of isthmus forming land bridge
connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links
North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean

@Panama:People

Population: 2,680,903 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (female 439,491; male 458,817)
15-64 years: 61% (female 812,876; male 823,124)
65 years and over: 5% (female 74,672; male 71,923) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 24.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 4.79 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.2 years
male: 72.57 years
female: 77.97 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 70%,
West Indian 14%, white 10%, Indian 6%

Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%

Languages: Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population: 89%
male: 89%
female: 88%

Labor force: 979,000 (1994 est.)
by occupation: government and community services 31.8%, agriculture,
hunting, and fishing 26.8%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 16.4%,
manufacturing and mining 9.4%, construction 3.2%, transportation and
communications 6.2%, finance, insurance, and real estate 4.3%
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor

@Panama:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Panama
conventional short form: Panama
local long form: Republica de Panama
local short form: Panama

Digraph: PM

Type: constitutional republic

Capital: Panama

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui,
Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, Veraguas

Independence: 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from
Spain 28 November 1821)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1903)

Constitution: 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts com