Panama - Geography
Panama is characterized by mountain ranges that run east-west. To the west,
the mountains are volcanic, a continuation of the Cordilleras. The highest point
is the volcano Baru (3475 m) near the border with Costa Rica. The plateaus
between the mountain ranges are fertile. In several places, the coastal lowlands
towards the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean are quite narrow and intersected
by numerous rivers and streams.
Panama has a tropical climate with only small seasonal variations. All months
have above 25 °C on average, and most of the year the passat gives large
amounts of precipitation; i gnsn. 3300 mm and mostly on the Caribbean side of
the mountains. On the Pacific side, there is dry season from January to
April. The humid-warm climate creates the conditions for a dense rainforest,
which covers approximately half of the country. On the coastal plains there is
savannah.
Population
Ethnically, the population is dominated by mestizers, who make up
approximately 70%; 14% are black and of mixed African-European descent, while there
are smaller groups of whites, Indians and Asians. The blacks are partly
English-speaking immigrants from the Antilles, and partly Spanish-speaking
descendants of slaves from colonial times. The Indians live partly in
reserves. The highest population densities are in the Panama Canal Zone (with
30,000 Americans, among others) and on the Pacific coast, while the eastern and
western areas are very sparsely populated, just as a wide belt along the
Caribbean coast is largely empty and completely without roads. According to
AllCityPopulation.com, about half of the population lives below the poverty line, and there are
very large differences in living conditions between the residential areas
of Panama City and Colón and the poor slums and underdeveloped lands. Population
growth is declining, but by 1.8% per year still among the highest in the
region. The lack of development in the countryside and the economic
opportunities of the Channel Zone means that there is a constant migration to
the larger cities here, which are experiencing unemployment, food shortages and
social problems.
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Business and economics
The traffic through the canal provides significant employment in the service
sector in addition to revenue for the Canal Company and the state. On the other
hand, it means less that Panama, on paper, has the world's largest merchant
fleet: it is predominantly foreign ship owners who fly flags of
convenience without much contact with the flag state. For many years, Panama's
economy has been poorly managed, and a reform program of privatization and tight
fiscal policy was not launched until after 1990.
Agriculture employs approximately a quarter of the workforce, but contributes only
10% of GDP. Despite the country's prosperity, large quantities of food must be
imported every year. Only 7% of the area is cultivated, and the land is
extremely unevenly distributed with large plantations and a large majority of
low-productivity small farms. The main agricultural areas are in Chirique to the
west, near Costa Rica. Rice, corn, beans and fruit are grown for the domestic
market and bananas, coffee, cocoa and sugar are exported. Earlier, the military
government tried to let Panama play a role in the world sugar market, and
investments were made in new plantings and sugar mills. The success failed when
the mills were too inefficient and the price of sugar fell, and things went
completely wrong when the United States introduced trade sanctions against the
regime in the 1980's. Now some of the sugar is used to make rum.
On the Pacific coast there are many cattle farms, both large farms and family
farms. The operation is tormenting the land, and rainforest is constantly being
cleared for grazing areas. Local and foreign environmental organizations are
working to introduce sustainable use of the forest.
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Industries
is poorly developed. Lack of raw materials, a weak domestic market and lack
of capital are the main reasons. In Panama City and Colón, however, there is the
manufacture of consumer goods for the domestic market in addition to any
petrochemical industry, and in Colón, an area is designated as a free zone. With
its strategically favorable location, the free zone is a significant success,
which is expected to grow further when Latin American countries relax trade
rules.
The main exports are bananas and fresh shrimp from fish and
aquaculture. Until now, the country's tourism was completely concentrated in a
few tourist centers in the canal zone and in e.g. The Pearl Islands off the
Pacific coast, but with the gradual withdrawal of the Americans in the 1990's,
new uses have been found for former military areas, not least with tourism in
mind. Examples include that the military base at Fort Amador on the Pacific side
has been transformed into a tourist center, while new ports for cruise ships
have been opened at both ends of the canal. With a steadily growing number of
visitors, tourism has thus been one of the poor country's most important
industries and largest investment areas since the late 1990's. However, much of
the country still has a very poorly developed infrastructure and large areas are
inaccessible.Darien to Colombia, a completion of the Pan-American Highway.
Panama - language
Official language is Spanish. In addition, Creole English is spoken by over
10% of the population. Eight Native American languages have been preserved,
including guaymí (approximately 130,000, 1990) and kuna (approximately 60,000, 2000). Chinese are
used by a small ethnic minority.
Panama - religion
More than 90% of the population belong to the Roman Catholic Church; the
majority of the rest are Protestants. State and church are separated. Among the
Indians, there are often mixed forms of Christianity and indigenous religion.
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