3410676
Spanish (official), indigenous languages (including Ngabere (or Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (or Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian English Creole (similar to Jamaican English Creole; a mixture of English and Spanish with elements of Ngabere; also known as Guari Guari and Colon Creole), English, Chinese (Yue and Hakka), Arabic, French Creole, other (Yiddish, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese)
PANAMA CITY (capital) 1.673 million (2015)
- Designação longa convencional
- Republic of Panama
- Abreviatura
- Panama
- Forma longa local
- Republica de Panama
- Forma curto local
- Panama
presidential republic
- Nome
- Panama City
- Coordenadas Geográficas
- 8 58 N, 79 32 W
- Fuso horário
- UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Panama's dollar-based economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for more than three-quarters of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, logistics, banking, the Colon Free Trade Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism and Panama is a center for offshore banking. Panama's transportation and logistics services sectors, along with infrastructure development projects, have boosted economic growth; however, public debt surpassed $37 billion in 2016 because of excessive government spending and public works projects. The US-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement was approved by Congress and signed into law in October 2011, and entered into force in October 2012.
- Inflação
- 0,746%
- Acções de dívida externa
- US$ 87.724.209.000
- Taxa de imposto total (% dos lucros empresa)
- 37,2%
- Taxa de juro real
- 6,536%
- Produção, valor acrescentado (% PIB)
- 5,471%
- Saldo Corrente
- US$ -3.098.000.000
- Força de trabalho, total
- 1.909.198
- Emprego na Agricultura
- 14,81%
- Emprego na Industria
- 18,36%
- Emprego nos Serviços
- 66,82%
- Taxa de Desemprego
- 5,82%
- Importação de Produtos e Serviços
- US$ 27.357.000.000
- Exportação de Produtos e Serviços
- US$ 24.707.000.000
- Total Comércio de Mercadorias
- 52,13%
- IDE, entradas líquidas
- US$ 5.978.400.000
- Exportações de serviços comerciais
- US$ 12.275.300.000
bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp
construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
- Mercadorias
- fruit and nuts, fish, iron and steel waste, wood
- Parceiros
- US 19.7%, Germany 13.2%, Costa Rica 7.7%, China 5.9%, Netherlands 4.1% (2015)
- Mercadorias
- fuels, machinery, vehicles, iron and steel rods, pharmaceuticals
- Parceiros
- US 25.9%, China 9.6%, Mexico 5.1% (2015)
- Índice de Risco do País
- A4
- A somewhat shaky political and economic outlook and a relatively volatile business environment can affect corporate payment behavior. Corporate default probability is still acceptable on average.
- Classificação de Clima de Negócios
- A4
- The business environment is acceptable. Corporate financial information is sometimes neither readily available nor sufficiently reliable. Debt collection is not always efficient and the institutional framework has shortcomings. Intercompany transactions may thus run into appreciable difficulties in the acceptable but occasionally unstable environments rated A4.
- Interoceanic canal
- Total dollarization of the economy and financial stability
- Colón free-trade zone, world’s 2nd-largest import-export platform
- Regional banking and financial center
- Exposure to North and South American economic conditions
- Shortcomings in infrastructure (transport, power, education, health)
- Huge disparity between the Canal zone and the rest of the country
- Corruption and political patronage
The Panamanian economy is the most dynamic in Latin America. Its major infrastructure projects (2nd subway line under construction in Panama City, urban renewal in Colón and a 4th bridge over the canal) and increasing revenues from the enlargement of the Panama canal (officially opened in June 2016) should contribute to a slight boost to growth in 2017. The enlargement of the canal should in fact enable a 28.3% increase in exports of goods compared with 2016. This expansion should help transform the country into a maritime crossroads between North America and Asia. The logistic hub will thus enable the country’s coastal areas to develop their financial services, logistics and tourist sectors (19% of GDP in 2016). In addition, private investment will hold steady in 2017 at +4.9%. The attractiveness of the country does not seem to have suffered in the Panama Papers scandal, given the large number of multinationals that have set up in the country, the improving business climate (the “Doing Business” survey placed the country in 67th place in 2017 against 70th in 2016) and FDI which is holding steady. The Panamanian banking system, acting as the effective financial sector for the region, should prove resilient, demonstrating its self-financing capacity .
The budget deficit should fall in 2017. Revenues are expected to rise faster than expenditure thanks to earnings generated as a result of the enlargement of the canal (between 1 and 1.6 billion dollars according to government estimates). The 2017 budget, approved at the end of August 2016, includes a 7.6% increase over 2016, mainly for increased infrastructure spending. The level of the public debt will thus remain relatively stable in 2017.
With just 12 of the 71 seats in the unicameral parliament, the President, Juan Carlos Varela, of the centre-right Partido Panameñista (PP), in power since 1 July 2014, was obliged to reach a governability pact with the 26 elected members of the centre-left opposition Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) party, ensuring a parliamentary majority with 49 seats out of 71. The next parliamentary and presidential elections will be in May 2019. The sitting President will not be eligible to stand again.