Former provisional capital of the republic of Palau, on Koror Island, in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific, 1,303 km/810 mi southwest of Guam, and 853 km/530 mi southeast of Manila; population (2004 est) 14,000. It is a commercial and tourist centre, with a copra-processing plant. Payments from the US government for the maintenance of military bases also provide a mainstay of the local economy. In 2006, Melekeok on the island of Babeldaob replaced Koror as the capital.
Under Japanese administration until 1944, it was devastated during World War II.
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