Palau's current account balance (% of GDP) was -48.61% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 35.7 percentage points from -12.91% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -48.61% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | -18.64% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | -12.91% | 2013 |
| Highest | -3.34% | 2009 |
| Lowest | -48.61% | 2023 |
| Average since 2014 | -29.68% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | -21.32% | 2005 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Palau's current account balance (% of GDP) fell 1.3 percentage points on 2022 (from -47.32% to -48.61%).
Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −1.53 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.75 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.86 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.45 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 4.42 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 85% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2023, Palau had the 13th highest value of the 12 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to Palau in the 2023 ranking
What this measures
Balance of current transactions (transactions in goods and services, earned income and transfer income) between residents and non-residents. The term current account balance is used in the external accounts and is expressed from the perspective of resident units. The term current external balance is used in the national accounts and is expressed from the perspective of the non-resident units, and therefore with the opposite sign. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.
All 19 values
| Year | Current account balance (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | -48.61 |
| 2022 | -47.32 |
| 2021 | -40.68 |
| 2020 | -43.88 |
| 2019 | -30.44 |
| 2018 | -18.64 |
| 2017 | -22.86 |
| 2016 | -16.1 |
| 2015 | -8.56 |
| 2014 | -19.72 |
| 2013 |
Current account balance (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Australia — -2.77% (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — 18.01% (2025)
- Cambodia — -3.72% (2025)
- China — 3.77% (2025)
- Fiji — -7.78% (2024)
- French Polynesia — 7.49% (2016)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 12.25% (2025)
- Indonesia — -0.09% (2025)
- Japan — 4.86% (2025)
- Kiribati — -15.23% (2025)
- Korea, Rep.
More economic policy & debt data for Palau
- GDP (current US$) — US$345 million (2025)
- GDP (current LCU) — 345 million (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$275.84 million (2025)
- GDP (constant LCU) — 280 million (2025)
- GDP per capita (current US$) — US$19,532 (2025)
- GDP per capita (current LCU) — 19,532 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$15,617 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 15,852 (2025)
- GNI (current US$) — US$351.4 million (2025)
- GNI (current LCU) — 351.4 million (2025)
- GNI per capita (current LCU) — 19,895 (2025)
- GDP (annual % growth)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Palau's current account balance (% of GDP)?
- -48.61% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2005?
- It is down 27.29 percentage points from -21.32% in 2005. The highest value was -3.34% in 2009 and the lowest -48.61% in 2023.
- How does Palau rank?
- 13th highest of 12 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in current account balance (% of GDP) unusual for Palau?
- In 2023, Palau's current account balance (% of GDP) fell 1.3 percentage points on 2022 (from -47.32% to -48.61%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −1.53 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.75 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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