PANAMA
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LAND
75,650 km2 (excluding Canal Zone, 1,430 km2); 24% agricultural land (9% fallow, 4% cropland, 11% pasture), 20% exploitable forest, 56% other forests, urban, and waste
Land boundaries: 630 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 200 nm (continental shelf including sovereignty over superjacent waters)
Coastline: 2,490 km
PEOPLE
Population: 2,011,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.3%
Nationality: noun—Panamanian(s); adjective—Panamanian
Ethnic divisions: 70% mestizo, 14% Negro, 9% white, 7% Indian and other
Religion: over 90% Roman Catholic, remainder mainly Protestant
Language: Spanish; about 14% speak English as native tongue; many Panamanians bilingual
Literacy: 82% of population 10 years of age and over
Labor force: est. 625,000 (January 1982); 45% commerce, finance and services; 29% agriculture, hunting and fishing; 10% manufacturing and mining; 5% construction; 4% Canal Zone; 5% transportation and communications; 1.2% utilities; 2% other; unemployed estimated at 10-15% (January 1982); shortage of skilled labor but an oversupply of unskilled labor
Organized labor: 10-15% of labor force (1978 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Republic of Panama
Type: republic
Capital: Panama
Political subdivisions: 9 provinces, 1 intendancy
Legal system: based on civil law system; constitution adopted in 1972; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; legal education at University of Panama; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November
Branches: President and Vice President, elected by National Assembly; popularly elected unicameral legislature, National Assembly of Community (Corregimiento) Representatives; legislative powers currently exercised in the main by National Council on Legislation, but constitutional amendments, approved in October 1978, give somewhat broader role to National Assembly; presidentially appointed Supreme Court subject to Corregimiento review under new constitutional amendment
Government leaders: Aristides ROYO is constitutional President and Chief of State, but remains accountable to the National Guard General Staff
Suffrage: universal and compulsory over age 18
Elections: elections for National Assembly in August 1978, Assembly chose President and Vice President in October 1978; constitutional reforms allow Assembly to elect from its own membership representatives comprising two-thirds of the primary legislative organ, the National Council on Legislation; the remaining one-third of the Council's 56 representatives was chosen in September 1980 by direct popular elections; direct popular elections for President and Vice President and the Assembly will be held in 1984
Political parties and leaders: legislation providing for legalization of political parties, which were suspended following 1968 Torrijos coup, approved October 1978; since early 1979, all political parties and groups have been allowed to organize under new democratization program; Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD; official government party), Gerardo González; Communist People's Party (PdP; pro-government), Ruben Dario Souza; Liberal Party (PL; opposition), Arnulfo Escalona; Christian Democratic Party (PDC; opposition), Guillermo Cóchez; Panamenista Party (PP; opposition), Arnulfo Arias
Voting strength: only two progovernment and two small opposition parties registered candidates for 1980 legislative elections; half the candidates ran as independents
Communists: 500 active and several hundred inactive members People's Party (PdP); 1,500 members and sympathizers of rival Fracción movement which split from PdP in 1974
Other political or pressure groups: National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP); Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE)
Member of: FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IDB, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAS, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
