Panama

Airports

total: 118 usable: 109 with permanent-surface runways: 38 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 15

Highways

total: 8,530 km paved: 2,745 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 3,270 km; improved, unimproved earth 2,515 km

Inland waterways

800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal

Merchant marine

3,405 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 56,011,824 GRT/89,516,566 DWT, barge carrier 1, bulk 717, cargo 1,110, chemical tanker 181, combination bulk 31, combination ore/oil 24, container 215, liquefied gas 127, livestock carrier 9, multifunction large-load carrier 5, oil tanker 437, passenger 22, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 287, roll-on/roll-off cargo 67, short-sea passenger 30, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 129 note: all but 30 are foreign owned and operated; the top 4 foreign owners are Japan 34%, Greece 8%, Hong Kong 7%, and Taiwan 5%; other foreign owners include China at least 144 ships, Vietnam 3, Croatia 6, Cuba 4, Cyprus 4, and Russia 41

Pipelines

crude oil 130 km

Ports

Cristobal, Balboa, Colon

Railroads

238 km total; 78 km 1.524-meter gauge, 160 km 0.914-meter gauge

Telecommunications

domestic and international facilities well developed; connection into Central American Microwave System; 220,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 91 AM, no FM, 23 TV; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite ground stations - 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT

Branches

Panamanian Public Forces (PPF) includes the National Police, Maritime Service, National Air Service, Institutional Protective Service; Judicial Technical Police operate under the control of Panama's judicial branch

Defense expenditures

expenditures for the Panamanian security forces amounted to $138.5 million, 1.0% of GDP (1993 est.)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 686,479; fit for military service 471,780

Agriculture

accounts for 10% of GDP (1992 est.), 27% of labor force (1992); crops - bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane; livestock; fishing; importer of food grain, vegetables

Budget

revenues: $1.8 billion expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $200 million (1992 est.)

Currency

1 balboa (B) = 100 centesimos

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $516 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $582 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4 million

Electricity

capacity: 1,584,000 kW production: 4.36 trillion kWh consumption per capita: 720 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

balboas (B) per US$1 - 1.000 (fixed rate)

Exports

$545 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: bananas 43%, shrimp 11%, sugar 4%, clothing 5%, coffee 2% partners: US 38%, EC, Central America and Caribbean

External debt

$6.1 billion (year-end 1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

major cocaine transshipment point and drug money laundering center

Imports

$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: capital goods 21%, crude oil 11%, foodstuffs 9%, consumer goods, chemicals partners: US 35%, EC, Central America and Caribbean, Japan

Industrial production

growth rate 7% (1993 est.); accounts for about 9% of GDP

Industries

manufacturing and construction activities, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction material, sugar milling

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1% (1993 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $11.6 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$4,500 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

5.9% (1993 est.)

Overview

GDP expanded by roughly 5.9% in 1993, following growth of 8% in 1992; banking and financial services led the way in 1993. The economy thus continues to recover from the crisis that preceded the ouster of Manuel NORIEGA, even though the government's structural adjustment program has been hampered by a lack of popular support and a passive administration. Public investment has been limited as the administration has kept the fiscal deficit below 2% of GDP. Unemployment and economic reform are the two major issues the new government must face in 1994-95.

Unemployment rate

12.5% (1993 est.)

Area

total area: 78,200 sq km land area: 75,990 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Climate

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

Coastline

2,490 km

Environment

current issues: water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

320 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 555 km, Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km

Land use

arable land: 6% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 54% other: 23%

Location

Middle America, between Colombia and Costa Rica

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 200 nm

Natural resources

copper, mahogany forests, shrimp

Note

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

Terrain

interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills

Administrative divisions

9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, Veraguas

Capital

Panama

Constitution

11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983

Digraph

PM

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime FORD Boyd (to be replaced by Ambassador Ricardo Alberto ARIAS on 1 September 1994) chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 483-1407 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa,

