In the 1970s and 1980s, Panamas growth fluctuated with the vagaries of the world economy. After 1973, economic expansion slowed considerably as the result of a number of international and domestic factors. Real GDP growth averaged 3.5% a year between 1973 and 1979. In the early 1980s, the economy rebounded with GDP growth rates of 15.4% in 1980, 4.2% in 1981, and 5.6% in 1982. The acute recession in Latin America after 1982, however, wreaked havoc on Panamas economy. GDP growth in 1983 was a mere 0.4%; in 1984 it was -0.4%.. How many percentage points above the 1973-1979 average was the GDP growth rate in 1981?