1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 78,200 km2 land area: 75,990 km2 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
dense tropical forest in east and northwest
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
320 km2 (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
extreme southern Central 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
People and Society
Birth rate
25.08 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
4.94 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 70%, West Indian 14%, white 10%, Indian 6%
Infant mortality rate
17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 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
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 74.56 years male: 71.99 years female: 77.27 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 88% male: 88% female: 88%
Nationality
noun: Panamanian(s) adjective: Panamanian
Net migration rate
-0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
2,579,047 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
1.98% (1993 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%
Spanish (official), English 14% note
many Panamanians bilingual
Total fertility rate
2.9 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca);, Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama,
Capital
Panama
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)
Constitution
11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983
Digraph
PM
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime FORD chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 483-1407; note: the status of the consulates general and consulates has not yet been determined
Executive branch
president, two vice presidents, Cabinet
FAX
(507) 27-1713
Flag
divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white with a blue five-pointed star in the center (hoist side) and plain red, the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center
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 Assembly
last held on 27 January 1991 (next to be held NA May 1994); 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
Legislative branch
unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)
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 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; National Committee for the Right to Life; 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), Ricardo ARIAS Calderon; 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; Renovacion Civilista, Manuel BURGOS; Civic Renewal Party (PRC), Tomas HERRERA; National Integration Movement (MINA), Arrigo GUARDIA; National Unity Mission Party (MUN), Jose Manuel PAREDES; Independent Democratic Union Party (UDI), leader NA; Popular Nationalist Party (PNP), leader NA
President
last held on 7 May 1989, annulled but later upheld (next to be held May 1994); results - anti-NORIEGA coalition believed to have won about 75% of the total votes cast
San Blas*, Veraguas, Independence
3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Type
centralized republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Deane R. HINTON embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 38, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5 mailing address: Box E, APO AA 34002 telephone: (507) 27-1777
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 10.5% 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
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
1,584,000 kW capacity; 4,360 billion kWh produced, 1,720 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
balboas (B) per US$1 - 1.000 (fixed rate)
Exports
$486 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: bananas 43%, shrimp 11%, sugar 4%, clothing 5%, coffee 2% partners: US 38%, Central America and Caribbean, EC (1992 est.)
External debt
$5.2 billion (year-end 1992 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
major cocaine transshipment point and drug money laundering center
Imports
$2.0 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: capital goods 21%, crude oil 11%, foodstuffs 9%, consumer goods, chemicals partners: US 36%, Japan, EC, Central America and Caribbean, Mexico, Venezuela (1992 est.)
Industrial production
growth rate 7.6% (1992 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)
1.8% (1992 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $6 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$2,400 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
8% (1992 est.)
Overview
GDP expanded by roughly 8% in 1992, following growth of 9.3% in 1991. 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 3% of GDP. Unemployment and economic reform are the two major issues the government must face in 1993-94.
Unemployment rate
15% (1992 est.)
Communications
Airports
total: 112 usable: 104 with permanent-surface runways: 39 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 15
Highways
8,530 km total; 2,745 km paved, 3,270 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
Merchant marine
3,244 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,353,963 GRT/82,138,537 DWT; includes 22 passenger, 26 short-sea passenger, 3 passenger-cargo, 1,091 cargo, 246 refrigerated cargo, 196 container, 63 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 121 vehicle carrier, 9 livestock carrier, 5 multifunction large-load carrier, 403 oil tanker, 180 chemical tanker, 26 combination ore/oil, 121 liquefied gas, 9 specialized tanker, 688 bulk, 34 combination bulk, 1 barge carrier; note - all but 5 are foreign owned and operated; the top 4 foreign owners are Japan 36%, Greece 8%, Hong Kong 8%, and Taiwan 5%; (China owns at least 131 ships, Vietnam 3, Croatia 3, Cuba 4, Cyprus 6, and Russia 16)
Pipelines
crude oil 130 km
Ports
Cristobal, Balboa, Bahia Las Minas
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
Military and Security
Branches
the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) ceased to exist as a military institution shortly after the United States invaded Panama on 20 December 1989; President ENDARA has restructured the forces, under the new name of Panamanian Public Forces (PPF) and worked to assert civilian control over them; the PPF is divided into the National Police, Maritime Service, and National Air Service; the Judicial Technical Police serve under the Attorney General; the Council of Public Security and National Defense under Menalco SOLIS in the Office of the President is analogous to the US National Security Council; the Institutional Protection Service under Carlos BARES is attached to the presidency
Defense expenditures
expenditures for the Panamanian Public Forces for internal security amounted to $104.7 million, 1.7% of GDP (1993 est.)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 671,059; fit for military service 461,471 (1993 est.); no conscription