Panama — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Panama: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Panama is in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. It covers 75,420 sq km. 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).
| 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% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 6.6% (2024 est.) |
| 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 years (2025 est.) |
| 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) |
Panama’s GDP is $164.484 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $86.26 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 2.9% (2024 est.). See where Panama ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 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.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 0.7%; a current-account surplus of $2 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
Copper, Hydropower.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 95% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 38.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 6.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 6.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 47.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 78.01 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 101.9 TWh (2023) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 12.9 TWh (2023) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 22,863 kWh per person (2023) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Hydro 47.8%, Gas 21.7%, Oil 13.0%, Wind 6.9%, Solar 6.8%, Coal 3.6% (2023) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 61.8% (2023) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 258.7 gCO2/kWh (2023) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2023.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $37.376 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $30.887 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $6.5 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
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) |
Major airports
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. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Panama.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Panama — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Panama's power score?
Panama has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.