Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Panama: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna grade (MCB, ranked #72 of 195).
Panama is a presidential republic in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. The country's capital is Panama City; it covers 75,420 sq km. Independence: 3 November 1903 (from Colombia); 28 November 1821 (from Spain). Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains with dissected, upland plains; coastal plains with rolling hills. Climate: tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May). Population: 4.5 million (2025 estimate). Population growth: +1.44% per year. Median age: 31.7 years. Life expectancy: 79.2 years (2024 est.). Languages: Spanish (official)…
| Capital | Panama City |
|---|---|
| Population | 4,536,008 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $164.484 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $36,400 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 2.9% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 0.7% |
| Unemployment | 6.6% |
| Public debt | 37.4% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $37.376 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $30.887 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 79.2 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 31.7 |
| Urbanization | 69.5% of total population (2023) |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Independence | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia); 28 November 1821 (from Spain) |
| Languages | Spanish (official), Indigenous languages (including Ngabere (Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian 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) |
MCB · 53/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Jul–Sep 2026 came and went without leaving a mark on the country's trajectory. Continuity, not change, is the story.
For a small or mid-sized state, that is often the good outcome: no shock to absorb, no crisis to manage.
Copper, Hydropower.
José Raúl Mulino — President. President José Raúl MULINO Quintero (since 1 July 2024)
Panama maintains 53 embassies and 31 consulates abroad, hosts 50 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, OAS Washington. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 53 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 31 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 50 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, OAS Washington |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, diplomatic & consular networks database, Mar 2026 report (of-country ranking) https://zenodo.org/records/18917562 ; Jan 2026 report (in-country ranking) https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 2490 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 77 + 1 heliports (registration prefix HP) |
| Major seaports | Bahia de las Minas, Balboa, Pedregal, Puerto Armuelles, Puerto Colon, Puerto Cristobal |
| Railways | 77 km |
| Pipelines | 128 km oil (2013) |
| Top container ports (TEU) | Colon (4,915,975 TEU, 2021); Balboa (3,561,432 TEU, 2021) |
Tocumen International Airport (PTY) — Tocumen; Alonso Valderrama Airport (CTD) — Chitré; Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport (BOC) — Isla Colón; Changuinola Captain Manuel Niño International Airport (CHX) — Changuinola; Enrique Adolfo Jimenez Airport (ONX) — Colón; Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV) — David; Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport (PAC) — Albrook.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | presidential republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
MCB · 53 Ranked #72 of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Panama.
