|
|
Advertisements:
EconomyEconomy - overview
Panama's dollar-based economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for more than three-quarters of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, logistics, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. Economic growth will be bolstered by the Panama Canal expansion project that began in 2007 and is scheduled to be completed by 2014 at a cost of $5.3 billion - about 10% of current GDP. The expansion project will more than double the Canal''s capacity, enabling it to accommodate ships that are too large to traverse the existing canal. The United States and China are the top users of the Canal. Panama also plans to construct a metro system in Panama City, valued at $1.2 billion and scheduled to be completed by 2014. Panama''s booming transportation and logistics services sectors, along with aggressive infrastructure development projects, have lead the economy to continued growth in 2011. Strong economic performance has not translated into broadly shared prosperity, as Panama has the second worst income distribution in Latin America. About 30% of the population lives in poverty; however, from 2006 to 2010 poverty was reduced by 10 percentage points, while unemployment dropped from 12% to less than 3% of the labor force in 2011. A US-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement was approved by Congress and signed into law in October 2011. Seeking removal from the Organization of Economic Development''s gray-list of tax havens, Panama has also recently signed various double taxation treaties with other nations. Gdp (purchasing power parity) World Ranking: 93
$51.26 billion (2011 est.)
$46.36 billion (2010 est.) $43.09 billion (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp (official exchange rate)
$30.57 billion (2011 est.)
Gdp - real growth rate World Ranking: 6
10.6% (2011 est.)
7.6% (2010 est.) 3.9% (2009 est.) Gdp - per capita (ppp) World Ranking: 88
$14,300 (2011 est.)
$13,100 (2010 est.) $12,400 (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp - composition by sector
Agriculture 4.1%
Industry 16.7% Services 79.2% (2011 est.) Labor force World Ranking: 128
1.57 million
Note Shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2011 est.) Labor force - by occupation
Agriculture 17%
Industry 18.6% Services 64.4% (2009 est.) Unemployment rate World Ranking: 45
4.5% (2011 est.)
6.5% (2010 est.) Population below poverty line
29% (2011 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10% 1.1%
Highest 10% 40.1% (2010 est.) Distribution of family income - gini index World Ranking: 17
51.9 (2010 est.)
56.1 (2003) Investment (gross fixed) World Ranking: 30
27.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Budget
Revenues $7.762 billion
Expenditures $8.465 billion (2011 est.) Taxes and other revenues World Ranking: 125
25.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) World Ranking: 82
-2.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Public debt World Ranking: 77
41.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
43.7% of GDP (2010 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices) World Ranking: 146
5.9% (2011 est.)
3.5% (2010 est.) Commercial bank prime lending rate World Ranking: 122
6.91% (31 December 2011 est.)
7.74% (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of narrow money World Ranking: 92
$6.228 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $5.23 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of broad money World Ranking: 80
$26.28 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $24.19 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of domestic credit World Ranking: 72
$28.1 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $23.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares World Ranking: 70
$10.68 billion (31 December 2011) $10.92 billion (31 December 2010) $8.048 billion (31 December 2009) Agriculture - products
Bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp Industries
Construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling Industrial production growth rate World Ranking: 9
10.9% (2011 est.)
Electricity - production World Ranking: 106
6.546 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Electricity - consumption World Ranking: 109
5.805 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Electricity - exports
95 million kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - imports
73 million kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production World Ranking: 125
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - consumption World Ranking: 78
97,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - exports World Ranking: 187
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - imports World Ranking: 75
77,910 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - proved reserves World Ranking: 176
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
Natural gas - production World Ranking: 110
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - consumption World Ranking: 118
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - exports World Ranking: 158
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - imports World Ranking: 109
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves World Ranking: 113
0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
Current account balance World Ranking: 161
-$3.892 billion (2011 est.)
-$2.862 billion (2010 est.) Exports World Ranking: 76
$16.95 billion (2011 est.)
$12.68 billion (2010 est.) Note Includes the Colon Free Zone Exports - commodities
Gold, bananas, shrimp, sugar, iron and steel waste, pineapples, watermelons Imports World Ranking: 71
$22.95 billion (2011 est.)
$17.23 billion (2010 est.) Note Includes the Colon Free Zone Imports - commodities
Fuel products, medicines, vehicles, iron and steel rods, cellular phones Imports - partners
Japan 23.9%, China 23.5%, Singapore 18.4%, US 13.3%, South Korea 6.1% (2011) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold World Ranking: 117
$2.315 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $2.715 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Debt - external World Ranking: 87
$13.34 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $13.22 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of direct foreign investment - at home
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad
$NA
Exchange rates
Balboas (PAB) per US dollar -
1 (2011 est.) 1 (2010 est.) 1 (2009) 1 (2008) 1 (2007) Fiscal year
Calendar year
Comments
Add a new comment: |
Advertisement
Members area
Panama (Panama City):
 
GPS points from Panama (Panama City)
|
||||||||
Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia. With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of the century. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the subsequent decades. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were transferred to Panama by the end of 1999. In October 2006, Panamanians approved an ambitious plan (estimated to cost $5.3 billion) to expand the Canal. The project, which began in 2007 and could double the Canal's capacity, is expected to be completed in 2014-15.