Panama

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

agricultural land:

30.5%;

• arable land 7.3%;
• permanent crops 2.5%;
• permanent pasture 20.7%

forest:

43.6%

other:

25.9% (2011 est.)

total:

0.91 cu km/yr (27%/2%/71%)

per capita:

296.1 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever (2013)

total number:

59,294

percentage:

7%

note: data represents children ages 5-17 (2010 est.)

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)

• 10 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, Panama Oeste, Veraguas

• several previous;
• latest effective 11 October 1972;
• amended several times, last in 2004 (2010)

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (71 seats; 45 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies - populous towns and cities - by proportional representation vote and 26 directly elected in single-seat constituencies - outlying rural districts - by plurality vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 4 May 2014 (next to be held in May 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PRD 26, CD 25, Panamenista 16, MOLIRENA 2, PP 1, independent 1;
• note - only 57 deputies were officially installed because fourteen runners-up challenged the election

highest court(s):

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 9 magistrates and 9 alternates and divided into civil, criminal, administrative, and general business chambers)

judge selection and term of office:

magistrates appointed by the president for staggered 10-year terms

subordinate courts:

• appellate courts or Tribunal Superior;
• Labor Supreme Courts;
• Court of Audit;
• circuit courts or Tribunal Circuital (2 each in 9 of the 10 provinces);
• municipal courts;
• electoral, family, maritime, and adolescent courts

• Democratic Change or CD [Ricardo MARTINELLI Berrocal]
• Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Carlos PEREZ Herrera]
• Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Francisco "Pancho" ALEMAN]
• Panamenista Party [Juan Carlos VARELA Rodriguez] (formerly the Arnulfista Party)
• Popular Party or PP [Milton C. HENRIQUEZ] (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC)

• Chamber of Commerce
• Concertacion Nacional (mechanism for Government of Panama to formally dialogue with representatives of civil society)
• 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 Emanuel Arturo GONZALEZ-REVILLA Lince (since 18 September 2014)

chancery:

2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-1407

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-8413

consulate(s) general:

Honolulu, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, Tampa (FL), Washington DC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jonathan D. FARRAR (since 15 May 2012)

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; American Embassy Panama, 9100 Panama City PL, Washington, DC 20521-9100

telephone:

[507] 317-5000

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 Istmeno" (Isthmus Hymn)

lyrics/music:

Jeronimo DE LA OSSA/Santos A. JORGE

note: adopted 1925

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

agriculture:

17%

industry:

18.6%

services:

64.4% (2009 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.1%

highest 10%:

40.1% (2010 est.)

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 (2011)

• 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 (2007)

total:

77 km

standard gauge:

77 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 129

total:

15,137 km

paved:

6,351 km

unpaved:

8,786 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 122

major seaport(s):

Balboa, Colon, Cristobal

container port(s) (TEUs):

Balboa (3,232,265), Colon (2,390,976), Manzanillo (2,391,066)

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 men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• most Panamanian victims are sexually exploited domestically;
• indigenous girls and women are also forced into domestic servitude in the country;
• foreign women from nearby countries migrate to Panama legally but some are subsequently exploited in sex trafficking or, to a lesser extent, in domestic service;
• Chinese adults and men from neighboring countries are subjected to debt bondage, while Colombian and Middle Eastern men are used as forced labor in restaurants

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Panama does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• several public awareness events were conducted in 2013, but the government did not demonstrate overall increasing anti-trafficking efforts;
• authorities did not report whether any internal sex trafficking or forced labor involving the movement of victims was investigated or prosecuted in 2013;
• many officials lack an understanding of human trafficking;
• fewer trafficking victims were identified and assisted in 2013;
• victim assistance mechanisms required by Panamanian law were not implemented (2014)

• 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