Panama (2004) | Niue (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, and Veraguas | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.2% (male 461,427; female 443,932)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 967,490; female 940,344) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 88,611; female 98,659) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 103 (2003 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 61
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 49 (2004 est.) |
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Area | total: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to an estimated 1,492 in 2007), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 20.36 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $2.995 billion
expenditures: $3.421 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $15.07 million
expenditures: $16.33 million (FY0405) |
Capital | Panama | name: Alofi
geographic coordinates: 19 01 S, 169 55 W time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 2,490 km | 64 km |
Constitution | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2004 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue note: pronounciation falls between nyu-way and new-way, but not like new-wee former: Savage Island |
Currency | balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $8.834 billion (2003 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $197.1 million (1995) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths 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. The government has been backing public works programs, tax reforms, new regional trade agreements, and development of tourism in order to stimulate growth. Unemployment remains at an unacceptably high level. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of emigration to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although the International Banking Repeal Act of 2002 resulted in the termination of all offshore banking licenses. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about US$2 million. Niue suffered a devastating typhoon in January 2004, which decimated nascent economic programs. While in the process of rebuilding, Niue has been dependent on foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.681 billion kWh (2001) | 2.79 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 118 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 43 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 4.039 billion kWh (2001) | 3 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 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; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
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% | Niuen 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | balboas per US dollar - 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002) |
Executive branch | 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) |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 12 May 2005 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Young VIVIAN reelected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN 85%, O'Love JACOBSEN 15% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999) | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 13.9%, Nigeria 9.8%, Germany 8.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Peru 5.1%, Costa Rica 4.9%, Belgium 4.8%, Japan 4.5% (2003) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.78 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.3%
industry: 14.7% services: 77.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 23.5%
industry: 26.9% services: 49.5% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.1% (2003 est.) | 6.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 80 00 W | 19 02 S, 169 52 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 | one of world's largest coral islands |
Highways | total: 11,400 km
paved: 3,944 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,456 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1999) | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Japan 33.2%, US 11.4%, China 9.1%, South Korea 7.7%, Singapore 7.1% (2003) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2006) |
Independence | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2003 est.) | 4% (2005) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, FAO, IFAD, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 320 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
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 of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 1.19 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2003 est.) |
663 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.) | note: most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | total: 555 km
border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.36%
permanent crops: 1.98% other: 90.66% (2001) |
arable land: 11.54%
permanent crops: 15.38% other: 73.08% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | English common law; note - Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
Legislative branch | 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, Democratic Change 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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held in April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.14 years
male: 69.82 years female: 74.56 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 93.2% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 4,833 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 122,960,929 GRT/183,615,337 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 1,434, cargo 819, chemical tanker 388, combination bulk 73, combination ore/oil 18, container 613, liquefied gas 190, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 15, passenger 36, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 514, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 281, roll on/roll off 125, short-sea/passenger 37, specialized tanker 36, vehicle carrier 242 foreign-owned: Albania 2, Angola 1, Antigua and Barbuda 2, Argentina 7, Australia 11, Austria 1, Bahamas 3, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 5, Belize 4, Brazil 4, British Virgin Islands 8, Cambodia 2, Canada 6, Cayman Islands 1, Chile 13, China 286, Colombia 14, Croatia 3, Cuba 17, Cyprus 6, Denmark 4, Dominican Republic 1, Ecuador 1, Egypt 16, Equatorial Guinea 1, France 7, Germany 89, Greece 549, Haiti 1, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 288, India 22, Indonesia 44, Iran 1, Ireland 2, Israel 4, Italy 7, Japan 1630, Jordan 8, Kenya 1, South Korea 349, Kuwait 1, Latvia 11, Liberia 3, Lithuania 2, Luxembourg 1, Malaysia 12, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 7, Monaco 29, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 6, Norway 86, Oman 1, Pakistan 1, Peru 17, Philippines 41, Poland 12, Portugal 6, Puerto Rico 3, Romania 9, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Saudi Arabia 6, Singapore 105, South Africa 3, Spain 52, Sri Lanka 3, Sudan 1, Sweden 4, Switzerland 93, Syria 1, Taiwan 348, Thailand 14, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 12, Ukraine 2, United Kingdom 51, United States 99, Venezuela 4 registered in other countries: 85 (2004 est.) |
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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" | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
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) | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $145 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 810,341 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 553,422 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area | typhoons |
Natural resources | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Alliance of Independents or AI; Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN] |
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 | 3,000,463 (July 2004 est.) | 1,492
note: based on data for 2000 and 2001, which indicate a declining population trend that is assumed to continue (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.31% (2004 est.) | -0.032% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo, Manzanillo (part of Colon area), Vacamonte | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 355 km
standard gauge: 76 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
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Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15% | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 61.1%, Latter-Day Saints 8.8%, Roman Catholic 7.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, other 8.4%, unspecified 8.7%, none 1.9% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
NA |
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: country code - 507; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 386,900 (2002) | 1,100 (2002 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 834,000 (2003) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 2.49 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 13.8% (2003 est.) | 12% (2001) |
Waterways | 800 km (includes 82 km Panama Canal) (2004) | - |