Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures
15%; forest and woodland 54%; other 23%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment: dense tropical forest in east and northwest
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
PEOPLE
Population: 2,476,281 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)
Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 76 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1991)
Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 70%,
West Indian 14%, white 10%, Indian 6%
Religion: Roman Catholic over 93%, Protestant 6%
Language: Spanish (official); English as native tongue 14%;
many Panamanians bilingual
Literacy: 88% (male 88%, female 88%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 770,472 (1987); government and community services
27.9%; agriculture, hunting, and fishing 26.2%; commerce, restaurants,
and hotels 16%; manufacturing and mining 10.5%; construction 5.3%;
transportation and communications 5.3%; finance, insurance, and real
estate 4.2%; Canal Zone 2.4%; shortage of skilled labor, but an
oversupply of unskilled labor
Organized labor: 17% of labor force (1986)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Panama
Type: centralized republic
Capital: Panama
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (provincias,
singular--provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro,
Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama,
San Blas*, Veraguas
Independence: 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent
from Spain 28 November 1821)
Constitution: 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1903)
Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, Cabinet
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema
de Justicia) currently being reorganized
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Guillermo ENDARA
(since 20 December 1989, elected 7 May 1989);
First Vice President Ricardo ARIAS Calderon (since 20 December 1989,
elected 7 May 1989);
Second Vice President Guillermo FORD (since 20 December 1989,
elected 7 May 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
government alliance--Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement
(MOLIRENA), Alfredo RAMIREZ;
Authentic Liberal Party (PLA);
Arnulfista Party (PA), Francisco ARTOLA;
opposition parties--Christian Democratic Party (PDC),
Ricardo ARIAS Calderon;
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD, ex-official government party),
Gerardo GONZALEZ;
Agrarian Labor Party (PALA), Carlos ELETA Almaran;
Liberal Party (PL);
People's Party (PdP, Soviet-oriented Communist party), Ruben DARIO
Sousa Batista;
Democratic Workers Party (PDT, leftist), Eduardo RIOS;
National Action Party (PAN, rightist);
Popular Action Party (PAPO), Carlos Ivan ZUNIGA;
Socialist Workers Party (PST, leftist), Jose CAMBRA;
Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT, leftist), Graciela DIXON
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
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;
Legislative Assembly--last held on 27 January 1991 (next to
be held May 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(67 total) progovernment parties--PDC 28, MOLIRENA 16,
PA 6, PLA 5;
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
Communists: People's Party (PdP), pro-Soviet mainline Communist
party, did not obtain the necessary 3% of the total vote in the
1984 election to retain its legal status; about 3,000 members
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
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
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jaime FORD;
Chancery at 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 483-1407; the status of the Consulates General and Consulates has
not yet been determined;
US--Ambassador Deane R. HINTON; Embassy at Avenida Balboa and
Calle 38, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5 (mailing address is Box E,
APO Miami 34002); telephone 507 27-1777
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
ECONOMY
Overview: GDP expanded by an estimated 5% in 1990, after
contracting 1% in 1988 and 14% in 1989. Political stability prompted
greater business confidence and consumer demand, leading to increased
production by the agricultural, commercial, manufacturing, construction,
and utilities sectors. The transportation sector and government services
declined slightly due to slack early-1990 transits through the Panama
Canal, lower oil pipeline flowthrough, and Panama City's budget cuts.
Imports and exports posted gains during the year, and government revenues
were up sharply over 1989's levels.
GDP: $4.8 billion, per capita $1,980; real growth rate 5%
(1990 est.)
Electricity: 1,113,000 kW capacity; 3,264 million kWh produced,
1,350 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: manufacturing and construction activities, petroleum
refining, brewing, cement and other construction material, sugar mills,
paper products
Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP (1990 est.), 25% of labor
force (1989); crops--bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane; livestock;
fishing; importer of food grain, vegetables, milk products
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $516
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $575 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4 million
Exchange rates: balboas (B) per US$1--1.000 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 238 km total; 78 km 1.524-meter gauge, 160 km
0.914-meter gauge
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
Pipelines: crude oil, 130 km
Ports: Cristobal, Balboa, Puerto de La Bahia de Las Minas
Merchant marine: 2,932 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
41,314,623 GRT/66,226,104 DWT; includes 22 passenger, 22 short-sea
passenger, 5 passenger-cargo, 1,060 cargo, 188 refrigerated cargo,
165 container, 62 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 105 vehicle carrier,
8 livestock carrier, 5 multifunction large-load carrier,
301 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 175 chemical tanker,
27 combination ore/oil, 91 liquefied gas, 8 specialized tanker, 651 bulk,
37 combination bulk; note--all but 5 are foreign owned and operated;
the top 4 foreign owners are Japan 36%, Greece 9%, Hong Kong 9%, and the
US 8%; (China owns at least 127 ships, Vietnam 10, Yugoslavia 10, Cuba 5,
Cyprus 3, and USSR 2)
Civil air: 16 major transport aircraft
Airports: 113 total, 101 usable; 41 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic and international facilities well
developed; connection into Central American Microwave System; 2 Atlantic
Ocean satellite antennas; 220,000 telephones; stations--91 AM, no FM,
23 TV; 1 coaxial submarine cable
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: note--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 is attempting to restructure the
forces into a civilian police service under the new name of Panamanian
Public Forces (PPF); a Council of Public Security and National Defense
under Menalco Solis in the office of the president coordinates the
activities of the security forces; the Institutional Protection Service
under Carlos Bares is attached to the presidency
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 644,895; 444,522 fit for
military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures: $75.5 million, 1.5% of GDP (1990)