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Guillermo ENDARA (since 20 December 1989, elected 7 May 1989); First Vice President Guillermo FORD Boyd (since 24 December 1992); Second Vice President (vacant); election last held on 7 May 1989, annulled but later upheld; results - anti-NORIEGA coalition believed to have won about 75% of the total votes cast note: a presidential election was held 8 May 1994 (next election to held on 9 May 1999) with inauguration of the successful candidates to take place on 1 September 1994; results - President Ernesto PEREZ BALLADARES Gonzales, First Vice President Tomas Altamirano DUQUE, and Second Vice President Felipe VIRZI were elected; percent of vote for president - BALLADARES 33%, DE GRUBER 29%, BLADES 17% cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president

FAX

(507) 27-1964

Flag

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

Independence

3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), 5 superior courts, 3 courts of appeal

Legal system

based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

AG (associate), CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Panama conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama

National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional)

elections held on 27 January 1991; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (67 total) progovernment parties: PDC 28, MOLIRENA 15, PA 8, PLA 4 opposition parties: PRD 10, PALA 1, PL 1; note - the PDC went into opposition after President Guillermo ENDARA ousted the PDC from the coalition government in April 1991; an election of members of the National Assembly was held on 8 May 1994 (next election to be held on 9 May 1999) and they will take their seats on 1 September 1994; results - percent of vote and seats won by party NA

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 November (1903)

Other political or pressure groups

National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO); National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP); Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE); National Civic Crusade; Chamber of Commerce; Panamanian Industrialists Society (SIP); Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama (CTRP)

Political parties and leaders

government alliance: Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA), Alfredo RAMIREZ; Authentic Liberal Party (PLA), Arnulfo ESCALONA; Arnulfista Party (PA), Mireya MOSCOSO DE GRUBER other parties: Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Raul OSSA; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Gerardo GONZALEZ; Agrarian Labor Party (PALA), Nestor Tomas GUERRA; Liberal Party (PL), Roberto ALEMAN Zubieta; Doctrinaire Panamenista Party (PPD), Jose Salvador MUNOZ; Papa Egoro Movement, Ruben BLADES; Civic Renewal Party (PRC), Tomas HERRERA; National Integration Movement (MINA), Arrigo GUARDIA; National Unity Mission Party (MUN), Jose Manuel PAREDES; Solidarity Party (CPS), Samuel LEWIS GALINDO note: following the elections of 8 May 1994 the following realignment of political parties took place governing coalition: Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Gerardo GONZALEZ; Liberal Republican Party (PLR), Rodolfo CHIARI; Labor Party (PALA), Carlos Lopez GUEVARA; Solidarity Party (PS),Samuel LEWIS GALINDO other parties: Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA), Alfredo RAMIREZ; Authentic Liberal Party (PLA), Arnulfo ESCOLONA; Arnulfista Party (PA), Mireya Moscoso DE GRUBER; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Raul OSSA; Liberal Party (PL), Roberto ALEMAN Zubieta; Papa Egoro Movement, Ruben BLADES; Civic Renewal Party (PRC), Tomas HERRERA; National Unity Mission Party (MUN), Jose Manuel PAREDES

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Type

constitutional republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: (vacant) embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 38, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945; APO AA 34002 telephone: (507) 27-1777

Birth rate

24.61 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

4.87 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 70%, West Indian 14%, white 10%, Indian 6%

Infant mortality rate

16.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

921,000 (1992 est.) by occupation: government and community services 31.8%, agriculture, hunting, and fishing 26.8%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 16.4%, manufacturing and mining 9.4%, construction 3.2%, transportation and communications 6.2%, finance, insurance, and real estate 4.3% note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor

Languages

Spanish (official), English 14% note: many Panamanians bilingual

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.88 years male: 72.28 years female: 77.62 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 88% male: 88% female: 88%

Nationality

noun: Panamanian(s) adjective: Panamanian

Net migration rate

-0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

2.63 million (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

1.94% (1994 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%

Total fertility rate

2.85 children born/woman (1994 est.)