Palau: Transport services (% of commercial service imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Palau's transport services (% of commercial service imports) rose 23.03 percentage points on 2022 (from 35.19% to 58.23%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −1.43 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 5.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 23.03 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.15 percentage points in 2016. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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 2nd 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

• South Sudan — 1st of 12: 63.38%
• Tuvalu — 3rd of 12: 41.62%
• Benin — 4th of 12: 41.07%
• Comoros — 5th of 12: 40.87%

What this measures

Transport is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

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

All 19 values

Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in nearby economies

• Australia — 16.35% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 16.22% (2025)
• Cambodia — 54.32% (2025)
• China — 17.88% (2025)
• Fiji — 46.57% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 31.16% (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 20.99% (2025)
• Indonesia — 23.9% (2025)
• Japan — 13.58% (2025)
• Kiribati

More private sector & trade data for Palau

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 47.83% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$162 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$3 million (2025)
• International tourism, number of arrivals — 18,400 (2020)
• Import unit value index (2015 = 100) — 125.2 (2025)
• Export unit value index (2015 = 100) — 121.7 (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 84.82% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.78% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Palau's transport services (% of commercial service imports)?

58.23% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is down 1.27 percentage points from 59.49% in 2005. The highest value was 63.16% in 2008 and the lowest 35.19% in 2022.

How does Palau rank?

2nd highest of 12 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in transport services (% of commercial service imports) unusual for Palau?

In 2023, Palau's transport services (% of commercial service imports) rose 23.03 percentage points on 2022 (from 35.19% to 58.23%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2022), the average change was −1.43 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 5.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.TRAN.ZS.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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