|
Description Panama by rbd.me
|
|
Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia. 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. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of the century. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the subsequent decades. 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 transferred to Panama by the end of 1999. In October 2006, Panamanians approved an ambitious plan (estimated to cost $5.3 billion) to expand the Canal. The project, which began in 2007 and could double the Canal's capacity, is expected to be completed in 2014-15.
|
|
Location
|
|
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica
|
|
Area - comparative
|
|
slightly smaller than South Carolina
|
|
Natural resources Panama
|
|
copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower
|
|
Population Panama
|
|
3,410,676 (July 2010 est.)
|
|
Religions Panama
|
|
Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%
|
|
Languages
|
|
Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual
|
|
Education Panama expenditures
|
|
3.8% of GDP (2004)
|
|
Government Panama type
|
|
constitutional democracy
|
|
Independence
|
|
3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)
|
|
Panama Economy - overview
|
|
Panama's dollarized economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-quarters of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. Economic growth will be bolstered by the Panama Canal expansion project that began in 2007 and is scheduled to be completed by 2014 at a cost of $5.3 billion - about 25% of current GDP. The expansion project will more than double the Canal's capacity, enabling it to accommodate ships that are now too large to transverse the transoceanic crossway, and should help to reduce the high unemployment rate. The United States and China are the top users of the Canal, and while a lower volume of cargo is expected to transit the Canal with the global economic slowdown, higher transit fees will result in a net increase in revenues. Strong economic performance has not translated into broadly shared prosperity as Panama has the second worst income distribution in Latin America. About 30% of the population lives in poverty, however, during TORRIJOS's term poverty was reduced from 40% to 30% and unemployment dropped from 12% to 6%. In 2009, the world recession reduced the amount of revenues Panama earned through global shipping that transits the Canal. Not a CAFTA signatory, Panama in December 2006 independently negotiated a free trade agreement with the US, which, when implemented, will help promote the country's economic growth.
|
|
Investment Panama
|
|
26.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
|
|
Industries Panama
|
|
construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
|
|
Airports Panama
|
|
8,067 (2009)
|
|
