Panama

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

total:

0.82 cu km/yr (67%/5%/28%)

per capita:

254 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Marine Life Conservation

• 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

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever and malaria

water contact disease:

leptospirosis (2008)

noun:

Panamanian(s)

adjective:

Panamanian

conventional long form:

Republic of Panama

conventional short form:

Panama

local long form:

Republica de Panama

local short form:

Panama

name:

Panama

geographic coordinates:

8 58 N, 79 32 W

time difference:

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

• based on civil law system;
• judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

chief of state:

• President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004);
• First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004);
• Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004);
• First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004);
• Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

elections:

• president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (not eligible for immediate reelection; president and vice presidents must sit out two additional terms (10 years) before becoming eligible for reelection);
• election last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held on 3 May 2009);
• note - beginning in 2009, Panama will have only one vice president

election results:

• Martin TORRIJOS Espino elected president;
• percent of vote - Martin TORRIJOS Espino 47.5%, Guillermo ENDARA Galimany 30.6%, Jose Miguel ALEMAN 17%, Ricardo MARTINELLI 4.9%

note: government coalition - PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party), PP (Popular Party)

• unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (78 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms);
• note - in 2009, the number of seats will change to 71

elections:

last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009)

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 41, PA 17, PS 9, MOLIRENA 4, CD 3, PLN 3, PP 1

note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula

• Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms);
• five superior courts;
• three courts of appeal

• Democratic Change or CD [Ricardo MARTINELLI];
• Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hugo GUIRAUD];
• Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Gisela CHUNG];
• Panamenista Party or PA [Juan Carlos VARELA] (formerly the Arnulfista Party);
• Patriotic Union Party or PU (combination of the Liberal National Party or PLN and the Solidarity Party or PS)[Jose Raul MULINO and Anibal GALINDO];
• Popular Party or PP [Rene ORILLAC] (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC)

• Chamber of Commerce;
• National Civic Crusade;
• National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO;
• National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP;
• National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS);
• Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE;
• Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP;
• Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP

chief of mission:

Ambassador Federico HUMBERT Arias

chancery:

2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-1407

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-8416

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Honolulu, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa

chief of mission:

Ambassador William A. EATON

embassy:

Edificio 783, Avenida Demetrio Basilio Lakas Panama, Apartado Postal 0816-02561, Zona 5, Panama City

mailing address:

American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002

telephone:

[507] 207-7000

FAX:

[507] 317-5568

• 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

agriculture:

15%

industry:

18%

services:

67% (2006)

lowest 10%:

0.7%

highest 10%:

43% (2003)

• bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables;
• livestock;
• shrimp

general assessment:

domestic and international facilities well developed

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is approaching 90 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 507;
• landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), the MAYA-1, and PAN-AM 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 (2007)

total:

355 km

standard gauge:

77 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

278 km 0.914-m gauge (2006)

total:

11,978 km

paved:

4,300 km

unpaved:

7,343 km (2002)

male:

31,042

female:

29,969 (2008 est.)

• on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces;
• in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression"

current situation:

• Panama is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation;
• the majority of victims are Panamanian women and children trafficked within the country into the sex trade;
• rural children in Panama may be trafficked internally to urban areas for labor exploitation

tier rating:

Tier 2 Watch List - Panama is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly with respect to prosecuting, convicting, and sentencing human traffickers for their crimes, and for failing to provide adequate victim assistance (2008)

• 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