Introduction
Background
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.
Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.
Geography
Location
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica
Geographic coordinates
9 00 N, 80 00 W
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean
Land boundaries
total: 687 km
border countries (2): Colombia 339 km; Costa Rica 348 km
Coastline
2,490 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or edge of continental margin
Climate
tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
Terrain
interior mostly steep, rugged mountains with dissected, upland plains; coastal plains with rolling hills
Elevation
highest point: Volcan Baru 3,475 m
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 360 m
Natural resources
copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower
Land use
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.)
Irrigated land
407 sq km (2020)
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s): Laguna de Chiriqui - 900 sq km
Population distribution
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
Natural hazards
occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area
Geography - note
strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean
People and Society
Nationality
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian
Ethnic groups
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.)
Languages
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.
Religions
Roman Catholic 48.6%, Evangelical 30.2%, other 4.7%, agnostic 0.2%, atheist 0.2%, none 12.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2018 est.)
Demographic profile
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.
Age structure
0-14 years: 25.56% (male 508,131/female 487,205)
15-24 years: 16.59% (male 329,250/female 316,796)
25-54 years: 40.31% (male 794,662/female 774,905)
55-64 years: 8.54% (male 165,129/female 167,317)
65 years and over: 9.01% (male 160,516/female 190,171) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 53.8
youth dependency ratio: 40.6
elderly dependency ratio: 13.2
potential support ratio: 7.6 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 30.1 years
male: 29.6 years
female: 30.5 years (2020 est.)
Population distribution
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
Urbanization
urban population: 69.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.977 million PANAMA CITY (capital) (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
52 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93Infant mortality rate
total: 16.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.69 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 15.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 77.62 years
male: 74.76 years
female: 80.66 years (2022 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
50.8% (2014/15)
Drinking water source
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.)
Current health expenditure
7.6% of GDP (2019)
Physicians density
1.63 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
Hospital bed density
2.3 beds/1,000 population (2016)
Sanitation facility access
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.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
Alcohol consumption per capita
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.)
Tobacco use
total: 5% (2020 est.)
male: 7.7% (2020 est.)
female: 2.2% (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.7%
male: 98.8%
female: 95.4% (2019)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2016)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 22.4%
male: 19.8%
female: 27.1% (2021 est.)
Environment
Environment - current issues
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
Environment - international agreements
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
Air pollutants
particulate matter emissions: 11.18 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 10.71 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 5.97 megatons (2020 est.)
Climate
tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
Land use
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.)
Urbanization
urban population: 69.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Revenue from forest resources
forest revenues: 0.08% of GDP (2018 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,472,262 tons (2015 est.)
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s): Laguna de Chiriqui - 900 sq km
Total water withdrawal
municipal: 759.1 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
industrial: 6.2 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
agricultural: 446.1 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Total renewable water resources
139.3 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Government
Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Panama
conventional short form: Panama
local long form: Republica de Panama
local short form: Panama
etymology: named after the capital city which was itself named after a former indigenous fishing village
Government type
presidential republic
Capital
name: Panama City
geographic coordinates: 8 58 N, 79 32 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: according to tradition, the name derives from a former fishing area near the present capital - an indigenous village and its adjacent beach - that were called "panama" meaning "an abundance of fish"
Administrative divisions
10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 4 indigenous regions* (comarcas); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Embera-Wounaan*, Guna Yala*, Herrera, Los Santos, Naso Tjer Di*, Ngabe-Bugle*, Panama, Panama Oeste, Veraguas
Independence
3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain on 28 November 1821)
National holiday
Independence Day (Separation Day), 3 November (1903)
Constitution
history: several previous; latest effective 11 October 1972
amendments: proposed by the National Assembly, by the Cabinet, or by the Supreme Court of Justice; passage requires approval by one of two procedures: 1) absolute majority vote of the Assembly membership in each of three readings and by absolute majority vote of the next elected Assembly in a single reading without textual modifications; 2) absolute majority vote of the Assembly membership in each of three readings, followed by absolute majority vote of the next elected Assembly in each of three readings with textual modifications, and approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2004
Legal system
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice
International law organization participation
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent only: yes
