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, Environmental Modification, 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

noun:

Panamanian(s)

adjective:

Panamanian

at birth:

1.045 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 (2011 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever and malaria (2009)

conventional long form:

Republic of Panama

conventional short form:

Panama

local long form:

Republica de Panama

local short form:

Panama

name:

Panama City

geographic coordinates:

8 58 N, 79 32 W

time difference:

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

• 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 3 indigenous territories* (comarcas);
• Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Embera-Wounaan*, Herrera, Kuna Yala*, Los Santos, Ngobe-Bugle*, Panama, Veraguas

chief of state:

• President Ricardo MARTINELLI Berrocal (since 1 July 2009);
• Vice President Juan Carlos VARELA (since 1 July 2009);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Ricardo MARTINELLI Berrocal (since 1 July 2009); Vice President Juan Carlos VARELA (since 1 July 2009)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (not eligible for immediate reelection; president and vice president must sit out two additional terms (10 years) before becoming eligible for reelection);
• election last held on 3 May 2009 (next to be held in 2014)

election results:

Ricardo MARTINELLI Berrocal elected president; percent of vote - Ricardo MARTINELLI Berrocal 60%, Balbina HERRERA 38%, Guillermo ENDARA Galimany 2%

note: government coalition - CD (Democratic Change), Panamenista, MOLIRENA (Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement), and UP (Patriotic Union Party)

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

• Democratic Change or CD [Ricardo MARTINELLI];
• Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Francisco SANCHEZ Cardenas];
• Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Sergio GONZALEZ-Ruiz];
• Panamenista Party [Juan Carlos VARELA Rodriguez] (formerly the Arnulfista Party);
• Patriotic Union Party or UP (combination of the Liberal National Party or PLN and the Solidarity Party or PS)[Anibal GALINDO];
• Popular Party or PP [Milton HENRIQUEZ] (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 Mario Ernesto JARAMILLO Castillo

chancery:

2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-1407

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-8416

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa

chief of mission:

Ambassador Phyllis M. POWERS

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;
• 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

name:

"Himno Istemno" (Isthmus Hymn)

lyrics/music:

Jeronimo DE LA OSSA/Santos A. JORGE

note: adopted 1925

agriculture:

17.6%

industry:

8.8%

services:

73.6% (2009 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.3%

highest 10%:

40.6% (2009)

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

general assessment:

domestic and international facilities well developed

domestic:

mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has increased rapidly

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 (2008)

• multiple privately-owned television networks and a government-owned educational TV station;
• multi-channel cable and satellite TV subscription services are available;
• more than 100 commercial radio stations (2007)

total:

76 km

country comparison to the world: 127

standard gauge:

76 km 1.435-m gauge (2010)

total:

11,978 km

country comparison to the world: 130

paved:

4,300 km

unpaved:

7,678 km (2002)

males age 16-49:

731,254

females age 16-49:

728,329 (2010 est.)

male:

32,142

female:

30,879 (2010 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 subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• although some Panamanian women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking in other countries in Latin America and in Europe, most Panamanian trafficking victims are exploited within the country;
• commercial sexual exploitation of children was greater in rural areas;
• Panamanian children, mostly young girls, are subjected to domestic servitude;
• most foreign trafficking victims are adult women from Colombia, neighboring Central American countries, and the Dominican Republic;
• some victims migrate voluntarily to Panama to work but are subsequently forced into prostitution or domestic servitude

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - authorities established a commission which drafted comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation to bring anti-trafficking laws in line with the 2000 UN Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Protocol;
• the government identified at least 43 trafficking victims and prosecuted five sex trafficking offenders, and in partnership with civil society and foreign governments, provided training to Panamanian officials;
• however, Panama continued to lack prohibitions against forced labor in its penal code, and authorities did not convict any trafficking offenders;
• specialized victim services, particularly for adult victims, remained limited, and authorities did not report using proactive procedures to identify trafficking victims among detained migrants (2011)

• 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