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Panama Eco Tour & Vacation Packages | About Panama

When most Americans think of Panama, they envision the canal. It's true that this wisp of a country, just fifty to 120 miles wide, has played a major role in world commerce for centuries. But to travelers in the know, Panama defines tropical paradise. It is an unspoiled country of pristine beaches, cloud forests and rain forests, home to 900 species of birds, 1,500 species of trees and 7,000 species of vascular plants. A bit smaller than South Carolina, it contains an astonishing 500 rivers with 1,000 islands on the Pacific side and 600 islands on the Caribbean side. At the southern tip of Central America, Panama is bordered by Costa Rica to the West, Colombia to the east, an 805-mile Caribbean coastline on the north and 1,063 mile Pacific coast on the south. Forty percent of population lives in the sophisticated metropolis of Panama City yet ten minutes away is a rain forest and six indigenous cultures inhabit the country. Over half of Panama is forested with the largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere outside the Amazon within its borders. Return to Previous Page

Panama at a glance

OFFICIAL NAME

Republic of Panama

GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE

Democracy

PRESIDENT

Martin Torrijos (Espino) (2004)
Democratic Revolutionary Party
Educated in the United States
Son of Omar Torrijos Herrera who was dictator of Panama from 1968 to 1981

POPULATION

3,232,000 (2003 est.)

CAPITAL

Panama City
708,738 (2000)

OTHER IMPORTANT CITIES (ranked by population)

Colon
David
Boquete
Bocas del Toro
Casco Viejo

ETHNICITY

Meztiso 62%
African 14%
Spanish 10%
Mulatto 5%
Indian 5%

LANGUAGES

Spanish
English

LITERACY

91.9%

LIFE EXPECTANCY

Men 72.94
Women 78.53

RELIGION

Roman Catholic 80%
Evangelical Christian 10%
Protestant other 4%
Islam 4.4%
Other 2.9%

AREA

29,157 square miles

PROTECTED AREAS

National parks 10
Wildlife refuges 2
National Monument 1

NATIONAL FLOWER

Peristeria Elata Dove Orchid or Holy Ghost Orchid

NATIONAL BIRD

Harpy Eagle

MAJOR INDUSTRIES

Banking
Commerce
Tourism
Fishing
Petroleum

MAJOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

Bananas
Coffee
Sugarcane

HOLIDAYS

1/1 New Year's Day
1/9 Martyr's Day
2/28 Carnaval Day
March-April Good Friday
5/1 Labor Day
11/3 Independence Day from Colombia
11/5 Colon's Day
11/10 The Uprising of Los Santos
11/28 Independence Day from Spain
12/8 Mother's Day
12/25 Christmas

CUISINE

As an international crossroads, Panama's cuisine has been influenced by many cultures as well as its tropical abundance. The national dish is sancocho, a chicken stew cooked with garlic, plantains, yams, other vegetables and culantro served with rice and hot sauce. Tamales, tamale pie and empanadas are also popular. Though a tiny country, Panama nonetheless has regional cuisines, for example, fufu, a northern dish of fried fish with yams, plantains and other vegetables in coconut milk. Naturally, many international dishes are also on restaurant menus.

CURRENCY

Balboa (PAB) is equivalent to the US dollar

TIME ZONE

Same as Eastern Standard Time. There is no daylight savings time in Panama so during U.S. DST, Panama is the same as Central Standard Time.

INTERNATIONAL DIALING CODE

507

ELECTRICITY

110 V, 60 Hz most places except remote areas where voltage is 220.

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