The army in Costa Rica was abolished in 1948, but it can be organized if needed for national defense. The Panama Canal is an integral part of Panama. There are also thousands of jobs and millions of dollars generated by businesses and services associated with the canal area. The canal is scheduled to be controlled by the Panamanian government beginning in the year 2000. Outside of the canal area, the majority of people in Panama are subsistence farmers, which means the only grow enough food to survive.
Bananas are Panama's largest crop that is sold.
Caribbean The Bahamas consist of 700 islands, but only 22 of these islands are inhabited. The Bahamas begin about 52 miles off the coast of Florida and extend some 750 miles to the Southeast with a total land area of 13,939 square miles. With over 1,000,000 visitors each year, tourism is the leading employer in the Bahamas. Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean and has a population of 2.6 million. With 850,000 tourists each year, tourism plays an important role in Jamaica's economy.