Palau: Trade (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Palau's trade (% of GDP) fell 0.95 percentage points on 2023 (from 106.76% to 105.81%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2023), the average change was −0.85 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 12.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 24.07 percentage points in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 24.85 percentage points in 2021. 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 downward, about 3.07 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 46% 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 11th highest value of the 33 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

• Solomon Islands — 7th of 33: 111.35%
• Belize — 8th of 33: 108.97%
• Eswatini — 9th of 33: 107.48%
• Faroe Islands — 11th of 33: 105.75%
• Kiribati — 12th of 33: 102.11%
• Timor-Leste — 13th of 33: 95.45%

What this measures

Trade is the sum of exports and imports of goods and services. 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.

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

All 20 values

Trade (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 124.68% (2022)
• Australia — 45.9% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 123.61% (2025)
• Cambodia — 136.09% (2025)
• China — 37.96% (2025)
• Fiji — 118.96% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 64.47% (2024)
• Guam — 71.87% (2022)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 396.65% (2025)
• Indonesia — 43.39% (2025)
• Japan — 44.85% (2024)
• Kiribati — 102.11% (2024)

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 trade (% of GDP)?

105.81% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is down 16.26 percentage points from 122.07% in 2005. The highest value was 145.79% in 2014 and the lowest 79.58% in 2021.

How does Palau rank?

11th highest of 33 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in trade (% of GDP) unusual for Palau?

In 2024, Palau's trade (% of GDP) fell 0.95 percentage points on 2023 (from 106.76% to 105.81%). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2023), the average change was −0.85 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 12.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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.TRD.GNFS.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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