Human Development Index in Palau
Palau: Human Development Index was 0.786 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Human Development Index in Palau, 2000–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Palau recorded 0.786 for human development index in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human development index in Palau peaked at 0.806 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.736, in 2000.
Palau ranks 84th of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Human Development Index in Palau, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.736 | — |
| 2001 | 0.741 | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 0.746 | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 0.749 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.755 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 0.761 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 0.765 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 0.771 | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 0.773 | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 0.776 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 0.779 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.784 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 0.787 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 0.791 | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 0.795 | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.802 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 0.804 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 0.804 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.805 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 0.806 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 0.799 | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 0.789 | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 0.786 | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.786 | +0.0% |
Palau compared with similar countries
- Palau's 0.786 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.913, 86% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Palau's 0.786 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.732, 1.1× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.7573 | 0.736 | 0.776 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7957 | 0.779 | 0.806 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.79 | 0.786 | 0.799 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Palau
More reference data data for Palau
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Free country 2 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 1 (2025)
- Consumer price index 160.77 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human development index in Palau?
- Human development index in Palau was 0.786 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human development index recorded in Palau?
- The highest recorded value was 0.806 in 2019.
- What is the lowest human development index recorded in Palau?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.736 in 2000.
- How does Palau rank for human development index?
- Palau ranks 84th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is human development index rising or falling in Palau?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Palau data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Development Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, a good education, and a decent standard of living. Higher values indicate higher human development.