Be ready to fall in love with Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country located at the southern end of Central America on the Isthmus of Panama.
Panama borders Costa Rica and Colombia, which was once part of. Mostly known for its canal that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. This marvel of engineering is one of the largest and most difficult projects ever undertaken and is considered one of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World” by The American Society of Civil Engineers. Along with tourism and banking, the Panama Canal is a major source of funding for the Panamanian state.
In addition to the isthmus, Panama is composed of 1,500 islands, mostly uninhabited and hidden in thick vegetation. These islands are grouped into four regions. In the Caribbean, there are the archipelagos of Bocas del Toro and San Blas; Las Perlas Archipelago in the Gulf of Panama and Coiba Island and its cortege of small islands in the Gulf of Chiriqui.
For centuries, Panama is a place of passage, we go there to somewhere else, a bridge between continents and the link between oceans. Lately, Panama is attracting more and more travelers of a different kind, tourists transfixed by its beauty and seduced by its quaint but not jaded charm.
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Capital
Ciudad de Panama
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Area
75,990 km2
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Population
4,525,000 (est. 2023)
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Language
Spanish and Native languages
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Religions
Roman Catholic (in great majority)
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Government
Multi-party system with a legislature composed of 72 members elected by universal suffrage. Members as the president and vice president are elected for a period of 5 years, and can not be re-elected for a 2nd term. The country is divided into ten provinces to which is added the Comarca of San Blas, which is considered part of the province of Colon in most official documents.
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Currency
Balboa, fixed parity with the American Dollar (USD). Balboa does not exist in the form of bank notes; American Dollars banknotes are used. For coins Panama used indifferently centavos de Balboa and American cents, both are the same size