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Panama Country Guide
Explore Panama in North America
Panama with the capital city Panama City is located in North America (Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean). It covers some 78,200 square kilometres (slightly smaller than South Carolina) with 3,292,000 citizens.
The topography includes interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains with coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills. The average density of population is approximately 42 per km². The notable climate conditions in Panama can be described as tropical maritime with hot, humid, cloudy and prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May). Possible natural disasters include occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area.
To reach someone in Panama dial +507 prior to a number. There are 537,100 installed telephones. And there are 5,677,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 1800 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".pa". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 110V - 60Hz.
About the flag and history of Panama
Divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center; the blue and red colors are those of the main political parties (Conservatives and Liberals respectively) and the white denotes peace between them; the blue star stands for the civic virtues of purity and honesty, the red star signifies authority and law.
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. In October 2006, Panamanians approved an ambitious plan (estimated to cost $5.3 billion) to expand the Canal. The project, which began in 2007 and could double the Canal's capacity, is expected to be completed in 2015.
Geography Quick-Facts
| Summary | Continent: North America Neighbours: Costa Rica, Colombia Capital: Panama City |
| Size | 78,200 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 30,193 square miles (mi² or sqmi) slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| Population | 3,292,000 |
| Currency | Name Balboa, Currency Code:PAB |
| Country Top Level Domain (cTLD) | .pa |
| Telephone Country Prefix | +507 |
| Mobile Phone Connections | 5,677,000 |
| Landline Phone Connections | 537,100 |
Country Position in World Rankings
Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).
Geography
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 75,420 (sq km) | 118 |
People and Society
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,559,408 | 131 |
| Population growth rate | 1.38 (%) | 88 |
| Birth rate | 18.91 (births/1,000 population) | 95 |
| Death rate | 4.73 (deaths/1,000 population) | 195 |
| Net migration rate | -0.35 (migrant(s)/1,000 population) | 128 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 92.00 (deaths/100,000 live births) | 79 |
| Infant mortality rate | 11.01 (deaths/1,000 live births) | 137 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.13 (years) | 56 |
| Total fertility rate | 2.40 (children born/woman) | 86 |
| Health expenditures | 8.10 (% of GDP) | 56 |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.90 (%) | 51 |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 20,000 | 78 |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 1,500 | 60 |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 25.40 (%) | 55 |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 3.90 (%) | 97 |
| Education expenditures | 4.10 (% of GDP) | 107 |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | 14.60 (%) | 87 |
Economy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | 58,020,000,000 | 92 |
| GDP - real growth rate | 10.70 (%) | 7 |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | 15,900 | 86 |
| Labor force | 1,509,000 | 130 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.40 (%) | 39 |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 51.90 | 16 |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 30.10 (% of GDP) | 21 |
| Taxes and other revenues | 25.40 (% of GDP) | 118 |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -2.70 (% of GDP) | 103 |
| Public debt | 41.00 (% of GDP) | 88 |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.10 (%) | 161 |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 6.91 (%) | 128 |
| Stock of narrow money | 7,488,000,000 | 87 |
| Stock of broad money | 29,720,000,000 | 77 |
| Stock of domestic credit | 31,470,000,000 | 71 |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | 10,920,000,000 | 71 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 10.90 (%) | 7 |
| Current account balance | -4,191,000,000 | 159 |
| Exports | 17,970,000,000 | 76 |
| Imports | 24,040,000,000 | 70 |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 3,314,000,000 | 105 |
| Debt - external | 14,200,000,000 | 89 |
Energy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity - production | 6,546,000,000 (kWh) | 107 |
| Electricity - consumption | 5,805,000,000 (kWh) | 107 |
| Electricity - exports | 39,000,000 (kWh) | 79 |
| Electricity - imports | 71,000,000 (kWh) | 99 |
| Electricity - installed generating capacity | 1,815,000 (kW) | 106 |
| Electricity - from fossil fuels | 51.60 (% of total installed capacity) | 154 |
| Electricity - from hydroelectric plants | 48.40 (% of total installed capacity) | 44 |
| Refined petroleum products - consumption | 98,890 (bbl/day) | 79 |
| Refined petroleum products - imports | 46,370 (bbl/day) | 72 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy | 15,460,000 (Mt) | 89 |
Communications
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | 560,200 | 93 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,735,000 | 95 |
| Internet hosts | 11,022 | 132 |
| Internet users | 959,800 | 104 |
Transportation
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Airports | 118 | 48 |
| Railways | 76 (km) | 127 |
| Roadways | 11,978 (km) | 130 |
| Waterways | 800 (km) | 73 |
| Merchant marine | 6,413 | 1 |
Military
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Military expenditures | 1.00 (% of GDP) | 128 |
Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases
List of current world heritage sites
| Name | Since |
|---|---|
| Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá Founded in 1519 by the conquistador Pedrarías Dávila, Panamá Viejo is the oldest European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. It was laid out on a rectilinear grid and marks the transference from Europe of the idea of a planned town. Aba ... | 1997 |
| Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection Coiba National Park, off the southwest coast of Panama, protects Coiba Island, 38 smaller islands and the surrounding marine areas within the Gulf of Chiriqui. Protected from the cold winds and effects of El Niño, Coiba’s Pacific tropical moist fores ... | 2005 |
| Darien National Park Forming a bridge between the two continents of the New World, Darien National Park contains an exceptional variety of habitats – sandy beaches, rocky coasts, mangroves, swamps, and lowland and upland tropical forests containing remarkable wildlife. T ... | 1981 |
| Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo Magnificent examples of 17th- and 18th-century military architecture, these Panamanian forts on the Caribbean coast form part of the defence system built by the Spanish Crown to protect transatlantic trade. ... | 1980 |