"text":"Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia. With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of the century. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the subsequent decades. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were transferred to Panama by the end of 1999. An ambitious expansion project to more than double the Canal's capacity - by allowing for more Canal transits and larger ships - was carried out between 2007 and 2016."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica"
"text":"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"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"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"
"text":"Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Native American 12.3% (Ngabe 7.6%, Kuna 2.4%, Embera 0.9%, Bugle 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.2%), Black or African descent 9.2%, Mulatto 6.8%, White 6.7% (2010 est.)"
"text":"Spanish (official), indigenous languages (including Ngabere (or Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (or Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian English Creole (similar to Jamaican English Creole; a mixture of English and Spanish with elements of Ngabere; also known as Guari Guari and Colon Creole), English, Chinese (Yue and Hakka), Arabic, French Creole, other (Yiddish, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese); note - many Panamanians are bilingual"
"text":"<br>La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"<p>Panama is a country of demographic and economic contrasts. It is in the midst of a demographic transition, characterized by steadily declining rates of fertility, mortality, and population growth, but disparities persist based on wealth, geography, and ethnicity. Panama has one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and dedicates substantial funding to social programs, yet poverty and inequality remain prevalent. The indigenous population accounts for a growing share of Panama's poor and extreme poor, while the non-indigenous rural poor have been more successful at rising out of poverty through rural-to-urban labor migration. The government's large expenditures on untargeted, indirect subsidies for water, electricity, and fuel have been ineffective, but its conditional cash transfer program has shown some promise in helping to decrease extreme poverty among the indigenous population.</p><p>Panama has expanded access to education and clean water, but the availability of sanitation and, to a lesser extent, electricity remains poor. The increase in secondary schooling - led by female enrollment - is spreading to rural and indigenous areas, which probably will help to alleviate poverty if educational quality and the availability of skilled jobs improve. Inadequate access to sanitation contributes to a high incidence of diarrhea in Panama's children, which is one of the main causes of Panama's elevated chronic malnutrition rate, especially among indigenous communities.</p>"
"text":"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"
"text":"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"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"Marine Life Conservation"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)"
"text":"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\""
"text":"3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain on 28 November 1821)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day (Separation Day), 3 November (1903)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"several previous; latest effective 11 October 1972"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"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"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
"text":"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"
"text":"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)"
"text":"<br><em>2019:</em> 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%<br><br><em>2014:</em> 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%"
"text":"unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (71 seats; 45 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies - populous towns and cities - by open list proportional representation vote and 26 directly elected in single-seat constituencies - outlying rural districts - by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 5 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"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%"
"text":"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":{
"text":"magistrates appointed by the president for staggered 10-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"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"
"text":"Alliance Party or PA [Jose MUNOZ Molina]<br>Alternative Independent Socialist Party or PAIS [Jose ALVAREZ]<br>Democratic Change or CD [Romulo ROUX]<br>Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Benicio ROBINSON]<br>Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Francisco \"Pancho\" ALEMAN]<br>Panamenista Party [Jose Isabel BLANDON Figueroa] (formerly the Arnulfista Party)<br>Popular Party or PP [Daniel Javier BREA Clavel] (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC)<br>Realizing Goals Party or RM [Ricardo Alberto MARTINELLI Berrocal]"
"text":"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"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"harpy eagle; national colors: blue, white, red"
"text":"Caribbean Fortifications (c); Darien National Park (n); Talamanca Range-La Amistad National Park (n); Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá (c); Coiba National Park (n)"
"text":"upper middle-income Central American economy; increasing Chinese trade; US dollar user; canal expansion fueling broader infrastructure investment; services sector dominates economy; historic money-laundering and illegal drug hub"
"text":"Panama has seen a steady increase in revenue from the telecom sector in recent years; mobile services and broadband remain the key growth sectors, with mobile connections accounting for 90% of all connections, and over half of telecom sector revenue; the mobile market has effective competition; internet services have grown in recent years as consumers responded to government fixed-line projects, improved mobile broadband connectivity and mobile applications (2021)"
"text":"country code - 507; landing points for the PAN-AM, ARCOS, SAC, AURORA, PCCS, PAC, and the MAYA-1 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 (2019)"
"text":"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)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security: the Panama National Police (La Policía Nacional de Panamá, PNP), National Aeronaval Service (Servicio Nacional Aeronaval, SENAN), National Border Service (Servicio Nacional de Fronteras, SENAFRONT) (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the PNP includes a special forces directorate with counterterrorism and counternarcotics units; SENAFRONT has three regionally-based border security brigades, plus a specialized brigade comprised of special forces, counternarcotics, maritime, and rapid reaction units"
"text":"the Panama National Police is principally responsible for internal law enforcement and public order, while the National Border Service handles border security; the Aeronaval Service is responsible for carrying out naval and air operations that include some internal security responsibilities; key areas of focus are countering narcotics trafficking and securing the border, particularly along the southern border with Colombia where most of the public security forces are deployed<br><br>Panama created a paramilitary National Guard (Guardia Nacional de Panamá) in the 1950s from the former National Police (established 1904); the National Guard subsequently evolved into more of a military force with some police responsibilities; it seized power in a coup in 1968 and military officers ran the country until 1989; in 1983, the National Guard was renamed the Panama Defense Force (PDF); the PDF was disbanded after the 1989 US invasion and the current national police forces were formed in 1990; the armed forces were officially abolished under the 1994 Constitution (2023)"
"text":"<p><em>Panama-Colombia</em>: organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate within the remote border region with Panama</p> <p><em>Panama-Costa Rica</em>: none identified</p>"
"text":"147,424 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2023)"
"text":"<p>not a major consumer or producer of illicit drugs; a prime sea and land passage for drugs, primarily cocaine, from South America to North America and Europe; drug traffickers also use millions of shipping containers to smuggle drugs to North America and Europe through the Panama</p>"
