Panama (2001) | Guinea-Bissau (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and one territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, and Veraguas | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
30.13% (male 436,661; female 420,625) 15-64 years: 63.86% (male 920,787; female 896,520) 65 years and over: 6.01% (male 81,682; female 89,372) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 284,150; female 285,370)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 358,891; female 392,703) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,285; female 22,428) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 107 (2000 est.) | 28 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
42 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
65 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 52 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total:
78,200 sq km land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | 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. | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998 created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. A military junta ousted the president in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. |
Birth rate | 19.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.8 billion expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Panama | Bissau |
Climate | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 2,490 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983 and 1994 | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Panama conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | 4.95 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.56 billion (2000 est.) | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Simon FERRO embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Alfredo BOYD chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
Disputes - international | none | separatist war in Senegal's Casamance region results in refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling and other illegal activities, and political instability in Guinea-Bissau |
Economic aid - recipient | $197.1 million (1995) | $115.4 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Panama's economy is based primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, high oil prices, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000. The government plans public works programs, tax reforms, and new regional trade agreements in order to stimulate growth in 2001. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002 and dim prospects for 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.049 billion kWh (1999) | 51.15 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 95 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 4.413 billion kWh (1999) | 55 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
27.78% hydro: 71.65% nuclear: 0% other: 0.57% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | balboas per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (since 1 September 1999); First Vice President Arturo Ulises VALLARINO (since 1 September 1999); Second Vice President Dominador "Kaiser" Baldonero BAZAN Jimenez (since 1 September 1999); 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 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez elected president; percent of vote - Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez (PA) 44%, Martin TORRIJOS (PRD) 37% note: government coalition - PA, MOLIRENA, Democratic Change, MORENA, PLN, PS |
chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrough the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Artur SANHA (since 28 September 2003) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government |
Exports | $5.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | US 42%, Germany 11%, Costa Rica 5%, Benelux 4%, Italy 4% (1999) | India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $16.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $901.4 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 16.5% services: 76.5% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | -4.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 80 00 W | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - 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 | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Highways | total:
11,592 km paved: 4,079 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,513 km (2000) |
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 35.7% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Illicit drugs | major cocaine transshipment point and major drug money-laundering center; no recent signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem; Panama was cited by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) an international organization that includes the US Government, for its lack of cooperation in the fight against international money laundering | - |
Imports | $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 39%, Colon Free Zone 14%, Japan 8%, Ecuador 6%, Mexico 5% (1999) | Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002) |
Independence | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | 20.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 110.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 120.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 99.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2000 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | 2 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 320 sq km (1993 est.) | 170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 1.1 million (2000 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor |
480,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.) | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
555 km border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km |
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 44% other: 27% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78% other: 87.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (71 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 2 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 34, PA 18, PDC 5, PS 4, MOLIRENA 3, PLN 3, Democratic Change 2, PRC 1, MORENA 1 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 |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, and were last scheduled to occur in September 2003
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA September 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.68 years male: 72.94 years female: 78.53 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 46.97 years
male: 45.09 years female: 48.91 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.8% male: 91.4% female: 90.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
4,711 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 111,515,984 GRT/169,655,363 DWT ships by type: bulk 1,381, cargo 925, chemical tanker 314, combination bulk 71, combination ore/oil 18, container 525, liquefied gas 193, livestock carrier 5, multi-functional large-load carrier 12, passenger 41, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 544, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 297, roll on/roll off 106, short-sea passenger 36, specialized tanker 29, vehicle carrier 208 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 11, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 21, Belgium 4, The Bahamas 7, Brazil 2, Canada 4, China 154, Chile 4, Cayman Islands 1, Colombia 6, Cuba 7, Cyprus 4, Denmark 12, Egypt 8, Ireland 2, Equatorial Guinea 1, Finland 1, France 4, Germany 17, Greece 248, Hong Kong 158, Honduras 2, Croatia 3, Indonesia 40, India 11, Iran 1, Israel 3, Italy 7, Japan 1,007, Jordan 2, South Korea 223, Latvia 4, Lithuania 1, Liberia 2, Monaco 43, Malta 1, Mexico 5, Malaysia 6, Netherlands 6, Norway 36, Netherlands Antilles 1, Peru 5, Pakistan 1, Portugal 5, Philippines 10, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 6, Seychelles 2, South Africa 5, Singapore 73, Spain 35, Sweden 4, Syria 11, Switzerland 53, UAE 11, Thailand 15, Taiwan 170, UK 18, US 79, Venezuela 18, Samoa 1 (2000 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
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 | 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) | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $128 million (FY99) | $5.6 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY99) | 2.8% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
775,966 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 318,711 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
530,916 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 181,318 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun:
Panamanian(s) adjective: Panamanian |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | NA | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | -1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 130 km (2001) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Arnulfista Party or PA [Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Ruben AROSEMENA]; Civic Renewal Party or PRC [Serguei DE LA ROSA]; Democratic Change [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Raul ARANGO Gasteazopo]; National Renovation Movement or MORENA [Pedro VALLARINO Cox]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Ramon MORALES]; Solidarity Party or PS [Samuel LEWIS Galindo] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP | NA |
Population | 2,845,647 (July 2001 est.) | 1,360,827 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.3% (2001 est.) | 2.02% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo, Manzanillo (part of Colon area), Vacamonte | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Radios | 815,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
355 km broad gauge: 76 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
domestic and international facilities well developed domestic: NA international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 396,000 (1997) | 10,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,000 (1997) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) | NA (1997) |
Terrain | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.27 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 882 km
note: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal |
several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping |