Panama

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

• 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:

1.04 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:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.84 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever

conventional long form:

Republic of Panama

conventional short form:

Panama

local long form:

Republica de Panama

local short form:

Panama

etymology:

named after the capital city which was itself named after a former indigenous fishing village

name:

Panama City

geographic coordinates:

8 58 N, 79 32 W

time difference:

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

etymology:

according to tradition, the name derives from a former fishing area near the present capital - an indigenous village and its adjacent beach - that were called "Panama" meaning "an abundance of fish"

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

history:

several previous; latest effective 11 October 1972

amendments:

• proposed by the National Assembly, by the Cabinet, or by the Supreme Court of Justice;
• passage requires approval by one of two procedures: 1) absolute majority vote of the Assembly membership in each of three readings and by absolute majority vote of the next elected Assembly in a single reading without textual modifications;
• 2) absolute majority vote of the Assembly membership in each of three readings, followed by absolute majority vote of the next elected Assembly in each of three readings with textual modifications, and approval in a referendum;
• amended several times, last in 2004

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President Laurentino "Nito" CORTIZO Cohen (since 1 July 2019);
• Vice President Jose Gabriel CARRIZO Jaen (since 1 July 2019);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Laurentino "Nito" CORTIZO Cohen (since 1 July 2019); Vice President Jose Gabriel CARRIZO Jaen (since 1 July 2019)

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 5 May 2019 (next to be held in 2024)

election results:

• Laurentino "Nito" CORTIZO Cohen elected president;
• percent of vote - Laurentino CORTIZO Cohen (PRD) 33.3%, Romulo ROUX (CD) 31%, Ricardo LOMBANA (independent) 18.8%, Jose BLANDON (Panamenista Party) 10.8%, Ana Matilde GOMEZ Ruiloba (independent) 4.8%, other 1.3%

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 5 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PRD 35, CD 18, Panamenista 8, MOLIRENA 5, independent 5;
• composition - men 55, women 16, percent of women 22.5%

highest courts:

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 [Romulo ROUX]
• Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Benicio ROBINSON]
• Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Francisco "Pancho" ALEMAN]
• Panamenista Party [Jose Luis "Popi" VARELA Rodriguez] (formerly the Arnulfista Party)
• Popular Party or PP [Juan Carlos ARANGO Reese] (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Juan Ricardo DE DIANOUS HENRIQUEZ (since 16 September 2019)

chancery:

2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-1407

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-8413

consulate(s) general:

Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington DC

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant), Charge d'Affairs Roxanne CABRAL (since 9 March 2018)

telephone:

[507] 317-5000

embassy:

Edificio 783, Avenida Demetrio Basilio Lakas Avenue, Clayton

mailing address:

American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002; American Embassy Panama, 9100 Panama City PL, Washington, DC 20521-9100

FAX:

[507] 317-5445 (2018)

• 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

Fitch rating:

BBB (2011)

Moody's rating:

Baa1 (2019)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2020)

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

agriculture:

17%

industry:

18.6%

services:

64.4% (2009 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.1%

highest 10%:

38.9% (2014 est.)

• 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

4 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 122

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

12,939,350 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

47.63 million mt-km (2018)

total:

77 km (2014)

standard gauge:

77 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

total:

7,860

by type:

bulk carrier 2,567, container ship 609, general cargo 1,325, oil tanker 798, other 2,561 (2019)

major seaport(s):

Balboa, Colon, Cristobal

container port(s) (TEUs):

Balboa (2,905,049), Colon (3,891,209) (2017)

• Panama's security forces do not maintain heavy military equipment, instead focusing on light air transport, patrol, and surveillance capabilities;
• since 2010, Italy and the US have been the leading suppliers to the security forces (2019 est.)

• 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