country profile

Palau

East Asia & PacificHigh income18K population

Last updated July 15, 2026

Microstate notice: This country is classified as a microstate (population under 300,000) and is indexed but not included in GEFRI global or regional rankings.

Emerging readiness

Composite GEFRI Score

Access & Parity is improving, while Innovation remains a constraint

Palau demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (69th percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions.

59.12Composite score

Global percentile: 69th
Global rank: Not ranked (microstate)
Regional rank: Not ranked (microstate)
Viewing data for

Progressing readiness

Infrastructure

63.51

56th percentileGlobal avg. 55.13

Emerging readiness

Human Capital

55.59

66th percentileGlobal avg. 47.36

Emerging readiness

Innovation

49.59

66th percentileGlobal avg. 46.19

Progressing readiness

Governance

61.78

75th percentileGlobal avg. 47.46

Progressing readiness

Access & Parity

65.13

57th percentileGlobal avg. 48.49

Country profile

Palau remains in the emerging-readiness range, with progress visible but major gaps still limiting future readiness. Most dimension scores sit close to global norms, without a single dimension standing far above the rest.

Dimension scores cluster tightly, showing the system operates with balanced readiness. Strong tertiary enrollment expands future talent pipelines and strengthens national innovation potential.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Gender parity across secondary pathways reflects sustained commitment to equitable participation.

Regionally, Palau leads most clearly in School Access and Gender Parity, sitting well above the peer average.

Some indicators are imputed, so the profile should be read with moderate caution.

Key insights

Sits above the global median at the 69th percentile.

Scores range from Access & Parity (65.1) to Innovation (49.6), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Leads regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.

Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rank	Regional rank	Country	Score
2	1	Korea, Rep.	77.90
3	2	Hong Kong SAR, China	77.59
4	3	Singapore	77.58
12	4	Japan	76.03
14	5	Australia	75.84
20	6	New Zealand	72.96
46	7	Brunei Darussalam	61.47
—	—	NauruMicrostate	60.97
—	—	Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate	60.89
49	8	Fiji	60.57
50	9	Thailand	60.56
—	—	GuamMicrostate	59.78
—	—	New CaledoniaMicrostate	59.45
—	—	PalauMicrostate	59.12
—	—	American SamoaMicrostate	58.64
61	10	Macao SAR, China	58.41
—	—	French PolynesiaMicrostate	57.22
68	11	Indonesia	56.89
69	12	Mongolia	56.89
71	13	Malaysia	56.62
73	14	Viet Nam	55.90
75	15	China	55.59
87	16	Philippines	51.84
—	—	SamoaMicrostate	51.51
—	—	TuvaluFCSMicrostate	51.41
—	—	TongaMicrostate	48.23
—	—	KiribatiFCSMicrostate	46.37
—	—	Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate	45.13
—	—	Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate	41.97
112	17	Vanuatu	40.83
113	18	Timor-LesteFCS	40.80
115	19	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	39.28
123	20	Cambodia	35.88
131	21	Solomon IslandsFCS	33.48
134	22	Lao PDR	32.64
147	23	Papua New GuineaFCS	27.72
151	24	MyanmarFCS	26.22