Panama

centralized republicIndependence 3 November 1903 (from Colombia

Panama as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalPanama
Area78,200 km2
1991

Every edition of Panama

Populationas each edition published it
2.48 million July 1991 · 2.43m in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 1.98% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 25.6 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 74.56 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
3 children per woman 1991 · 3.1 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
21 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 22 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $2,400 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 8% in 1993

Geography

10 fields
Total area
78,200km2
land area: 75,990 km2Comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries
555km total
Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km

Coastline

2,490 km Territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate

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

Terrain

interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills

Natural resources

copper, mahogany forests, shrimp

Land use

  • arable land 6%;
  • permanent crops 2%;
  • meadows and pastures 15%;
  • forest and woodland 54%;
  • other 23%;
  • includes irrigated NEGL%

Environment

dense tropical forest in east and northwest

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

14 fields
Population
2,476,281
(July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth
26Death
5

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 70%West Indian 14%white 10%Indian 6%
Literacy
88%
(male 88%, female 88%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Net migration rate

NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Infant mortality rate

21 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Life expectancy at birth

72 years male, 76 years female (1991)

Total fertility rate

3.0 children born/woman (1991)

Nationality

noun--Panamanian(s); adjective--Panamanian

Religion

Roman Catholic over 93%, Protestant 6%

Language

  • Spanish (official);
  • English as native tongue 14%;
  • many Panamanians bilingual

Labor force

  • 770,472 (1987);
  • government and community services 27.9%;
  • agriculture, hunting, and fishing 26.2%;
  • commerce, restaurants, and hotels 16%;
  • manufacturing and mining 10.5%;
  • construction 5.3%;
  • transportation and communications 5.3%;
  • finance, insurance, and real estate 4.2%;
  • Canal Zone 2.4%;
  • shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor

Organized labor

17% of labor force (1986)

Government

Centralized republic

17 fields

Legislative Assembly, 67 seats, elected 27 January 1991one dot, one seat

progovernment parties--PDC 28MOLIRENA 16PA 6PLA 5

Long-form name

Republic of Panama

Type

centralized republic

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*, Veraguas

Independence

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

Constitution

11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 November (1903)

Executive branch

president, two vice presidents, Cabinet

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)

Judicial branch

  • Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) currently being reorganized Chief of State and Head of Government--President Guillermo ENDARA (since 20 December 1989, elected 7 May 1989);
  • First Vice President Ricardo ARIAS Calderon (since 20 December 1989, elected 7 May 1989);
  • Second Vice President Guillermo FORD (since 20 December 1989, elected 7 May 1989) government alliance--Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA), Alfredo RAMIREZ;
  • Authentic Liberal Party (PLA);
  • Arnulfista Party (PA), Francisco ARTOLA;
  • opposition parties--Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Ricardo ARIAS Calderon;
  • Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD, ex-official government party), Gerardo GONZALEZ;
  • Agrarian Labor Party (PALA), Carlos ELETA Almaran;
  • Liberal Party (PL);
  • People's Party (PdP, Soviet-oriented Communist party), Ruben DARIO Sousa Batista;
  • Democratic Workers Party (PDT, leftist), Eduardo RIOS;
  • National Action Party (PAN, rightist);
  • Popular Action Party (PAPO), Carlos Ivan ZUNIGA;
  • Socialist Workers Party (PST, leftist), Jose CAMBRA;
  • Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT, leftist), Graciela DIXON

Suffrage

  • universal and compulsory at age 18 President--last held on 7 May 1989, annulled but later upheld (next to be held May 1994);
  • results--anti-NORIEGA coalition believed to have won about 75% of the total votes cast;
  • Legislative Assembly--last held on 27 January 1991 (next to be held May 1994);
  • results--percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats--(67 total) progovernment parties--PDC 28, MOLIRENA 16, PA 6, PLA 5;
  • opposition parties--PRD 10, PALA 1, PL 1;
  • note--the PDC went into opposition after President Guillermo ENDARA ousted the PDC from the coalition government in April 1991

Communists

People's Party (PdP), pro-Soviet mainline Communist party, did not obtain the necessary 3% of the total vote in the 1984 election to retain its legal status; about 3,000 members

Other political or pressure groups

  • National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO);
  • National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP);
  • Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE);
  • National Civic Crusade;
  • National Committee for the Right to Life

Member of

AG (associate), CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

  • Ambassador Jaime FORD;
  • Chancery at 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008;
  • telephone (202) 483-1407;
  • the status of the Consulates General and Consulates has not yet been determined;
  • US--Ambassador Deane R. HINTON;
  • Embassy at Avenida Balboa and Calle 38, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5 (mailing address is Box E, APO Miami 34002);
  • telephone [507] 27-1777

Flag

divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white with a blue five-pointed star in the center (hoist side) and plain red, the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center

Economy

GDP expanded by an estimated 5% in 1990, after contracting 1% in 1988 and 14% in 1989.

