Panama

República de Panamá

coat of arms (In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: Pro Mundi Beneficio
Official language	Spanish
Capital	Panama City
President	Mireya Elisa Moscoso
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 115th 78,200 km² 2.9%
Population  - Total  - Density	Ranked 131st 2,845,647 37/km²
Independence  - Declared	From Colombia November 3, 1903
Currency	Balboa
Time zone	UTC -5
National anthem	Himno Istemño
Internet TLD	.PA
Calling Code	507

History

Panama was part of the Spanish Colonization in America until 1821 when it seceded and joined the Great Colombia of Simón Bolívar. On November 3 , 1903 it became an independent Republic. Theodore Roosevelt's gunboat diplomacy and the United States military helped the Panamanian rebels secede from Colombia and then signed the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty by which it was granted rights to build the Panama Canal.

The Panamian government was long mired in corruption, and eventually became concentrated in the hands of General Manuel Noriega. Noriega's harassment of US troops in Panama and role in the international drug trade prompted a US invasion Operation Just Cause and his removal and arrest. Democratic rule was re-instated in

By the Torrijos-Carter Treaty, on December 31 of 1999, the United States handed back the canal to Panama.

Politics

Panama is a representative democracy with three branches of government: executive and legislative branches elected by direct vote for 5-year terms, and an independently appointed judiciary. The executive branch includes a president and two vice presidents. The legislative branch consists of a 72-member unicameral Legislative Assembly. The judicial branch is organized under a nine-member Supreme Court and includes all tribunals and municipal courts. An autonomous Electoral Tribunal supervises voter registration, the election process, and the activities of political parties. Everyone over the age of 18 is required to vote, although those who fail to do so are not penalized.

Provinces

Panama is divided into 9 provinces (provincias) and 5 territories (comarcas), marked by a *:

Bocas del Toro Chiriqui Cocle Colon Darien

Emberá* Herrera Kuna de Madugandi* Kuna de Wargandi* Kuna Yala*

Los Santos Ngobe-Bugle* Panama Veraguas

Geography

Panama in located in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. Its strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming a land bridge connecting North and South America. By 1999, Panama controls the Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean.

Economy

Because of its key geographic location, Panama's economy is service-based, heavily weighted toward banking, commerce, and tourism. The hand-over of the canal and military installations by the US has given rise to new construction projects. The Moscoso administration inherited an economy that is much more structurally sound and liberalized than the one inherited by its predecessor.

Demographics

The culture, customs, and language of the Panamanians are predominantly Caribbean Spanish. Ethnically, the majority of the population is mestizo or mixed Spanish, Indian, Chinese, and West Indian. Spanish is the official and dominant language; English is a common second language spoken by the West Indians and by many in business and the professions. More than half the population lives in the Panama City-Colón metropolitan corridor.

Culture

Holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
November 3	Independence Day

• Music of Panama

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Panama
• Transportation in Panama
• Military of Panama
• Foreign relations of Panama
• List of Panamanians

External links

• Panama Banknotes

Referenced By