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Geography

Panama is in Central America, between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Colombia on the east and Costa Rica on the west, and it has a land area of 75,500 km2. The population, which was estimated to be 3.3 million in 2007, is growing at an annual rate of 1.6 per cent. More than 60 per cent of Panamanians live in urban areas. At least 10 per cent of the population is of native indigenous origins.

Coastal areas are largely covered by plains and rolling hills, while the interior has rugged mountains and upland plains divided by deep valleys. Agricultural land covers about 30 per cent of the country’s territory and forests more than 40 per cent.
Deterioration of natural resources, particularly through deforestation, is an environmental concern, and degradation of natural resources affects production.

Agriculture

Agriculture’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be about 7 per cent in 2007 (World Bank). The main export crops are sugar cane, bananas, coffee, cattle tobacco and fruit. Rice, beans and maize are grown for the domestic market. Small-scale farmers and indigenous communities produce basic grains, cassava, legumes and fruit for their households and local markets.

There are extreme disparities in land tenure. About 6 per cent of agricultural producers operate on almost 70 per cent of the land, and about 80 per cent of producers own a total of less than 8 per cent of agricultural land. Nearly 40 per cent of producers own farms of less than 0.5 hectares. Medium and large-scale cattle-growing operations use almost 50 per cent of the agricultural land.

An agricultural census in 2001 found that only 4 per cent of producers received some form of technical assistance, only 3 per cent had access to credit, 41 per cent worked on untitled land and 18 per cent were women.

Economy

Panama’s economy is service-oriented and basically urban. In recent years, financial services and intermediation, together with Panama Canal fees, the Colón Free Zone, and real estate and commerce have generated up to 77 per cent of the country’s GDP. The remainder comes from the public sector, manufacturing, agriculture and fisheries.

Sources: IFAD, World Bank