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.)

• 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

• 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

• 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

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 (2016 est.)

total number:

59,294

percentage:

7%

note: data represent 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

etymology:

according to tradition, the name derives from a former indigenous fishing village and its nearby beach that were called "Panama" meaning "an abundance of fish"

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 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President Juan Carlos VARELA (since 1 July 2014);
• Vice President Isabel de SAINT MALO de Alvarado (since 1 July 2014);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Juan Carlos VARELA (since 1 July 2014); Vice President Isabel de SAINT MALO de Alvarado (since 1 July 2014)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (president eligible for a single non-consecutive term);
• election last held on 4 May 2014;
• next to be held in 2019)

election results:

Juan Carlos VARELA elected president; percent of vote - Juan Carlos VARELA (PP) 39.1%, Jose Domingo ARIAS (CD) 31.4%, Juan Carlos NAVARRO (PRD) 28.2%, other 1.3%

note: an alliance between the Panamenista Party and Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) fractured after the 2014 election, but a loose coalition composed of Panamenista and moderate PRD and CD legislators generally work together to support the president’s agenda

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:

Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington DC

chief of mission:

Ambassador John D. FEELEY (since 15 February 2015)

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

agriculture:

2.8%

industry:

14.4%

services:

77.3% (2015 est.)

• 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 (2015)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

4; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 103

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

12,018,103

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

121,567,075 mt-km (2015)

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)

• 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"

refugees (country of origin):

15,593 (Colombia) (2015)

stateless persons:

2 (2015)

• 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