1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
75,650 km2 (excluding Canal Zone, 1,430 km2); 24% agricultural land (9% fallow, 4% cropland, 11% pasture), 20% exploitable forest, 56% other forests, urban, and waste
Coastline
2,490 km
Land boundaries
630 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
200 nm (continental shelf including sovereignty over superjacent waters)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
70% mestizo, 14% Negro, 9% white, 7% Indian and other
Labor force
est. 625,000 (January 1982); 45% commerce, finance and services; 29% agriculture, hunting and fishing; 10% manufacturing and mining; 5% construction; 4% Canal Zone; 5% transportation and communications; 1.2% utilities; 2% other; unemployed estimated at 10-15% (January 1982); shortage of skilled labor but an oversupply of unskilled labor
Language
Spanish; about 14% speak English as native tongue; many Panamanians bilingual
Literacy
82% of population 10 years of age and over
Nationality
noun—Panamanian(s); adjective—Panamanian
Organized labor
10-15% of labor force (1978 est.)
Population
2,011,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.3%
Religion
over 90% Roman Catholic, remainder mainly Protestant
Government
Branches
President and Vice President, elected by National Assembly; popularly elected unicameral legislature, National Assembly of Community (Corregimiento) Representatives; legislative powers currently exercised in the main by National Council on Legislation, but constitutional amendments, approved in October 1978, give somewhat broader role to National Assembly; presidentially appointed Supreme Court subject to Corregimiento review under new constitutional amendment
Capital
Panama
Communists
500 active and several hundred inactive members People's Party (PdP); 1,500 members and sympathizers of rival Fracción movement which split from PdP in 1974
Elections
elections for National Assembly in August 1978, Assembly chose President and Vice President in October 1978; constitutional reforms allow Assembly to elect from its own membership representatives comprising two-thirds of the primary legislative organ, the National Council on Legislation; the remaining one-third of the Council's 56 representatives was chosen in September 1980 by direct popular elections; direct popular elections for President and Vice President and the Assembly will be held in 1984 Political parties and leaders: legislation providing for legalization of political parties, which were suspended following 1968 Torrijos coup, approved October 1978; since early 1979, all political parties and groups have been allowed to organize under new democratization program; Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD; official government party), Gerardo González; Communist People's Party (PdP; pro-government), Ruben Dario Souza; Liberal Party (PL; opposition), Arnulfo Escalona; Christian Democratic Party (PDC; opposition), Guillermo Cóchez; Panamenista Party (PP; opposition), Arnulfo Arias
Government leaders
Aristides ROYO is constitutional President and Chief of State, but remains accountable to the National Guard General Staff
Legal system
based on civil law system; constitution adopted in 1972; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; legal education at University of Panama; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Member of
FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IDB, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAS, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 3 November
Official name
Republic of Panama
Other political or pressure groups
National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP); Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE)
Political subdivisions
9 provinces, 1 intendancy
Suffrage
universal and compulsory over age 18
Type
republic
Voting strength
only two progovernment and two small opposition parties registered candidates for 1980 legislative elections; half the candidates ran as independents
Economy
Aid
economic—US, authorized, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $350.6 million; other Western countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $383.0 million; military—US (FY70-80), $12 million
Budget
(1980 est.) $1,015 million in revenues, $1,215 million in expenditures
Electric power
550,000 kW capacity (1980); 1.812 billion kWh produced (1980), 935 kWh per capita
Exports
$411 million (f.o.b., 1980); bananas, petroleum products, shrimp, sugar, coffee
Fiscal year
calendar year
Fishing
catch 113,768 metric tons (1978); exports $27.7 million (1977)
GNP
$3,004 million (1980), 11,580 per capita; 63% private consumption, 18% government consumption, 28% gross fixed investment, -7% net foreign balance (1978); real growth (1980), 4.9% Agriculture; main crops—bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane; self-sufficient in most basic foods; 2,341 calories per day per capita (1977)
Imports
$1,280 million (f.o.b., 1980); manufactures, transportation equipment, crude petroleum, chemicals, foodstuffs
Major industries
food processing, metal products, construction materials, petroleum products, clothing, furniture
Major trade partners
exports—$5% US, 11% Panama Canal Zone, 11% West Germany, 3% Italy, 11% Central America, 4% Netherlands; imports—33% US, 15% Ecuador, 6% Venezuela, 9% Colon Free Zone, 5% Japan, 3% West Germany (1978)
Monetary conversion rate
1 balboa=US$1 (official)
Communications
Airfields
151 total, 150 usable; 39 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
16 major transport aircraft, including 1 leased in
Highways
8,400 km total; 2,715 km paved, 3,170 km gravel or crushed stone, 2,515 km improved and unimproved earth
Inland waterways
800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal
Pipelines
refined products, 96 km
Ports
2 major (Cristobal/ Colon /Coco Solo, Balboa/ Panama City), 10 minor
Railroads
192 km total; 78 km 1.524-meter gauge, 114 km 0.914-meter gauge
Telecommunications
domestic and international telecom facilities well developed; connection into Central American microwave net; Atlantic Ocean satellite ground station; 157,000 telephones (8.4 per 100 popl.); 90 AM, 30 FM, and 13 TV stations; 1 coaxial submarine cable
Military and Security
Military manpower
males 15-49, 499,000; 344,000 fit for military service; no conscription