global panama

Description:
Panama forms the land link between the North and South American continents. It borders Colombia to the east, Costa Rica to the west, and the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean to the north and south. The country forms an S-shaped isthmus, which runs east–west over a total length of 772km (480 miles) and is 60 to 177km (37 to 110 miles) wide. The landscape is mountainous with lowlands on both coastlines cut by streams, wooded slopes and a wide area of savannah-covered plains and rolling hills called El Interior between the Azuero peninsula and the Central Mountains. The Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean are linked by the man-made Panama Canal, cut into a gap between the Cordillera de Talamanca and the San Blas mountain range and stretching for over 65km (40 miles); the length of the canal is often referred to as 80km (50 miles) as this is the distance between deep-water points of entry. Only about a quarter of the country is inhabited. The majority of the population live either around the canal and main cities of Panama City and Col?�n (the two cities which control the entrance and exit of the canal) or in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent mountains.

Population:

3.2 million (UN estimate 2006).

Languages:

The official language is Spanish, but English is widely spoken.

Climate:

Temperatures are high across the whole country throughout the year, though cooler at high altitudes. The rainy season lasts from May to November. Rainfall is twice as heavy on the Pacific coast as it is on the lowlands of the Caribbean coast.

Economy - overview:

Panama has a relatively prosperous economy based on agriculture, light industry, revenues from the Panama Canal and the service sector. Over half the land area is given over to agriculture. The country has significant reserves of timber, particularly mahogany, and good fishing stocks. Further revenue is obtained from tolls levied on ships passing through the Panama Canal and a plethora of ��?offshore' companies.

Other important sources of revenue include the Col?�n Free Trade Zone established near the Canal, an ��?open' shipping registry and a rapidly growing tourist industry. Reforms during the 1990s saw the privatisation of many state enterprises, overhaul of tax and social security systems, and the removal of price controls and import tariffs. Annual growth in 2006 was 8.1%, while inflation was 1.1%. Unemployment was 8.8% in 2006.

Panama is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank. A free trade agreement with the USA was agreed in 2006.

Economy:

Panama has a relatively prosperous economy based on agriculture, light industry, revenues from the Panama Canal and the service sector. Over half the land area is given over to agriculture. The country has significant reserves of timber, particularly mahogany, and good fishing stocks. Further revenue is obtained from tolls levied on ships passing through the Panama Canal and a plethora of ��?offshore' companies.

Other important sources of revenue include the Col?�n Free Trade Zone established near the Canal, an ��?open' shipping registry and a rapidly growing tourist industry. Reforms during the 1990s saw the privatisation of many state enterprises, overhaul of tax and social security systems, and the removal of price controls and import tariffs. Annual growth in 2006 was 8.1%, while inflation was 1.1%. Unemployment was 8.8% in 2006.

Panama is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank. A free trade agreement with the USA was agreed in 2006.

Exports:

Bananas, fish, prawns, petroleum products and sugar.
• Main trade partners: Bermuda, Japan, Venezuela, China and USA.

Imports:

Capital goods, crude oil, food, chemicals and consumer goods.

Exchange rates:

Balboa (PAB; symbol B/.) = 100 centavos. There is no Panamanian paper currency; coins exist in denominations of B/.10 and 1, and 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 centavos. US currency was adopted in 1904 and exists alongside the Balboa coinage: B/.1 = US$1. US Dollar (US$) = 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of US$100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. Coins are in denominations of US$1, and 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 cents.
http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/220/money/Central-America/Panama.html

GDP :

US$16.5 billion (2006)

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