Historically known as Belau, Palaos, or Pelew, Palau is an island nation and microstate in the western Pacific. It is officially known as the Republic of Palau. The country has about 340 islands and links parts of the Federated States of Micronesia to the western Caroline Islands. It has a total area of 466 square kilometers (180 square miles). Koror, which is home to the nation's most populous city of the same name, is the island with the most people. In Melekeok State, the nearby island of Babeldaob is home to the capital, Ngerulmud. International waters to the north, the Federated States of Micronesia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and the Philippines to the northwest all share maritime boundaries with Palau.

Migrants from Maritime Southeast Asia settled the nation approximately 3,000 years ago. Based on a description provided by a group of Palauans who had been shipwrecked on the Philippine coast on Samar, the German missionary Paul Klein first drew Palau on a European map. In 1885, the islands of Palau became part of the Spanish East Indies. The islands were sold to Germany in 1899 under the terms of the German–Spanish Treaty, where they were administered as part of German New Guinea, following Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War in 1898. The islands were included in the League of Nations' Japanese-ruled South Seas Mandate following World War I. As part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign during World War II, American and Japanese troops fought skirmishes, including the major Battle of Peleliu. In 1947, Palau and other Pacific islands were included in the US-run Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In 1978, the islands rejected joining the Federated States of Micronesia in a referendum. In 1994, they signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States and gained full sovereignty.