Burundi (2008) | Panama (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*(Kuna Yala), and Veraguas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.3% (male 1,951,879/female 1,930,371)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 2,131,759/female 2,162,093) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 85,522/female 128,881) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.8% (male 460,840/female 443,359)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 984,558/female 956,748) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 91,383/female 102,262) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp |
Airports | 8 (2007) | 105 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 44
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 61
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 49 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges. | 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. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. 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 turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999. |
Birth rate | 41.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.96 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $259.4 million
expenditures: $331.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.) |
revenues: $3.095 billion
expenditures: $3.737 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 22 S, 29 21 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Panama |
Climate | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January) | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,490 km |
Constitution | 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2004 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
conventional long form: Republic of Panama
conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
Death rate | 13.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2003) | $8.78 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Linda Ellen WATT
embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado Postal 0816-02561, Zona 5, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Celestin NIYONGABO
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Federico HUMBERT Arias
chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8416 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa |
Disputes - international | conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces have abated somewhat in the Great Lakes region; UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) completed its mandate in December 2006 after a three-year peace-keeping mission | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate within the border region with Panama |
Economic aid - recipient | $365 million (2005) | $197.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Burundi grew about 5% annually in 2006, but GDP growth probably fell to under 4% in 2007. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors; the delay of funds after a corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced government's revenues and its ability to pay salaries. | Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for four-fifths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-03; growth picked up in 2004 led by export-oriented services and a construction boom stimulated by tax incentives. The government has been backing tax reforms, reform of the social security program, new regional trade agreements, and development of tourism. Unemployment remains high. |
Electricity - consumption | 161.4 million kWh (2005) | 4.473 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 120 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 34 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2005) | 61 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 137 million kWh (2005) | 4.873 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,065 (2007), 1,030 (2006), 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003) | balboas per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Yves SAVINGUVU - Tutsi (since 9 November 2007); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007)
head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Yves SAVINGUVU - Tutsi (since 9 November 2007); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament; vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by parliament election results: Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9; note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the legislature |
chief of state: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009); note - beginning in 2009, Panama will have only one vice president. election results: Martin TORRIJOS Espino elected president; percent of vote - Martin TORRIJOS Espino 47.5%, Guillermo ENDARA Galimany 30.6%, Jose Miguel ALEMAN 17%, Ricardo MARTINELLI 4.9% note: government coalition - PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party), PP (Popular Party) |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999) |
Exports - partners | Switzerland 33.7%, UK 12.2%, Pakistan 8.5%, Rwanda 5.3%, Egypt 4.2% (2006) | US 50.5%, Sweden 6.6%, Spain 5.1%, Netherlands 4.4%, Costa Rica 4.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and fly side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 44.9%
industry: 20.9% services: 34.1% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 13% services: 79.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2007 est.) | 6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 9 00 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 11,643 km
paved: 4,028 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,615 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 32.8% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem |
Imports | 2,687 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 12.6%, Kenya 8.2%, Japan 7.8%, Russia 4.7%, UK 4.6%, France 4.4%, China 4.4% (2006) | US 33.3%, Netherlands Antilles 8.1%, Japan 6%, Costa Rica 5.7%, Mexico 4.6%, Colombia 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (2007 est.) | 5.4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling |
Infant mortality rate | total: 61.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 20.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2007 est.) | 2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 210 sq km (2003) | 320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal |
Labor force | 2.99 million (2002) | 1.32 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 93.6%
industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.) |
agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
total: 555 km
border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km |
Land use | arable land: 35.57%
permanent crops: 13.12% other: 51.31% (2005) |
arable land: 7.36%
permanent crops: 1.98% other: 90.66% (2001) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100 seats, 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being women; additional seats appointed by a National Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic representation; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 members elected by indirect vote to serve five-year terms, with remaining seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of state)
elections: National Assembly - last held 4 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); Senate - last held 29 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%, CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1 |
unicameral National Assembly (formerly called Legislative Assembly) or Asamblea Nacional (78 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - in 2009, the number of seats will change to 71)
elections: last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 40, PA 17, PS 8, MOLIRENA 3, CD 2, PP 2, PLN 1, other 5 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 51.29 years
male: 50.48 years female: 52.12 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 75.25 years
male: 72.68 years female: 77.93 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.3% male: 67.3% female: 52.2% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 93.2% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 5,005 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 122,960,929 GRT/183,615,337 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 1,548, cargo 886, chemical tanker 465, combination ore/oil 13, container 605, liquefied gas 183, livestock carrier 8, passenger 42, passenger/cargo 77, petroleum tanker 521, refrigerated cargo 298, roll on/roll off 97, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 256 foreign-owned: 4,388 (Andorra 1, Argentina 9, Australia 3, Bahamas 1, Belgium 14, Brazil 1, Canada 1, Chile 14, China 310, Colombia 5, Croatia 1, Cuba 9, Cyprus 7, Denmark 13, Egypt 15, France 7, Germany 23, Greece 546, Hong Kong 159, India 8, Indonesia 46, Ireland 1, Isle of Man 2, Israel 3, Italy 8, Japan 1814, Jordan 9, Latvia 2, Lithuania 5, Malaysia 11, Maldives 1, Malta 1, Mexico 4, Monaco 8, Netherlands 22, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 6, Norway 66, Pakistan 1, Peru 13, Philippines 15, Poland 19, Portugal 8, Romania 13, Russia 4, Saudi Arabia 4, Singapore 54, South Africa 3, South Korea 292, Spain 41, Sri Lanka 1, Sudan 1, Sweden 4, Switzerland 188, Syria 7, Taiwan 301, Thailand 10, Trinidad & Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 18, Ukraine 9, UAE 83, United Kingdom 29, United States 88, Venezuela 20, Vietnam 2, Yemen 1) (2005) |
Military - note | - | on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force, but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression" |
Military branches | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing) (2008) | an amendment to the Constitution abolished the armed forces, but there are security forces (Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police, National Maritime Service, and National Air Service) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $147 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (2006 est.) | 1.1% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) |
Nationality | noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 7.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | governing parties: Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Jeremie NGENDAKUMANA]; Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Council for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD [Leonard NYANGOMA]; National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
Democratic Change or CD [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Anibal GALINDO]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Jesus ROSAS]; Panamenista Party or PA (formerly the Arnulfista Party) [Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Popular Party or PP (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC) [Ruben AROSEMENA]; Solidarity Party or PS [Jose Raul MULINO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP |
Population | 8,390,505
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
3,039,150 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (2002 est.) | 37% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.593% (2007 est.) | 1.26% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Balboa, Colon, Cristobal |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 355 km
standard gauge: 76 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.664 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal (adult) | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: primitive system; telephone density one of the lowest in the world; fixed-line connections stand at well less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is increasing but remains at a meager 2 per 100 persons
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment: domestic and international facilities well developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 507; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 31,100 (2005) | 386,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 153,000 (2005) | 834,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills |
Total fertility rate | 6.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 12.6% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2005) | 800 km (includes 82 km Panama Canal) (2004) |