PANAMA
- National name: República de Panamá (PA)
- Land area: 29,340 sq mi (75,991 sq km); total area: 30,193 sq mi (78,200 sq km)
- Population (2014 est.): 3,608,431 (growth rate: 1.35%); birth rate: 18.61/1000; infant mortality rate: 10.7/1000; life expectancy: 78.3; density per sq mi: 140.6
- Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Panama City, 1.426 million
- Other large cities: San Miguelito, 321,501; Tocumen, 88,543
- Monetary units: balboa; U.S. dollar
- Telephone code:
- Electricity: 110V, 60Hz; plugs/sockets Type A and B
- Languages: Spanish (official), English 14%, many bilingual
- Ethnicity/race: mestizo 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6%
- Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%
- Literacy rate: 94.1% (2010 est.)
- Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $61.54 billion; per capita $16,500. Real growth rate: 7.5%. Inflation: 4.1%. Unemployment:4.5%. Arable land: 7.16%. Agriculture:bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp. Labor force: 1.54 million; note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2013 est.); agriculture 17%, industry 18.6%, services 64.4% (2009 est.). Industries: construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling. Natural resources: copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower. Exports: $18.87 billion (2013 est.): gold, bananas, shrimp, sugar, iron and steel waste, pineapples, watermelons. Imports: $26.61 billion (2013 est.): fuel products, medicines, vehicles, iron and steel rods, cellular phones. Major trading partners: U.S., Sweden, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, China, Italy (2012).
- Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 640,000 (2012); mobile cellular: 6.77 million (2012). Radio broadcast stations: AM 80, FM 44, shortwave 0 (2007). Radios: 815,000 (2007). Television broadcast stations: 38 (including repeaters) (2007). Televisions:510,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 11,022 (2012). Internet users: 959,800 (2009).
- Transportation: Railways: total: 76 km (2008). Highways: total 15,137 km; paved: 6,351 km; unpaved: 8,786 km (2010). Waterways: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal (2011). Ports and harbors:Balboa, Cristobal, Colon. Airports: 117 (2013).
- International disputes: none.
- Geography: The southernmost of the Central American nations, Panama is south of Costa Rica and north of Colombia. The Panama Canal bisects the isthmus at its narrowest and lowest point, allowing passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Panama is slightly smaller than South Carolina. It is marked by a chain of mountains in the west, moderate hills in the interior, and a low range on the east coast. There are extensive forests in the fertile Caribbean area.