Which island contains Palau's capital, Ngerulmud?

Palau’s capital, Ngerulmud, is on Babeldaob Island.

Babeldaob is Palau’s largest island and contains the northern part of the country’s main island group. Ngerulmud sits in Melekeok State on Babeldaob’s central-eastern side, about 20 kilometres northeast of Koror City. The national capitol complex opened in 2006, when government offices moved from Koror.

The geography can be confusing because Palau is an archipelago of roughly 340 islands, and Koror remains the country’s largest urban centre and principal commercial destination. However, the capital is not on Koror Island. Nor is it on the smaller islands of Angaur or Peleliu, both of which are separate Palauan islands and states.

Babeldaob is also notable for its mountainous, forested landscape. It covers about 331 square kilometres—more than 70 percent of Palau’s land area—and includes ten of the country’s sixteen states, including Melekeok.