LOCATION:

Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica

AREA:

total: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km
water: 2,210 sq km
Area - comparative:
  
slightly smaller than South Carolina

POPULATION:

3,039,150

 (July 2005 est.)

AGE STRUCTURE:

0-14 years: 29.8%
 (male 460,840/female 443,359)
 
15-64 years: 63.9%
(male 984,558/female 956,748)
 
65 years and over: 6.4%
(male 91,383/female 102,262)

 (2005 est.)

MEDIAN AGE:

total: 26.18 years
male: 25.89 years
female: 26.48 years

 (2005 est.)

POPULATION GROWTH:

1.26%

(2005 est.)

INFANT MORTALITY RATE:

total: 20.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.26 deaths/1,000 live births

(2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS-ADULT PREVALENCE RATE:

0.6%

(World Fact Book estimates 0.9 %)

HIV/AIDS- PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS :

15-49:15,000

low estimate:
7,500

high estimate:
25,000

HIV/AIDS-DEATH

low estimate:
less than 500

high estimate:
less than 1,000

ETHNIC GROUPS:

mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%,
Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%,
white 10%,
Amerindian 6%

RELIGIONS:

Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%

LANGUAGES:

Spanish (official),
 English 14%;

 note - many Panamanians bilingual

LITERACY:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

 
total population: 92.6%
male: 93.2%
female: 91.9%

 (2003 est.)

GOVERNMENT TYPE:

constitutional democracy

CAPITAL:

Panama

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:

9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*(Kuna Yala), and Veraguas

INDEPENDENCE:

3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)

ECONOMY:

Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for four-fifths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-03; growth picked up in 2004 led by export-oriented services and a construction boom stimulated by tax incentives. The government has been backing tax reforms, reform of the social security program, new regional trade agreements, and development of tourism. Unemployment remains high

GDP:

purchasing power parity - $20.57 billion

 (2004 est.)

POPULATION BELOW POVERT LINE:

37%

(1999 est.)

INFLATION RATE:

2%

(2004 est.)

UNEMPLOYMENT:

12.6%

(2004 est.)

EXCHANGE RATES:

balboas per US dollar - 1 (2004),
1 (2003),
1 (2002),
1 (2001),
1 (2000)

ILLICIT DRUGS:

major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem