Politics of Palau takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President of Palau is both head of state and head of government, and Palau currently has no political parties.
Palau is divided into sixteen administrative regions, called states (the still separately listed Rock Islands did originally not belong to any state, but now belong to the state of Koror).
The population of Palau is approximately 21,000, of whom 70% are native Palauans of mixed Melanesian, Micronesian, and Austronesian descent. Many Palauans also have some Asian ancestry, from intermarriage between settlers and Palauans beginning in the 19th and 20th centuries.