Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia. With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of the century. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the subsequent decades. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were transferred to Panama by the end of 1999. An ambitious expansion project to more than double the Canal’s capacity - by allowing for more Canal transits and larger ships - was carried out between 2007 and 2016.
land: 74,340 sq km
water: 1,080 sq km
border countries (2): Colombia 339 km; Costa Rica 348 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or edge of continental margin
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 360 m
arable land: 7.3% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 20.7% (2018 est.)
forest: 43.6% (2018 est.)
other: 25.9% (2018 est.)
4,404,108 (2023 est.)
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Native American 12.3% (Ngabe 7.6%, Kuna 2.4%, Embera 0.9%, Bugle 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.2%), Black or African descent 9.2%, Mulatto 6.8%, White 6.7% (2010 est.)
Spanish (official), indigenous languages (including Ngabere (or Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (or Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian English Creole (similar to Jamaican English Creole; a mixture of English and Spanish with elements of Ngabere; also known as Guari Guari and Colon Creole), English, Chinese (Yue and Hakka), Arabic, French Creole, other (Yiddish, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese); note - many Panamanians are bilingual
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 48.6%, Evangelical 30.2%, other 4.7%, agnostic 0.2%, atheist 0.2%, none 12.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2018 est.)
Panama is a country of demographic and economic contrasts. It is in the midst of a demographic transition, characterized by steadily declining rates of fertility, mortality, and population growth, but disparities persist based on wealth, geography, and ethnicity. Panama has one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and dedicates substantial funding to social programs, yet poverty and inequality remain prevalent. The indigenous population accounts for a growing share of Panama’s poor and extreme poor, while the non-indigenous rural poor have been more successful at rising out of poverty through rural-to-urban labor migration. The government’s large expenditures on untargeted, indirect subsidies for water, electricity, and fuel have been ineffective, but its conditional cash transfer program has shown some promise in helping to decrease extreme poverty among the indigenous population.Panama has expanded access to education and clean water, but the availability of sanitation and, to a lesser extent, electricity remains poor. The increase in secondary schooling - led by female enrollment - is spreading to rural and indigenous areas, which probably will help to alleviate poverty if educational quality and the availability of skilled jobs improve. Inadequate access to sanitation contributes to a high incidence of diarrhea in Panama’s children, which is one of the main causes of Panama’s elevated chronic malnutrition rate, especially among indigenous communities.
0-14 years: 25.19% (male 569,439/female 540,143)
15-64 years: 64.87% (male 1,444,638/female 1,412,319)
65 years and over: 9.94% (2023 est.) (male 204,156/female 233,413)
total dependency ratio: 53.8
youth dependency ratio: 40.6
elderly dependency ratio: 13.2
potential support ratio: 7.6 (2021 est.)
total: 31.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 30.8 years
female: 31.6 years
1.51% (2023 est.)
17.7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
population is concentrated towards the center of the country, particularly around the Canal, but a sizeable segment of the populace also lives in the far west around David; the eastern third of the country is sparsely inhabited
urban population: 69.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.977 million PANAMA CITY (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
50 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 15.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 16.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 78.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 75.6 years
female: 81.5 years
2.37 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.15 (2023 est.)
50.8% (2014/15)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 88.1% of population
total: 96.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 11.9% of population
total: 3.8% of population (2020 est.)
9.7% of GDP (2020)
1.63 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
2.3 beds/1,000 population (2016)
improved: urban: 95.5% of population
rural: 69.1% of population
total: 87.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 4.5% of population
rural: 30.9% of population
total: 12.8% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
22.7% (2016)
total: 6.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 5.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 1.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 5% (2020 est.)
male: 7.7% (2020 est.)
female: 2.2% (2020 est.)
3% (2019)
58.6% (2023 est.)
3.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.7%
male: 98.8%
female: 95.4% (2019)
total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2016)
water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources
party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
agricultural land: 30.5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 7.3% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 20.7% (2018 est.)
forest: 43.6% (2018 est.)
other: 25.9% (2018 est.)
urban population: 69.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.08% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 11.78 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 10.71 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 5.97 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,472,262 tons (2015 est.)
salt water lake(s): Laguna de Chiriqui - 900 sq km
municipal: 760 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 450 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
139.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
upper middle-income Central American economy; increasing Chinese trade; US dollar user; canal expansion fueling broader infrastructure investment; services sector dominates economy; historic money-laundering and illegal drug hub
$126.352 billion (2021 est.)
$109.551 billion (2020 est.)
$133.509 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
15.34% (2021 est.)
-17.94% (2020 est.)
2.98% (2019 est.)
$29,000 (2021 est.)
$25,500 (2020 est.)
$31,500 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$66.801 billion (2019 est.)
1.63% (2021 est.)
-1.55% (2020 est.)
-0.36% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: BBB (2011)
Moody’s rating: Baa1 (2019)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 2.4% (2017 est.)
industry: 15.7% (2017 est.)
services: 82% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 45.6% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 10.7% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 42.9% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 3% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 41.9% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -44.2% (2017 est.)
sugar cane, bananas, rice, poultry, milk, plantains, pineapples, maize, beef, pork
construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
37.5% (2021 est.)
1.966 million (2021 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor
12.09% (2021 est.)
12.85% (2020 est.)
4.73% (2019 est.)
total: 30% (2021 est.)
male: 21.8%
female: 43.6%
22.1% (2016 est.)
49.8 (2019 est.)
on food: 15.7% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 1.7% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 38.9% (2014 est.)
revenues: $9.743 billion (2020 est.)
expenditures: $15.145 billion (2020 est.)
-1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
37.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
37.4% of GDP (2016 est.)
8.51% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
-$1.412 billion (2021 est.)
$1.097 billion (2020 est.)
-$3.329 billion (2019 est.)
$27.237 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$20.179 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$28.622 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
note: includes the Colon Free Zone
Ecuador 20%, Guatemala 14%, China 8%, United States 6%, Netherlands 6% (2019)
refined petroleum, copper, bananas, ships, coal tar oil, packaged medicines (2019)
$24.627 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$17.502 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$27.599 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
note: includes the Colon Free Zone
China 21%, United States 19%, Japan 16%, Colombia 6%, Ecuador 5% (2019)
ships, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, tanker ships, packaged medicines (2019)
$9.614 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$3.423 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$2.121 billion (31 December 2018 est.)
$101.393 billion (2019 est.)
$94.898 billion (2018 est.)
balboas (PAB) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
1 (2021 est.)
1 (2020 est.)
1 (2019 est.)
1 (2018 est.)
1 (2017 est.)
population without electricity: (2020) less than 1 million
electrification - total population: 95.2% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 99.7% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 85.6% (2020)
installed generating capacity: 4.106 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 10,808,780,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 427 million kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 77 million kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 1.309 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 24.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 2.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 6.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 66.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 1.118 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 1.15 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 143,700 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
66 bbl/day (2015 est.)
129,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 552.744 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 552.744 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
25.263 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 1.905 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 22.281 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 1.077 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
98.946 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 4 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 122
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 12,939,350 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 47.63 million (2018) mt-km
HP
117 (2021)
57
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
60
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
3 (2021)
128 km oil (2013)
total: 77 km (2014)
standard gauge: 77 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
total: (2010)
paved: (2010)
unpaved: (2010)
800 km (2011) (includes the 82-km Panama Canal that is being widened)
total: 8,025 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 2,690, container ship 662, general cargo 1,418, oil tanker 785, other 2,470
major seaport(s): Balboa, Colon, Cristobal
container port(s) (TEUs): Balboa (3,561,432), Colon (4,915,975) (2021)
manyapis