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Panama

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Background :

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. In October 2006, Panamanians approved an ambitious plan to expand the Canal. The project, which began in 2007 and could double the Canal's capacity, is expected to be completed in 2014-15. 

Location :

Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

9 00 N, 80 00 W  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West -83.05
North 9.64
East -77.17
South 7.20

Area :

total 75 420 square km
land 74 340 square km
water 1 080 square km

Coastline :

2490.00 km

Climate :

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

Terrain :

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

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 3 475 metres

Natural resources :

copper hydropower
mahogany forests shrimp

Land use :

arable land 7.26 %
permanent crops 1.95 %
other 90.79 %

Irrigated land :

430 square km

current issues :

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 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Environmental Modification
Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea
Marine Dumping Marine Life Conservation
Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution
Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94
Wetlands Whaling

Population :

3 360 474 

Indicators :

Growth rate 1.50 %
Birth rate 20.18 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 2.53 children born/woman
Death rate 4.66 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 29.30 %
15-64 years 63.90 %
65 years and over 6.80 %

Median age :

total 27.00 years
male 26.60 years
female 27.30 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.87 male(s)/female
total population 1.02 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 12.67 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 77.25 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 74.47 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 80.16 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 1.00 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 20 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 1 000

Religions :

Roman Catholic 85.00 %
Protestant 15.00 %

Languages :

Spanish  
English 14.00 %
Panamanians bilingual  

Literacy :

total population 91.90 %
male 92.50 %
female 91.20 %

Country name :

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

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 PA
ISO Numeric 591
ISO3 PAN
FIPS PM
ccTLD pa
English Panama

Administrative divisions :

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

Capital :

name Panama City
geographic coordinates 8 58 N, 79 32 W
time difference -5.00

International organization participation :

BCIE CACM
CAN (observer) CSN (observer)
FAO G-77
IADB IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICC ICCt
ICRM IDA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS ILO
IMF IMO
IMSO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
Interpol LAES
LAIA (observer) MIGA
NAM OAS
OPANAL OPCW
PCA RG
SICA UN
UNASUR (observer) UNCTAD
UNESCO UNIDO
UNWTO UPU
Union Latina WCO
WFTU WHO
WIPO WMO
WTO

Independence :

1903-11-03 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1903-11-03

Executive branch :

President Ricardo MARTINELLI Berrocal

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 40 330 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 24 750 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 2.40 %
PPP - per capita 11 900 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 6.30 %
industry 18.20 %
services 75.50 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 15.00 %
industry 18.00 %
services 67.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 1 423 000 people
Unemployment rate 7.10 %
Population below poverty line 28.60 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 56.10
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.60 %
Investment (gross fixed) 26.70 % of GDP
Current account balance - 1 655 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 1 803 000 000 $
Debt external 12 040 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 6 568 000 000 $
Military expenditures 1.00 % of GDP
Public debt 49.50 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 0.80 %
highest 10% 41.40 %

Budget :

revenues 5 667 000 000 $
expenditures 6 527 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

bananas coffee
corn livestock
rice shrimp
sugarcane vegetables

Industries :

brewing cement and other construction materials
construction sugar milling

Energy :

Electricity Production 6 322 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 5 170 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 124 900 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 8 740 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 94 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 4 803 bbl/day
Oil Imports 87 100 bbl/day

Value :

11 410 000 000 $

Commodities :

bananas clothing
coffee shrimp
sugar

Value :

13 620 000 000 $

Commodities :

capital products chemicals
consumer products foodstuffs

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 495 800
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 3 805 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 134
Television broadcast stations 38
Internet Country code (ccTLD) pa
Internet Hosts 8 067
Internet Users 934 500

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 54
Heliports 3
Roadways - total 11 978 km
Roadways - paved 4 300 km
Roadways - unpaved 7 678 km
Railways 76 km
Waterways 800 km

Photos

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