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Republic of Panama is the southernmost country of Central America. Located on an isthmus, it is also categorized as a transcontinental nation connecting the northern and southern part of America. Panama is bordered by Costa Rica towards the north-west, Colombia towards the south-east, the Caribbean Sea in the north and the Pacific Ocean towards the south. Panama controls the Panama Canal that connects the North Atlantic Ocean via the Caribbean Sea with the North Pacific Ocean.
The central spine of mountains and hills that forms the continental divide is a dominant geographical feature. The highest point in the country is the Volcan Baru, which rises to 3475 meters. An extreme dense jungle forms the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia. It creates a divide in the Pan-American Highway, which forms a complete road from Alaska to Patagonia.
Panama has a coastline stretching upto 2,490 km. It claims a territorial sea of 12 nm, contiguous zone of 24 nm and an exclusive economic zone of200 nm or edge of continental margin. The climate is tropical maritime. Generally Hot, humid and cloudy. Panama enjoys prolonged rainy season from May to January and short dry season from January to May. The natural resources to be found are copper, mahogany forests, shrimp and hydropower. |
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| People |
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The total population of panama is about 3,242,173. there are various ethnic groups in Panama, the majority is Mestizo with 70% the mixed Amerindian and white. Amerindian and mixed i.e. West indian comprises 14%, white 10% and Amerindian 6%.
85% of the population is Roman Catholic and 15% protestant. Spanish is the official language, and about 14% of the inhabitants speak English. |
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| History |
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In the 16th century, the Spanish had explored and settled in Panama. In 1821, the country had broken up with Spain and joined a union of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. In 1830 Spanish had dissolved and Panama remained part of Colombia. Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, with US backing, and 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 known as the Panama Canal Zone. Between the year 1904 and 1914 the Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama.
In 1989, Dictator Manuel Noriega was put down with US help. By the end of 1999, the entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were transferred to Panama. In October 2006, Panamanians approved had approved for a project to expand the Canal, which is to begin in 2007 and could double the Canal's capacity, it is expected to be completed in 2014-15. |
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| Government |
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Panama's politics takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic. The President is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. The government exercises the executive power. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The cabinet appointed by the president. The president and vice presidents are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The country is administratively divided into 9 provinces and 1 territory, the provinces are Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, Veraguas and the territory San Blas(Kuna Yala)
Capital: Panama
Independence: 3 November 1903
President: Martin Torrijos Espino
Currency: Balboa, U.S. dollar |
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| Economy |
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Panama is an international business center and is a transit country. It is the most industrialized country, in Central America. After Guatemala and Costa Rica, Panama is the 3rd largest economy in Central America, it has by far the most developed economy and has the highest expenditure on resource consumption, making it the largest consumer in Central America.
The economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector, that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services sector include the operating the Panama Canal, banking, insurance, the Colon Free Zone container ports, flagship registry and tourism.
The chief agricultural products are bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables, livestock and shrimp. The major industrial products are construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials and sugar milling. |
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