Foreign residents in Palau

Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna, Sardegna · Population 4,084 · Median age 46 · Indice di vecchiaia 170.1 (2019)

Data as of 2026-08-09· ISTAT

Palau, in the province of Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna, is home to 13 Brazilians — 0.32% of its 4,084 residents. That is the 181st-highest concentration of Brazilians of any of the 5,872 Italian comuni with at least 1,000 residents, and 2nd within Sardegna.

Across the nationalities we track, Palau counts 88 foreign residents in total, 2.15% of the population. The largest groups are Brazilians (13), Germans (11), Americans (10).

Over the period 2019–2025, the number of Brazilians in Palau has risen, from 7 to 13 (+86%).

Separately, ISTAT's census data shows 14.3% of Palau's population was born outside Italy — 6.9% outside the EU and 7.4% elsewhere in the EU. ISTAT does not publish this broken down by specific country at comune level, so it isn't directly comparable to the per-nationality citizenship figures above.

Population over time

20022025. ISTAT’s intercensal population reconstruction (2002–2018) and resident-population registry (2019 onward).

By nationality

NationalityCitizensShare
Brazil130.32%
Germany110.27%
United States100.24%
France90.22%
Switzerland80.20%
Russia80.20%
Venezuela70.17%
United Kingdom40.10%
Argentina30.07%
Austria30.07%
Netherlands30.07%
Australia20.05%
Canada20.05%
Spain20.05%
Ireland20.05%
South Korea10.02%
Belgium00.00%
Denmark00.00%
Finland00.00%
Greece00.00%
Japan00.00%
Mexico00.00%
Norway00.00%
Portugal00.00%
Sweden00.00%

“Citizens” counts residents holding that country’s citizenship, from ISTAT’s population registry.

Country of birth

GroupResidentsShare
Born in Italy3,49985.68%
Born elsewhere in the EU3027.39%
Born outside the EU2836.93%

From ISTAT’s census data. Broad groups only — ISTAT does not publish comune-level population by specific country of birth, so this isn’t comparable per-nationality to the citizenship table above. See about the data.

Brazilians over time

Tax regimes

Palau qualifies for the 7% pensioner regime. Comfortably below the 30,000-resident ceiling.

Qualifying is about the town. Whether it applies to you depends on criteria no map can check — where you were tax-resident before, and where your income comes from.

How the 7% pensioner regime works, and every qualifying comune →

This lists the regimes we’ve published. Others exist that we haven’t encoded yet — we add one only once it has been checked against the legislation — so this isn’t a complete account of what might apply to you.

Property prices

To buy

2,503 /

To rent

10.42 /m²/month

Buying in Palau is above the Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna average of €2,005/m². Averaged across 8 OMI micro-zones, which can differ substantially within the same town.

Buy or rent

20 years of rent here equal the purchase price, close to the national median of 22.2 years.

A ratio between two OMI prices, not a return on investment. It leaves out purchase taxes, IMU, maintenance, financing and the months a place sits empty — all of which push the real figure up. Useful for the question it does answer: whether this town looks expensive to buy relative to what renting in it costs.

House or apartment

A detached house here averages 3,421/m², against €2,503 for an apartment.

Compared street for street — houses and flats priced in the same neighbourhood — a house costs 32% more per square metre.

OMI prices “Ville e Villini” separately from the apartments every other figure on this page describes. Nationally a house costs about 14% more per square metre, but in 450 comuni it costs less — worth checking rather than assuming.

Compare every comune on the map →

Agenzia delle Entrate — Osservatorio del Mercato Immobiliare (OMI), semester 2025 H2. Figures are midpoints of OMI’s surveyed ranges for “Abitazioni civili” in normal condition — a guide to the market, not a valuation of any particular property. Source.

Nearby comuni

← See Palau on the interactive map