Panama ( Republica de Panama) is a country in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. Panama geographic coordinates 9 00 N, 80 00 W; area 75,990 sq km; area comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina; land boundaries Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km; coastline 2,490 km; maritime claims 24 n; climate tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (Ja; terrain interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains a; elevation extremes Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m; natural resources copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower; land use 90.66% (2001); irrigated land 320 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area; environment current issues water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources; environment international agreements Marine Life Conservation; geography 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;

introduction

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. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. 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 turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999. government type constitutional democracy; 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*(Kuna Yala), and Veraguas; independence 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821); national holiday Independence Day, 3 November (1903); constitution 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2004; legal system based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory;

people

Panama population 3,039,150 (July 2005 est.); age structure 6.4% (male 91,383/female 102,262) (2005 est.); median age 26.48 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 1.26% (2005 est.); birth rate 19.96 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 74.31 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 2.45 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 0.9% (2003 est.); hiv people with aids 16,000 (2003 est.); hiv deaths less than 500 (2003 est.); nationality Panamanian; ethnic groups mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6%; religions Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%; languages Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual; literacy 91.9% (2003 est.);

Regions

Cities