Economy of Panama

Overview

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.

Panama's economy is based primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for nearly 80% of GDP. Services include the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, and flagship registry, medical and health, and other business.

GDP growth for 2000 was about 2.3% compared to 3.0% in 1999. Though Panama has the highest GDP per capita in Central America, about 40% of its population lives in poverty. The unemployment rate surpassed 14% in 2002.

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.78 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4.1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8.3%
industry: 14.7%
services: 77.1% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.5% (1991)

Investment (gross fixed): 24.8% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line: 37% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 48.5 (1997)


Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.4% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 1.19 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: 13.8% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.995 billion
expenditures: $3.421 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products: bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp

Industries: construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production: 4.039 TWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 25.56%
hydro: 73.78%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.66% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 3.681 TWh (2001)

Electricity - exports: 0.118 TWh (2001)

Electricity - imports: 0.043 TWh (2001)

Oil - production: 0 barrel/d (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption: 52,000 barrel/day (8,300 m³/d) 2001 est.

Oil - exports: NA (2001)

Oil - imports: NA (2001)

Current account balance: $-408 million (2003)

Exports: $5.237 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities: bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999)

Exports - partners: United States 13.9%, Nigeria 9.8%, Germany 8.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Peru 5.1%, Costa Rica 4.9%, Belgium 4.8%, Japan 4.5% (2003)

Imports: $6.622 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities: capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1999)

Imports - partners: Japan 33.2%, US 11.4%, China 9.1%, South Korea 7.7%, Singapore 7.1% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $1.011 billion (2003)

Debt - external: $8.834 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $197.1 million (1995)

Currency: balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD)

Exchange rates: balboas per US dollar - 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999) (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year

See also

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