Panama, officially theRepublic of Panama, is a country located at the southern end ofCentral America, borderingSouth America. It is bordered byCosta Rica to the west,Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Its capital and largest city isPanama City, whosemetropolitan area is home to nearly half of the country's over 4 million inhabitants.0
Before the arrival ofSpanish colonists in the 16th century, Panama was inhabited by a number of differentindigenous tribes. Itbroke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic ofGran Colombia, a union ofNueva Granada,Ecuador, andVenezuela. After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of thePanama Canal to be completed by theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The 1977Torrijos–Carter Treaties agreed to transfer the canal from the United States to Panama on December 31, 1999. Thesurrounding territory was returned first, in 1979.
Revenue from canal tolls has continued to represent a significant portion of Panama'sGDP, especially after thePanama Canal expansion project (finished in 2016) doubled its capacity. Commerce, banking, and tourism are major sectors. Panama is regarded as having ahigh-income economy. In 2019,Panama ranked 57th in the world in terms of theHuman Development Index. In 2018, Panama was ranked the seventh-most competitive economy in Latin America, according to theWorld Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index. Panama was ranked 82nd in theGlobal Innovation Index in 2025. Covering around 40 percent of its land area, Panama'sjungles are home to an abundance of tropical plants and animals – some of themfound nowhere else on Earth.
Panama is a founding member of theUnited Nations and other international organizations such as theOrganization of American States,Latin America Integration Association,Group of 77,World Health Organization, andNon-Aligned Movement. (Full article...)
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