Panama Facts

by countryaah · Published June 3, 2019 · Updated April 26, 2020

Panama, State of Central America; 77 100 km², 4.2 million residents (2019).Panama, which is located in the southernmost and narrowest part of Central America, borders Colombia in the east and Costa Rica in the west, and has coasts to the Caribbean Sea to the north and to the Pacific Ocean to the south. Panama is divided midway from the northwest to the southeast by the Panama Canal. The capital is Panama City (441,000 residents, 2012).

Country facts

Republic of Panama / Republic of Panama
Country abbreviation: PA
Area: 77 100 km²
Population (2019): 4.2 million residents
Capital: Panama City
Main language: Spanish
State: Republic
Head of State and Head of Government: Laurentino Cortizo (President)
Per capita GDP (2018): US $ 15 575
GNI per capita (2018): US $ 14,370
Currency unit: 1 balboa = 100 cents
Currency code: PAB
Country number (telephony): 507
Internet domain name: pa
Time difference compared to Sweden: −6
National Day: November 3 (Independence Day, 1903)

Nature

Land use: forest (44%), agricultural land (9%), other (47%)
Highest mountain: Barú (3,475 m asl)

Population

Population density (2019): 54 residents per km²
Natural population growth (2019): 1.4%; birth number 19 ‰, death number 5 ‰
Age structure (2019): 0-14 years (26%), 15-64 (66%), 65- (8%)
Average life expectancy (2019): men 75 years, women 81 years
Infant mortality (2019): 14 per 1,000 live births
Population forecast 2050: 6 million residents
HDI (2017): 0.789 (place 66 of 189)
Urbanization rate (2019): 69%
Most populous cities (2012): Panama City (441,000 residents), San Miguelito (355,300), Tocumen (107,600)

Business

Industry’s contribution to GDP (2017): agriculture (3%), industry (16%), service (81%)
Exports (2017): US $ 15,500 million
Main export products: bananas, fish and seafood
Main exporting countries: USA, Netherlands, China
Imports (2017): US $ 21,910 million
Main import products: fuel, medicine, vehicles
Main importing countries: USA, China, Mexico
Railway network (2014): 77 km

Panama is the easternmost part of the Central American strip of land, and most of the country consists of a hot lowland area. Plains and hill areas spread along the coasts. To the west of the Gulf of Panama, the Azuero Peninsula extends far south. Most of the country has a humid tropical climate; only along the Pacific coast is it drier.

The President, who has the executive power, is elected for a five-year term. The members of the Legislative Assembly are also elected for five years. The country’s business is largely based on service income from the Panama Canal, banks and the Colón free trade zone. However, channel traffic is now less important to the country’s economy than during the 1990s – international banks, industry, commerce and shipping generate more tax revenue than the channel does. The main export products are bananas, sugar, coffee, shrimp and clothing.