Where is Panama?
About Panama
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
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Panama is an average size country in the south of North America.
Panama has a border on the Caribbean Sea in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west. The Panama Canal, first opened in 1914, connects the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is 82 kms (51 miles) long.
The land is a mixture of mountains and coastal plains.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Panama, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 9 00N - N indicates north of the Equator
Longitude - 80 00W
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Check the weather in Panama City now.
This is the time in Panama City now
The Panamanian flag is divided into 4 equal
rectangles. The top ones are white, flag pole side, with a blue star in the centre and red and the bottom ones are blue, flag pole side, and white with red star in the centre.
The blue and red colours are those of the main political parties and the white represents peace between them.
The capital of Panama is Panama City.
Panama is a presidential republic with a president as head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 must vote.
The currency in Panama is the balboa.
Spanish is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Panama is a presidential republic with a president as head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 must vote.
The currency in Panama is the balboa.
Spanish is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Panama to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Panama is 74,340 sq kms which is the 8th largest in North America.
Panama has lakes, rivers and canals which total 1,080 sq kms.
Panama has boundaries with 2 countries
- Costa Rica 348 kms
- Colombia 339 kms
Panama has a coastline of 2,490 kms which is the 6th longest in North America.
The highest point in Panama is Volcan Baru at 3,475 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
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The total population of Panama is 3.71 million people, making it the 12th largest country in North America by population.
Of this number 3.84 million are females and 3.87 million are males.
A person from Panama is called a Panamanian.
To be a citizen of Panama you must be born in Pnama or one of your parents must be a citizen of Panama. You have to live in Panama for
5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Panama, by population are:-
- Panama City 408,168 people
- San Miquelito 321,501
- Tocumen 88,543
- David 82,859
- Arraijan 76,815
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
66.6% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
66.6% of the people live in cities or towns.
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The birth rate in Panama is 18.1 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Panama is 4.9 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 9.4 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 10.9 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 29.3 and for males is 28.5. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no information for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 11.7. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 8.5. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
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Panama spends 8.0% of its total income on health care.
There are 1.65 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 2.2 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
22.7% of the population are estimated as obese.
97.7% of the urban population and 86.6% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
83.5% of the urban population and 58.0% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Panama releases 17.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 7th highest in North America.
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Panama spends 3.3% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Panama. Primary education is for six years until age 12 and secondary education must continue till 15 but can go on to 18/19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 3 terms and starts in the first week of March and finishes in the middle of December. There is usually a 1 week
break at the beginning of June and another 1 week break at the beginning of September
94.4% of females and 95.7% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
9.0% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 16.0% are unemployed while with males 11.5% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Panama is 1.61 million.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
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There are 57 paved airports in Panama, which is the 5th highest number in North America.
There are 77 kilometres of railways in Panama, the 9th longest in North America.
There are 6,351 kilometres of roads in Panama, which means Panama is in 9th place for the most kilometres of roads in North America.
There are 5 major national newspapers in Panama.
There are 6.94 million mobile phone users.
17% of the people have a fixed landline.
1.87 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
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