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, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south of Tokyo. Having emerged from United Nations trusteeship in 1994, it is one of the world's youngest and smallest sovereign states. In English, the name is sometimes spelled Belau in accordance with the native pronunciation. It was formerly also spelled Pelew.
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.