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Palau

Republic of Palau, Belu'u era Belau

Last modified: 2000-01-21 by phil nelson
Keywords: palau | belau | oceania | moon |
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by Ivan Sache
Flag adopted 01 January 1981, coat of arms adopted 01 January 1981


Description of the flag

The flag was adopted in October 1980 when the islands became internally self-governing and proclaimed Republic on 01 January 1981.

The disk represents the moon as a symbol of national unity and destiny. The blue field is supposed to represent the independence.
Nathan Augustine and Zeljko Heimer, 13 December 1995

Based on Album des Pavillons and Ultimate Pocket Flags of the World the flag of Palau is:

  • proportion is 5:8
  • disc diameter is 6/10 the flag width
  • shift of the disc towards hoist is defined by an imaginary vertical line tangent to the left of the disc and placed at 1/4 of the flag length
  • field colour is a blue not easy to define, my two sources differ in brightness.

Morevoer, according to Ultimate Pocket Flags of the World, Palau has no coat of arms but only a seal. "The seal is not coloured. It depicts a traditional Paluan triangular hut, above the date of adoption. This is surrounded by the title of the state."

And the full name of the state is "Republic of Palau" (english) or "Belu'u era Belau" (palauan). Independence (with free association with the USA) occurred on 1st October 1994, and the state was admitted by the UNO on 15 December 1994. The defense of the state is assured by the USA, so there are no specific naval ensigns and rank flags to expect. (Source: Encyclopaedia Universalis - Les chiffres du monde 1998).
Ivan Sache, 11 August 1999

Before independence

I don't think that Palau had a flag before independence. It was part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific, administered by the US. The flag for the Trust Territory was blue with six stars arranged in a hexagon. When independence came Palau and the Marshal Islands decided to separate from the rest of the group, which became the Federated States of Micronesia with the same blue flag with four stars instead of six, for Kosrae, Pohnpei, Truk and Yap.
Nathan Augustine, 15 December 1995

State flags

 There are 16 federated states in Palau. Of these, only eight have flags. Competitons have been announced for Kayangel and Tobi and Ngiwal is planning on adopting a flag.
Palau Federated States

Jarig Bakker, while researching material for a Palau clickable map for FOTW-ws noted:

Babeldaob has only c. 3.500 inhabitants, so this division seems a bit anachronistic.

In fact, the (quite large) island of Babeldaob is divided in ten states (Aimelik, Airai, Meleleok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui and Ngiwal), each supposedly with a flag. In average 350 people per state, and per flag. Supposeing that Palau is not at all a rich country (even if not *that* poor), I wonder how much use these flags have...
Antonio Martins, 03 January 2000