in 1543, though systematic colonization did not commence until Jesuit missions attempted establishment in 1710. Spanish administration remained nominal and intermittent through the 18th and 19th centuries, operating primarily from Manila with infrequent patrols. Spain sold Palau to Germany in 1899 for 25 million pesetas following Spanish defeat in the 1898 war with the United States. German administrators introduced copra production, built roads on Babeldaob, and imposed a head tax payable in copra. Japanese forces seized Palau in October 1914 during World War I. The League of Nations formalized Japanese control through the South Seas Mandate in 1920. Japanese civilian migration increased the population to approximately 25,000 Japanese residents by 1940, exceeding the Palauan population. Japan constructed Koror as an administrative center, built schools requiring Japanese language instruction, established commercial fishing fleets, and mined phosphate on Angaur.
The Battle of Peleliu commenced September 15, 1944, when the United States 1st Marine Division landed on beaches defended by 11,000 Japanese troops under Colonel Kunio Nakagawa. American planners estimated a four-day operation. Fighting continued until November 27, 1944. The United States deployed 28,000 combat troops during the 73-day engagement. American casualties totaled 2,336 killed and 8,450 wounded. Estimates place Japanese dead at approximately 10,900, with 202 captured. The battle occurred simultaneously with the larger Philippines campaign; military historians subsequently questioned the strategic necessity of capturing Peleliu when air and naval forces could neutralize the garrison through isolation. Koror sustained substantial bombing damage targeting harbor facilities and the seaplane base. Babeldaob hosted Japanese army units but saw no ground combat.