Panama

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 that was named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the union 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 known as the Panama Canal Zone on either side of the structure. The US Army Corps of Engineers built the Panama Canal 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, Panamanian 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.

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

9 00 N, 80 00 W

Central America and the Caribbean

slightly smaller than South Carolina

2,490 km

tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)

interior mostly steep, rugged mountains with dissected, upland plains; coastal plains with rolling hills

copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower

394 sq km (2022)

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

occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area

strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge that connects North and South America; controls the Panama Canal, which links the North Atlantic Ocean with the North Pacific Ocean via the Caribbean Sea 

Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 65%, Indigenous 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.)

Evangelical 55%, Roman Catholic 33.4%, none 10.1%, unspecified 1.5% (2023 est.)

1.44% (2025 est.)

17.11 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

2.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 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

1.977 million PANAMA CITY (capital) (2023)

37 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.33 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.13 (2025 est.)

1.63 physicians/1,000 population (2022)

1.9 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

22.7% (2016)

2.9% (2019 est.)

53.2% (2023 est.)

water pollution from agricultural runoff; deforestation of tropical rainforest; land degradation and soil erosion in Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; effects of mining 

tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)

11.9 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

139.304 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

presidential republic

10 provinces (<em>provincias</em>, singular - <em>provincia</em>) and 4 indigenous regions* (<em>comarcas</em>); Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Coclé, Colon, Darien, Embera-Wounaan*, Guna Yala*, Herrera, Los Santos, Naso Tjer Di*, Ngabe-Bugle*, Panama, Panama Oeste, Veraguas

civil law system; Supreme Court of Justice reviews legislative acts

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Alliance Party or PA<br>Alternative Independent Socialist Party or PAIS<br>Another Way Movement or MOCA<br>Democratic Change or CD<br>Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD<br>Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA<br>Panameñista Party (formerly the Arnulfista Party)<br>Popular Party or PP (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC)<br>Realizing Goals Party or RM

ACS, 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, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

Independence Day (Separation Day), 3 November (1903)

<strong>description:</strong> divided into four equal rectangles; one of the top quadrants is white (left side) with a five-pointed blue star in the center, and the other is plain red; one of the bottom quadrants is plain blue (left side), and the other is white with a five-pointed red star in the center<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> blue and red stand for the main political parties, and white for peace between them; the blue star stands for the civic virtues of purity and honesty, and the red star for authority and law

harpy eagle

blue, white, red

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

$86.26 billion (2024 est.)

sugarcane, rice, bananas, oranges, oil palm fruit, chicken, plantains, maize, milk, pineapples (2023)

construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling

-2.6% (2024 est.)

2.206 million (2024 est.)

21.8% (2021 est.)

7.5% (of GDP) (2021 est.)

China 25%, Japan 10%, USA 6%, Thailand 5%, Costa Rica 5% (2023)

copper ore, ships, refined petroleum, bananas, fish (2023)

USA 15%, Colombia 13%, China 13%, Ecuador 13%, Japan 11% (2023)

crude petroleum, ships, refined petroleum, nitrogen compounds, cars (2023)

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)

.pa

HP

77 (2025)

1 (2025)

no regular military forces<br><br>Ministry of Public Security: National Police (Policía Nacional, PN), National Aeronaval Service (Servicio Nacional Aeronaval, SENAN), National Border Service (Servicio Nacional de Fronteras, SENAFRONT) (2025)

approximately 30,000 Ministry of Public Security personnel (2025)

the Panamanian Public Forces focus on law enforcement, border control, and maritime security; the National Police are responsible for internal law enforcement and public order, while the National Border Service (SENAFRONT) handles border security; the Aeronaval Service is responsible for carrying out air and naval operations that include some internal security responsibilities; key areas of focus are countering narcotics trafficking and securing the border, particularly along the frontier with Colombia where SENAFRONT maintains a significant presence<br><br>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 (2025)

Tren de Aragua (TdA)