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state: President Laurentino "Nito" CORTIZO Cohen (since 1 July 2019); Vice President Jose Gabriel CARRIZO Jaen (since 1 July 2019); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Laurentino "Nito" CORTIZO Cohen (since 1 July 2019); Vice President Jose Gabriel CARRIZO Jaen (since 1 July 2019)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term; president eligible for a single non-consecutive term); election last held on 5 May 2019 (next to be held in 2024)
election results:
2019: Laurentino "Nito" CORTIZO Cohen elected president; percent of vote - Laurentino CORTIZO Cohen (PRD) 33.3%, Romulo ROUX (CD) 31%, Ricardo LOMBANA (independent) 18.8%, Jose BLANDON (Panamenista Party) 10.8%, Ana Matilde GOMEZ Ruiloba (independent) 4.8%, other 1.3%
2014: Juan Carlos VARELA elected president; percent of vote - Juan Carlos VARELA (PP) 39.1%, Jose Domingo ARIAS (CD) 31.4%, Juan Carlos NAVARRO (PRD) 28.2%, other 1.3%
Legislative branch
description: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (71 seats; 45 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies - populous towns and cities - by open list proportional representation vote and 26 directly elected in single-seat constituencies - outlying rural districts - by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held on 5 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 35, CD 18, Panamenista 8, MOLIRENA 5, independent 5; composition - men 55, women 16, percent of women 22.5%
Judicial branch
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 9 magistrates and 9 alternates and divided into civil, criminal, administrative, and general business chambers)
judge selection and term of office: magistrates appointed by the president for staggered 10-year terms
subordinate courts: appellate courts or Tribunal Superior; Labor Supreme Courts; Court of Audit; circuit courts or Tribunal Circuital (2 each in 9 of the 10 provinces); municipal courts; electoral, family, maritime, and adolescent courts
Political parties and leaders
Alliance Party or PA [Jose MUNOZ Molina]
Alternative Independent Socialist Party or PAIS [Jose ALVAREZ]
Democratic Change or CD [Romulo ROUX]
Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Benicio ROBINSON]
Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Francisco "Pancho" ALEMAN]
Panamenista Party [Jose Isabel BLANDON Figueroa] (formerly the Arnulfista Party)
Popular Party or PP [Daniel Javier BREA Clavel] (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC)
Realizing Goals Party or RM [Ricardo Alberto MARTINELLI Berrocal]
International organization participation
BCIE, CAN (observer), CD, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, SICA, UN, UNASUR (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Ramón Eduardo MARTÍNEZ DE LA GUARDIA (since 16 September 2022)
chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407
FAX: [1] (202) 483-8413
email address and website:
info@embassyofpanama.org
https://www.embassyofpanama.org/
consulate(s) general: Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington DC
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant), Charge d'Affaires Stewart TUTTLE (since August 2020)
embassy: Building 783, Demetrio Basilio Lakas Avenue, Clayton
mailing address: 9100 Panama City PL, Washington, DC 20521-9100
telephone: [507] 317-5000
FAX: [507] 317-5568
email address and website:
Panama-ACS@state.gov
https://pa.usembassy.gov/
Flag description
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
National symbol(s)
harpy eagle; national colors: blue, white, red
National anthem
name: "Himno Istmeno" (Isthmus Hymn)
lyrics/music: Jeronimo DE LA OSSA/Santos A. JORGE
note: adopted 1925
National heritage
total World Heritage Sites: 5 (2 cultural, 3 natural)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Caribbean Fortifications (c); Darien National Park (n); Talamanca Range-La Amistad National Park (n); Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá (c); Coiba National Park (n)
Economy
Economic overview
Panama's dollar-based economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for more than three-quarters of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, logistics, banking, the Colon Free Trade Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism and Panama is a center for offshore banking. Panama's transportation and logistics services sectors, along with infrastructure development projects, have boosted economic growth; however, public debt surpassed $37 billion in 2016 because of excessive government spending and public works projects. The US-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement was approved by Congress and signed into law in October 2011, and entered into force in October 2012.
Future growth will be bolstered by the Panama Canal expansion project that began in 2007 and was completed in 2016 at a cost of $5.3 billion - about 10-15% of current GDP. The expansion project more than doubled the Canal's capacity, enabling it to accommodate high-capacity vessels such as tankers and neopanamax vessels that are too large to traverse the existing canal. The US and China are the top users of the Canal.
Strong economic performance has not translated into broadly shared prosperity, as Panama has the second worst income distribution in Latin America. About one-fourth of the population lives in poverty; however, from 2006 to 2012 poverty was reduced by 10 percentage points.
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$109.52 billion (2020 est.)
$133.47 billion (2019 est.)
$129.54 billion (2018 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
Real GDP growth rate
5.4% (2017 est.)
5% (2016 est.)
5.8% (2015 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$25,400 (2020 est.)
$31,400 (2019 est.)
$31,000 (2018 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$66.801 billion (2019 est.)
Credit ratings
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.
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 2.4% (2017 est.)
industry: 15.7% (2017 est.)
services: 82% (2017 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use
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.)
Agricultural products
sugar cane, bananas, rice, poultry, milk, plantains, pineapples, maize, beef, pork
Industries
construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
Labor force
1.633 million (2017 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture: 17%
industry: 18.6%
services: 64.4% (2009 est.)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 22.4%
male: 19.8%
female: 27.1% (2021 est.)
Population below poverty line
22.1% (2016 est.)
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income
49.2 (2018 est.)
56.1 (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 38.9% (2014 est.)
Budget
revenues: 12.43 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: 13.44 billion (2017 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Current account balance
-$3.036 billion (2017 est.)
-$3.16 billion (2016 est.)
Exports
$20.18 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$28.58 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$28.55 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
note: includes the Colon Free Zone
Exports - partners
Ecuador 20%, Guatemala 14%, China 8%, United States 6%, Netherlands 6% (2019)
Exports - commodities
refined petroleum, copper, bananas, ships, coal tar oil, packaged medicines (2019)
Imports
$17.41 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$27.38 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$28.9 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
note: includes the Colon Free Zone
Imports - partners
China 21%, United States 19%, Japan 16%, Colombia 6%, Ecuador 5% (2019)
Imports - commodities
ships, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, tanker ships, packaged medicines (2019)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$2.703 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$3.878 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Debt - external
$101.393 billion (2019 est.)
$94.898 billion (2018 est.)
Exchange rates
balboas (PAB) per US dollar -
1 (2017 est.)
1 (2016 est.)
1 (2015 est.)
1 (2014 est.)
1 (2013 est.)
Energy
Electricity access
electrification - total population: 92% (2019)
electrification - urban areas: 99.4% (2019)
electrification - rural areas: 77% (2019)
Electricity
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.)
Electricity generation sources
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.)
Coal
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.)
Petroleum
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.)
Natural gas
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.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
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.)
Energy consumption per capita
98.946 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
country comparison to the world: 60Communications
Telephones - fixed lines
total subscriptions: 649,156 (2020 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 15 (2020 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 5,825,677 (2020 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 135 (2020 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment: Panama has seen a steady increase in revenue from the telecom sector in recent years; mobile services and broadband remain the key growth sectors, with mobile connections accounting for 90% of all connections, and over half of telecom sector revenue; the mobile market has effective competition; internet services have grown in recent years as consumers responded to government fixed-line projects, improved mobile broadband connectivity and mobile applications (2021)
domestic: fixed-line about 14 per 100 and rapid subscribership of mobile-cellular telephone roughly 132 per 100 (2020)
international: country code - 507; landing points for the PAN-AM, ARCOS, SAC, AURORA, PCCS, PAC, and the MAYA-1 submarine cable systems that together provide links to the US and parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
Broadcast media
multiple privately owned TV networks and a government-owned educational TV station; multi-channel cable and satellite TV subscription services are available; more than 100 commercial radio stations (2019)
Internet users
total: 2,761,452 (2020 est.)
percent of population: 64% (2020 est.)
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 562,413 (2020 est.)
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13 (2020 est.)
Transportation
National air transport system
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
Airports - with paved runways
total: 57
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 30 (2021)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 60
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 51 (2021)
Heliports
3 (2021)
Pipelines
128 km oil (2013)
Railways
total: 77 km (2014)
standard gauge: 77 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
Waterways
800 km (2011) (includes the 82-km Panama Canal that is being widened)
country comparison to the world: 78Merchant marine
total: 7,980
by type: bulk carrier 2,697, container ship 643, general cargo 1,381, oil tanker 771, other 2,488 (2021)
Ports and terminals
major seaport(s): Balboa, Colon, Cristobal
container port(s) (TEUs): Balboa (2,894,654), Colon (4,379,477) (2019)
Military and Security
Military and security forces
no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security: the Panama National Police (La Policía Nacional de Panamá, PNP), National Air-Naval Service (Servicio Nacional Aeronaval, SENAN), National Border Service (Servicio Nacional de Fronteras, SENAFRONT) (2022)
note: the PNP includes paramilitary special forces units for counterterrorism and counternarcotics missions; in addition to its 3 regionally-based border security brigades, SENAFRONT includes a special forces brigade, which is comprised of special forces, counternarcotics, maritime, and rapid reaction units
Military expenditures
1.2% of GDP (2022 est.)
1.3% of GDP (2021 est.)
1.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
1.2% of GDP (2019) (approximately $1.38 billion)
1.1% of GDP (2018) (approximately $1.33 billion)
Military and security service personnel strengths
approximately 20,000 National Police; 4,000 National Border Service; 3,000 National Air-Naval Service (2022)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
Panama's security forces are lightly armed; Canada, Italy and the US have provided equipment to the security forces since 2010 (2022)
Military - note
the MPS's chief focuses are countering narcotics trafficking and border security; Panama's security forces have long been criticized for being ineffective and corrupt
Panama created a paramilitary National Guard (Guardia Nacional de Panamá) in the 1950s from the former National Police (established 1904); the National Guard subsequently evolved into more of a military force with some police responsibilities; it seized power in a coup in 1968 and military officers ran the country until 1989; in 1983, the National Guard was renamed the Panama Defense Force (PDF); the PDF was disbanded after the 1989 US invasion and the current national police forces were formed in 1990; the armed forces were officially abolished under the 1994 Constitution (2022)Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
Panama-Colombia: organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate within the remote border region with Panama
Panama-Costa Rica: none identified
Refugees and internally displaced persons
refugees (country of origin): 80,021 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2021)
Illicit drugs
a prime sea and land passage for drugs, primarily cocaine from Colombia, from South America to North America and Europe; traffickers ship drugs in containers passing through the Panama Canal to North America and Europe