1986 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1986 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
77,080 km2; slightly larger than West Virginia; 24% agricultural land (11% pasture, 9% fallow, 4% crop); 20% exploitable forest; 56% other forest, urban or waste
Branches
under April 1983 reforms, a President, two Vice Presidents, and a 67-member Legislative Assembly are elected by popular vote for 5-year terms; nine Supreme Court Justices and nine alternates serve 10-year terms; two justices and their alternates are replaced every other December by presidential nomination and legislative confirmation
Capital
Panama
Coastline
2,490 km People
Communists
People's Party (PdP), progovernment mainline Communist party, did not obtain the 3 percent of the total vote in 1984 elections to retain its legal status
Elections
seven electoral slates made up of 14 registered political parties were on the May 1984 ballot with the president and other winners decided by simple pluralities; mayoral and municipal elections were held in June 1984 Political parties and leaders: (registered for 1984 presidential and legislative elections) National Democratic Union (UNADE; government coalition) — Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD, official government party), Romulo Escobar Bethancourt, Carlos Ozores Typaldos; Republican Party (PR), Eric Arturo Devalle Henriquez; Liberal Party (PL), Roderick Lorenzo Esquivel; Labor Party (PALA), Ramon Sieiro Mungas and Carlos Eleta Almaran; Panamenista Party (PP), Luis Suarez; Popular Broad Front Party (FRAMPO), Alvaro Arosemena; Democratic Opposition Alliance (ADO, opposition)— Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Ricardo Arias Calderon; Authentic Panamenista Party (PPA), Arnulfo Arias Madrid; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA), Alfredo Ramirez, Sr.; other opposition parties — Popular Nationalist Party (PNP), Olimpo A. Saez Maruci; Popular Action Party (PAPO), Carlos Ivan Zuniga; People's Party (PdP, Soviet-oriented Communist), Ruben Dario Sousa Batista; Socialist Workers Party (PST), Jose Cambra; Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT), leader unknown
Ethnic divisions
70% mestizo, 14% West Indian, 10% white, 6% Indian
Government leaders
Eric Arturo DELVALLE Henriquez, President (since September 1985); Roderick ESQUIVEL, First Vice President (since October 1985); Second Vice President, unfilled Suffrage 18: universal and compulsory over age 18
Infant mortality rate
20.1/1,000 (1984)
Labor force
est. 680,471 (1984); 45% commerce, finance, and services; 29% agriculture, hunting, and fishing; 10% manufacturing and mining; 5% construction; 5% transportation and communications; 4% Canal Zone; 1.2% utilities; 2% other; unemployed estimated at 20% (January 1985); shortage of skilled labor but an oversupply of unskilled labor
Land boundaries
630 km Water
Language
Spanish (official); 14% speak English as native tongue; many Panamanians bilingual
Legal system
based on civil law system; constitution adopted in 1972, but major reforms adopted in April 1983; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; legal education at University of Panama; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Life expectancy
71
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
200 nm
Literacy
90%
Member of
FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IDE— Inter-American Development Bank, IFC,
National holiday
Independence Day, 3 November
Nationality
noun — Panamanian^); adjective— Panamanian
Official name
Republic of Panama
Organized labor
approximately 15% of labor force (1982) Government
Other political or pressure groups
National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO); National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP); Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE)
Political subdivisions
9 provinces, 1 intendancy
Population
2,227,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.1%
Religion
over 93% Roman Catholic, 6% Protestant
Type
centralized republic
Voting strength
in the May 1984 elections the government coalition received 300,748 votes, narrowly defeating the opposition alliance, which received 299,035 votes; UNADE won 45 seats in the 67-member Legislative Assembly, and ADO won the remaining 22 seats