World Factbook
Panama
República de Panama
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
97.3% (2024 est.)
female
95.9% (2024 est.)
total population
96.3% (2024 est.)
Languages
Languages
Spanish (official), Indigenous languages (including Ngabere (Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian English Creole (a mixture of English and Spanish with elements of Ngabere, also known as Guari Guari and Colon Creole), English, Chinese (Yue and Hakka), Arabic, French Creole, other (Yiddish, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese)
major-language sample(s)
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Evangelical 55%, Roman Catholic 33.4%, none 10.1%, unspecified 1.5% (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.02 male(s)/female
total population
1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.87 male(s)/female
Birth rate
17.11 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
31 years
total
31.7 years (2025 est.)
female
31.9 years
Population
male
2,284,105
total
4,536,008 (2025 est.)
female
2,251,903
Nationality
noun
Panamanian(s)
adjective
Panamanian
Tobacco use
male
7.4% (2025 est.)
total
4.5% (2025 est.)
female
1.7% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
69.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
25% (male 574,336/female 544,180)
15-64 years
64.8% (male 1,465,907/female 1,433,023)
65 years and over
10.1% (2024 est.) (male 211,014/female 241,781)
Ethnic groups
Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 65%, Indigenous 12.3% (Ngabe 7.6%, Kuna 2.4%, Embera 0.9%, Bugle 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.2%), Black or African descent 9.2%, Mulatto 6.8%, White 6.7% (2010 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
54.4 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
38.4 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
6.3 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
16 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.63 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
9.7% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
22.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
2.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1.9 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.33 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 86.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 94.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 13.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 5.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.5% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
2.5% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
16.3% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
15.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total
13.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
12.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.44% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.13 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population is concentrated towards the center of the country, particularly around the Canal, but a sizeable segment of the populace also lives in the far west around David; the eastern third of the country is sparsely inhabited
Life expectancy at birth
male
76.4 years
female
82.2 years
total population
79.2 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
37 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 70.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 88% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 96.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 29.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 12% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 3.9% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
5.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
6.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.977 million PANAMA CITY (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
22.7% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
53.2% (2023 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
2.9% (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
12 years (2016 est.)
total
13 years (2016 est.)
female
14 years (2016 est.)