Panama Economy:
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.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$20.57 billion (2004 est.)
GDP — real growth rate:
6% (2004 est.)
GDP — per capita:
purchasing power parity: $6,900 (2004 est.)
GDP — composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 13%
services: 79.8%
(2004)
Labor force:
1.32 million (2004 est.)
note: Shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor
Labor force — by occupation:
agriculture: 20.8%, industry: 18%, services: 61.2% (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate:
12.6% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
37% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997)
Distribution of family income — Gini index:
48.5 (1997 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3.1 billion (2004 est.)
expenditures: $3.74 billion including capital expenditures of $471 million (2004 est.)
Public debt:
69.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture — products:
Bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp
Industries:
construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
Industrial production growth rate:
5.4% (2004 est.)
Electricity — production:
4.87 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity — consumption:
4.47 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity — exports:
120 million kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity — imports:
61 million kWh (2002 est.)
Oil — production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil — consumption:
40,520 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil — exports:
NA (2001 est.)
Oil — imports:
NA (2001 est.)
Current account balance:
$-469.6 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
$5.7 billion includes the Colon Free Zone (f.o.b. 2004 est.)
Exports — commodities:
bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999 est.)
Exports — partners:
US 50.5%, Sweden 6.6%, Spain 5.1%, Netherlands 4.4%, Costa Rica 4.2% (2004)
Imports:
$7.16 billion (includes the Colon Free Zone) (f.o.b. 2004 est.)
Imports — commodities:
capital goods, , foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1999 est.)
Imports — partners:
US 33.3%, Netherlands Antilles 8.1%, Japan 6%, Costa Rica 5.7%, Mexico 4.6%, Colombia 4.2% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.08 billion (2004 est.)
Debt — external:
$8.78 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid — recipient:
$197.1 million (1995 est.)
Currency:
balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD)
Exchange rates:
Colombian pesos per US$: 1 (2004 est.), 1 (2003 est.), 1 (2002 est.), 1 (2001 est.), 1 (2000 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
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