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Age distribution:
0-14 years: 30.3% (male 492,403/female 472,996)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,025,898/female 998,926)
65 years and over: 6.3% (male 94,122/female 106,974)

Sex Ratios:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female

2007-01-04 04:28:21 · answer #1 · answered by imdashti 6 · 0 0

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá; IPA [re'puβlika ðe pana'ma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. A transcontinental country, its isthmus constitutes the southernmost part of a natural land bridge between the subcontinents of North America and South America. It borders Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Capital
(and largest city) Panama City
8°58′N 79°32′W
Official languages Spanish
Government Constitutional democracy
- President Martín Torrijos
Independence
- from Spain 28 November 1821
- from Colombia 3 November 1903
Area
- Total 75,517 km² (118th)
29,157 sq mi
- Water (%) 2.9
Population
- July 2005 estimate 3,232,000 (133rd)
- May 2000 census 2,839,177
- Density 43/km² (156th)
111/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
- Total $23.495 billion (105th)
- Per capita $7,283 (83rd)
HDI (2004) 0.809 (high) (58th)
Currency Balboa, U.S. dollar
(PAB, USD)
Time zone (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST) (UTC-5)
Internet TLD .pa
Calling code +507
Panama is located in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. Its location on the eastern end of the isthmus forming a landbridge connecting Central and South America is strategic. By 1999, Panama controlled the Panama Canal that links the North Atlantic Ocean via the Caribbean Sea with the North Pacific Ocean.

A nearly impenetrable jungle forms the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia. It creates a break in the Pan-American Highway, which otherwise forms a complete road from Alaska to Chile
Main article: Demographics of Panama
The culture, customs, and language of the Panamanians are predominantly Caribbean Spanish. Ethnically, the majority of the population is mestizo or mixed Spanish, Chinese , Amerindian, and African descent. Spanish is the official and dominant language; English is a common second language spoken by the West Indians and by many in business and professional fields. More than half the population lives in the Panama City–Colón metropolitan corridor.

The overwhelming majority of Panamanians are Roman Catholic, accounting for almost 80% of the population. Although the Constitution recognises Catholicism as the religion of the great majority, Panama has no official religion. Minority religions in Panama include Protestantism (12%), Islam (4.4%), the Bahá'í Faith (1.2%), Buddhism (at least 1%), Judaism (0.4%), and Hinduism (0.3%). The Jewish community in Panama, with over 10,000 members, is by far the biggest in the region (including Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean). Jewish immigration began in the late 19th Century, and at present there are three synagogues in Panama City, as well as three Jewish schools. Within Latin America, Panama has one of the largest Jewish communities in proportion to its population, surpassed by Uruguay and Argentina. Panama's communities of Muslims, East Asians, and South Asians, are also among the largest.

Panama City hosts one of only seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship in the world. Completed in 1972, it is perched on a high cliff overlooking the canal, and is constructed of local stone laid in a pattern reminiscent of Native American fabric designs.

Panama, because of its historical reliance on commerce, is above all a melting pot. This is shown, for instance, by its considerable population of Chinese origin (see Panama section in Chinatowns in Latin America). Many Chinese immigrated to Panama to help build the Panama Railroad. A term for "corner store" in Panamanian Spanish is el chino, reflecting the fact that many corner stores are owned and run by Chinese immigrants. (Other countries have similar social patterns, for instance, the "Arab" corner store of France.)

There are seven indigenous peoples in Panama:

Emberá
Wounaan
Ngöbe
Buglé
Kuna
Naso (Teribe)
Bribri
The country is also the smallest in Spanish-speaking Latin America in terms of population, with Uruguay as the second smallest (by almost 400,000). However, since Panama has a higher birth rate, it is likely that in the coming years its population will surpass Uruguay's.

2007-01-04 04:22:35 · answer #2 · answered by Sali 3 · 0 0

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