Panama

Panama  is a country in North America. Its official name is the Republic of Panama, and it is most famous for the Panama Canal. Countries bordering Panama are Costa Rica in the Northwest and Colombia in the Southeast. Panama is between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Most of the people in Panama are Roman Catholic (about 80%).

Harbors 
The Caribbean coastline has many good natural harbors. However, Cristóbal, at the Caribbean terminus of the canal, had the only important port facilities in the late 1980s. The many islands of the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro, near the beaches of Costa Rica, made an extensive natural roadstead and shield for the port of Almirante. The over 350 San Blas Islands, near Colombia, are spread out for more than  along the sheltered Caribbean coastline.

Demographics 
The population of Panama is about 3,405,813 in May 2010. The ethnic makeup of Panama is:
 50.1%: Multiracial (European, African, Native American, Others).
 22.0%: Black African (Bantu-Congo 42%, Akan-Igbo 20%, Mandinga-Wolof 20%, Yoruba 10%, Others 8%).
 6.7%: Native American (Embera, Wounaan, Ngobe bugle, Kuna, Naso, Bribri).
 8.6%: White European (Spanish-Canarian 74%, German 13%, Italian and Others 13%).
 5.5%: Asian (Chinese 93%, Korean and Japanese 7%).
 7.1%:  Other.
The information there **Other** is likely including Arabs, East Indians, and some Russian.

For ships, Panama is a flag of convenience.

Economy 
In 2011 Panama had an unemployment rate of 2.7%. Panama also had a food surplus in August 2008. Panama was ranked at number 60 on the Human Development Index in 2008.

Panama's economy has experienced an economic boom in recent years. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was over 10.4% from 2006 to 2008. The Panamanian economy has been one of the fastest growing and best managed in Latin America. Latin Business Chronicle has predicted that Panama will be the fastest growing economy in Latin America in the five-year period of 2010–14.

Panama is impacted by the global financial crisis. It threatens to damage the social gains made in the past few years.

The expansion project of the Panama Canal and the free trade agreement with the United States is expected to boost and extend the economy.

On April 28, 2022, Panama's lawmakers approved a bill that would legalize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The bill allows using cryptocurrency and trading it, as well as other related topics. It also allowed citizens to use their cryptocurrency to pay taxes.

Provinces 

Panama is divided into nine provinces. Also, there are five Comarcas (literally: "Shires") populated by a variety of indigenous groups.
Provinces
 Bocas del Toro
 Chiriquí
 Coclé
 Colón
 Darién
 Herrera
 Los Santos
 Panamá
 Panamá Oeste
 Veraguas
Comarcas
 Emberá
 Kuna Yala
 Ngöbe-Buglé Comarca
 Kuna de Madugandí
 Kuna de Wargandí

References

Other websites 

 Official site of the presidency of Panama 
 Official site of Panama Tourism  
 Site of Panama Tourism with videos and photos 
 Pictures from Panama 
 CoolPanama.com Panama Portal Long list of online radio stations from Panama, also webcams and television stations 
 Panama Travel Guides  Panama's best attractions, travel guides, news and product reviews

 
Spanish-speaking countries
1903 establishments in North America