16 fields
GDP, purchasing power parity
$4.8billion
per capita $1,980; real growth rate 5% (1990 est.)
External debt
$5billion
(December 1990 est.)

Exports $355 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)commodities, where a share is given

bananas
27%shrimp
21%clothing
6%coffee
4%sugar
4%
; partners--US 90%, Central America and Caribbean, EC (1989 est.)

Imports $1,250 million (f.o.b., 1990)

foodstuffs
13%capital goods
12%crude oil
12%
also consumer goods, chemicals; partners--US 35%, Central America and Caribbean, EC, Mexico, Venezuela (1989 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$1.7 billionExpenditures
$1.8 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $70 million (1990 est.)

Overview

GDP expanded by an estimated 5% in 1990, after contracting 1% in 1988 and 14% in 1989. Political stability prompted greater business confidence and consumer demand, leading to increased production by the agricultural, commercial, manufacturing, construction, and utilities sectors.

The transportation sector and government services declined slightly due to slack early-1990 transits through the Panama Canal, lower oil pipeline flowthrough, and Panama City's budget cuts. Imports and exports posted gains during the year, and government revenues were up sharply over 1989's levels.

Industrial production

growth rate 4.8% (1990 est.)

Electricity

1,113,000 kW capacity; 3,264 million kWh produced, 1,350 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries

manufacturing and construction activities, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction material, sugar mills, paper products

Agriculture

  • accounts for 12% of GDP (1990 est.), 25% of labor force (1989);
  • crops--bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane;
  • livestock;
  • fishing;
  • importer of food grain, vegetables, milk products

Economic aid

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $516 million;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $575 million;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $4 million

Currency

balboa (plural--balboas); 1 balboa (B) = 100 centesimos

Exchange rates

balboas (B) per US$1--1.000 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 2,932 ships by type

passenger 22short-sea passenger 22passenger-cargo 5cargo 1,060refrigerated cargo 188container 165roll-on/roll-off cargo 62vehicle carrier 105livestock carrier 8multifunction large-load carrier 5petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 301chemical tanker 175combination ore/oil 27liquefied gas 91specialized tanker 8bulk 651combination bulk; note--all but 5 are foreign owned and operated; the top 4 foreign owners are Japan 36%, Greece 9%, Hong Kong 9%, and the US 8%; (China owns at least 127 ships, Vietnam 10, Yugoslavia 10, Cuba 5, Cyprus 3, and USSR 2) 372,932 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 41,314,623 GRT/66,226,104 DWT

Airports, 113 total, 101 usable

permanent-surface runways
41runways over 3,659 m
nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m
2runways 1,220-2,439 m
15

Networkskm

Highways
8,530Railroads
238
Highways: ; 2,745 km paved, 3,270 km gravel or crushed stone, 2,515 km improved and unimproved earth · Railroads: ; 78 km 1.524-meter gauge, 160 km 0.914-meter gauge

Railroads

238 km total; 78 km 1.524-meter gauge, 160 km 0.914-meter gauge

Highways

8,530 km total; 2,745 km paved, 3,270 km gravel or crushed stone, 2,515 km improved and unimproved earth

Inland waterways

800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal

Pipelines

crude oil, 130 km

Ports

Cristobal, Balboa, Puerto de La Bahia de Las Minas

Civil air

16 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

  • domestic and international facilities well developed;
  • connection into Central American Microwave System;
  • 2 Atlantic Ocean satellite antennas;
  • 220,000 telephones;
  • stations--91 AM, no FM, 23 TV;
  • 1 coaxial submarine cable

Defense Forces

3 fields
Defense expenditures
$75.5million
1.5% of GDP (1990)

Branches

  • note--the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) ceased to exist as a military institution shortly after the United States invaded Panama on 20 December 1989;
  • President Endara is attempting to restructure the forces into a civilian police service under the new name of Panamanian Public Forces (PPF);
  • a Council of Public Security and National Defense under Menalco Solis in the office of the president coordinates the activities of the security forces;
  • the Institutional Protection Service under Carlos Bares is attached to the presidency

Manpower availability

  • males 15-49, 644,895;
  • 444,522 fit for military service;
  • no conscription

Central Intelligence Agency. “Panama.” The World Factbook 1991. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/panama/1991.

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