Palau: Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Palau's gross capital formation (% of GDP) fell 0.74 percentage points on 2023 (from 35.7% to 34.97%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2023), the average change was −0.45 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.98 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below 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 7.58 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.52 percentage points in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.2 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 44% 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 2024, Palau had the 3rd highest value of the 37 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 2024 ranking

• Bhutan — 1st of 37: 42.6%
• China — 2nd of 37: 40.48%
• Panama — 4th of 37: 33.53%
• Tajikistan — 5th of 37: 32.43%
• Maldives — 6th of 37: 30.79%

What this measures

Gross capital formation includes acquisitions less disposals of produced assets for purposes of fixed capital formation, inventories or valuables. 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.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 20 values

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Australia — 24.46% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 27.13% (2025)
• Cambodia — 31.52% (2025)
• China — 40.48% (2024)
• Fiji — 20.87% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 21.91% (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 18.35% (2025)
• Indonesia — 30.62% (2025)
• Japan — 27.68% (2024)
• Kiribati — 29.91% (2024)
• 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

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Questions people ask

What is Palau's gross capital formation (% of GDP)?

34.97% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is down 8.82 percentage points from 43.79% in 2005. The highest value was 44.22% in 2022 and the lowest 24.54% in 2013.

How does Palau rank?

3rd highest of 37 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in gross capital formation (% of GDP) unusual for Palau?

In 2024, Palau's gross capital formation (% of GDP) fell 0.74 percentage points on 2023 (from 35.7% to 34.97%). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2023), the average change was −0.45 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.98 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below 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 NE.GDI.TOTL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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