World Sites & Apps
Oceania · #214 · 2025–2026

Palau: internet and everyday apps

Palau has about 17 thousand people online — a penetration rate of 94.4% and rank #214 worldwide. This page walks through the local digital scene, the app categories people lean on, and 8 apps worth knowing.

Internet users 17 thousand Penetration 94.4% World rank #214 Updated 2026-11-12
TL;DR
  • Palau has roughly 17 thousand internet users (17,000 people) — about 94.4% of the population and rank #214 globally.
  • The apps people open most: WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Instagram. They cover Messaging, Social, Video, Payments, Travel and more.
  • The one to know first: WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

Palau in numbers

2025–2026
Internet users
17 thousand17,000 · #214
Penetration
94.4%#29
Population
18 thousand18,000 · #215
GDP
$0B#216
GDP growth
+12.0%#3
GDP per person
$16,667#85
Land area
459 km²#192
Capital
Ngerulmud
Region
Oceania
Official languages
Palauan, English

How Palau goes online

Koror's phone screens are mostly about visitors. Facebook and WhatsApp handle the bookings, the questions and the family chat, and the tourism pages do the selling for an economy that depends on arrivals. Island Times and the other local outlets carry the government news and the occasional court report. Bank and payment apps handle the money, and coverage is good for a place this small. When a typhoon approaches, the same feeds turn into a warning system.

Around 94.4%. With a population of about 18 thousand and 17 thousand online, roughly 1 thousand people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

All 8 apps below are grouped by category.

What people actually use

8 Most-used apps

Messaging

2 Most-used apps →
WhatsApp Messaging · Meta · 2009 Messenger Messaging · Meta · 2011

Social

2 Most-used apps →
Facebook Social · Meta · 2004 Instagram Social · Meta · 2010

Video

2 Most-used apps →
YouTube Video · Google · 2005 TikTok Video · ByteDance · 2016

Payments

1 Most-used apps →
PayPal Payments · PayPal · 1998

Travel

1 Most-used apps →
Booking.com Travel · Booking Holdings · 1996

Websites people in Palau actually use

8

The 8 sites locals open most often — news, shopping, search, banking and government services. Every link goes to the official site.

Telecom2News1Government1Travel1Education1Banking1Utilities1
Palau National Communications CorporationTelecompnccpalau.comPNCC is the phone and internet company in Koror, and when the cable is cut somewhere the service notices on the site say what is happening. Palau National Communications CorporationTelecompncc.pwThe state telecom. Island TimesNewsislandtimes.orgIsland Times is what I read with coffee in Koror, and the letters section is the real news. Palau National GovernmentGovernmentpalaugov.pwFor a permit or a licence I go to palaugov.pw first, and it saves the drive to Ngerulmud. Pristine Paradise PalauTravelpristineparadisepalau.comVisitors asking about Jellyfish Lake and the Rock Islands get pristineparadisepalau from me. Palau Community CollegeEducationpcc.palau.eduPCC is where most Palauans get their first degree, and the site lists the programmes and the registration week that everyone complains about every term. Bank of PalauBankingbankofpalau.comOne of the two commercial banks. Palau Public Utilities CorporationUtilitiesppuc.pwPower and water.

2808 websites →

Frequently asked questions

6 Q&A
How many people in Palau are online?

About 17 thousand (17,000 people). That works out to roughly 94.4% of the population, which puts Palau at #214 in the world for total internet users. Figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026, which draws on ITU and national statistics.

Which apps do people in Palau use most?

Mostly WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Instagram — they cover Messaging, Social, Video, Payments, Travel. The full list, grouped by category, is further down this page.

What is the leading Messaging app in Palau?

WhatsApp, Messenger dominate this space. The best-known is WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

How high is internet penetration in Palau?

Around 94.4%. With a population of about 18 thousand and 17 thousand online, roughly 1 thousand people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

Where do these app facts come from?

Usage figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026 (Kepios, based on ITU and national statistics); app details come from each product’s official site. Updated 2026-11-12.

Which websites are most popular in Palau?

The everyday ones are Island Times, Palau National Government, Pristine Paradise Palau, plus the other 8 sites listed above. They cover news, shopping, search, banking and official paperwork, and every link points to the official site.

Sources

Updated 2026-11-12
Cite this pageWorld Sites & Apps. “Palau: internet and everyday apps”. 2026. https://abcvv.com/c/pw.html