Which settlement became Palau's capital in 2006?

The settlement that became Palau's capital in 2006 is Ngerulmud. It is the seat of Palau's national government, located in Melekeok State on Babeldaob, the country's largest island.

Ngerulmud replaced Koror as the capital in October 2006, after Palau opened a new National Capitol complex. The complex contains separate buildings for the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, arranged around a central open plaza. Government offices moved from Koror shortly afterward.

The move had been anticipated by Palau's constitution, which called for a permanent capital on Babeldaob. Planning began in the 1980s, but construction progressed slowly because Palau had limited local engineering resources and had to import many materials. A major loan from Taiwan helped restart the project in the early 2000s.

Ngerulmud is often confused with Melekeok because it is within Melekeok State, and with Koror because Koror remains Palau's largest population center and a major hub for business and tourism. Ngerulmud itself has no permanent fixed population in some official descriptions.