Palau's flag is a two-tone flag. The ratio of length to width of the national flag is 5:3. The sky blue bottom symbolizes the ocean, center left direction for a yellow circle, representing the moon. This flag was adopted on January 1, 1981. Before independence, palau had used the union flag, the United States flag and the Pacific island trust flag. The republic of palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is located 500 kilometers east of the Philippine islands. Palau became independent from United States trusteeship on 1 October 1994. The mainstay industries are fishing and tourism, the main religions are Christianity and the ancient Modekngei sect, 70% of the population is indigenous, the rest is mainly filipinos. The government is the country's main employer, but the economy depends heavily on American aid.