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Economy - overview: |
Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for four-fifths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-03; growth picked up in 2004 led by export-oriented services and a construction boom stimulated by tax incentives. The government has been backing tax reforms, reform of the social security program, new regional trade agreements, and development of tourism. Unemployment remains high.
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GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $20.57 billion (2004 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate: |
6% (2004 est.)
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GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $6,900 (2004 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 13%
services: 79.8% (2004 est.)
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Labor force: |
1.32 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2004 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.)
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Unemployment rate: |
12.6% (2004 est.)
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Population below poverty line: |
37% (1999 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
48.5 (1997)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
2% (2004 est.)
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Investment (gross fixed): |
25% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Budget: |
revenues: $3.095 billion
expenditures: $3.737 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2004 est.)
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Public debt: |
69.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products: |
bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp
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Industries: |
construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
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Industrial production growth rate: |
5.4% (2004 est.)
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Electricity - production: |
4.873 billion kWh (2002)
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Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 37%
hydro: 61.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 1.7% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption: |
4.473 billion kWh (2002)
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Electricity - exports: |
120 million kWh (2002)
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Electricity - imports: |
61 million kWh (2002)
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Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
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Oil - consumption: |
40,520 bbl/day (2003 est.)
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Oil - exports: |
NA
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Oil - imports: |
NA
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Current account balance: |
$-469.6 million (2004 est.)
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Exports: |
$5.699 billion f.o.b. (includes the Colon Free Zone) (2004 est.)
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Exports - commodities: |
bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999)
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Exports - partners: |
US 12.2%, Nigeria 9.4%, Germany 8.4%, South Korea 8.2%, El Salvador 5.7%, Peru 5.1%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Japan 4.1% (2004)
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Imports: |
$7.164 billion f.o.b. (includes the Colon Free Zone) (2004 est.)
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Imports - commodities: |
capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals
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Imports - partners: |
Japan 32.9%, China 10.6%, US 9.8%, South Korea 7.2%, Singapore 7.1%, Italy 4.5% (2004)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$1.076 billion (2004 est.)
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Debt - external: |
$8.78 billion (2004 est.)
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Economic aid - recipient: |
$197.1 million (1995)
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Currency (code): |
balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD)
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Currency code: |
PAB; USD
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Exchange rates: |
balboas per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000)
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Fiscal year: |
calendar year
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