Panama Facts and Figures

General Facts About Panama

1. 48. Panama’s time zone is GMT -5, which is the same as EST.
2. 47. There is no daylight savings time in Panama.
3. 46. The dialing code for Panama is +507.
4. 45. Panama boasts an impressive 2,490 km of coastline.
5. 44. Panama has 10 provinces (Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Coclé, Colón, Darién, Herrera, Los Santos, Panamá, Panamá Oeste, and Veraguas) and 3 reservations or comarcas (Guna Yala, Ngöbe-Buglé, and Emberá-Wounaan).
6. 43. Panama’s biggest city and capital is Panama City. Alamy/hanohikirf
7. 42. Colon and David are the second-largest towns.
8. 41. Panama has not had a national military since it was abolished in 1990.
9. 40. Famous Panamanians include boxer Roberto Duran, salsa singer and actor Ruben Blades and baseball players Mariano Rivera and Carlos Lee.
10. 39. The Panama hat is actually from Ecuador. They are called Panama hats because they were sent to Panama before being shipped worldwide.
11. 38. Christopher Columbus first arrived in 1502.
12. 37. Vasco Núñez de Balboa arrived in 1513 and was the first European to discover the Pacific coast of Panama.
13. 36. The national dish of Panama is sancocho, a stew made with mixed vegetables and chicken.
14. 35. Panama is the most southerly country in Central America.
15. 34. Panama has over 10,000 different species of plants.
16. 33. Panama City is the only capital city that has a rain forest within the city limits.
17. 32. Panama is located south of Hurricane Alley and is not impacted the storms and hurricanes which batter the Caribbean.
18. 31. The Biomuseo is the only building in Latin America to be designed by Frank Gehry. Wikimedia Commons/F Delventhal
19. 30. In 1671 the pirate Henry Morgan and 1,400 men sacked Panama City.
20. 29. Panama has one Olympic gold medal, Irving Saladino won the men’s long jump at Bejing 2008.
21. 28. The Volcan Baru is the tallest mountain in Panama at 3,474 meters.
22. 27. It is also an active stratovolcano.
23. 26. Panama was a Spanish colony until 1821 when it joined the Republic of Gran Colombia.
24. 25. Panama gained independence in 1903, after some help from the U.S. who were keen to build the canal.
25. 24. The population of Panama is now over 4 million (2016).
26. 23. The currency is the Balboa, which is pegged to the U.S. Dollar. U.S. Dollars are also accepted.
27. 22. The exchange rate is 1 balboa per U.S. Dollar.
28. 21. The official language is Spanish although approximately 15% of the population also speak English.
29. 20. Panama’s primary exports are Bananas, gold, shrimp, sugar, iron and steel waste, pineapples, watermelons.
30. 19. The Free Trade Zone in Panama is the second largest duty-free zone in the world.
31. 18. Business in this area is worth more than $5 billion annually.
32. 17. The oldest continually operating railroad is in Panama. It travels between Panama City and Colon.
33. 16. The railroad cost just short of $8 million to build and at one point was valued at over $295 a share.
34. 15. Panama was the first country in any of the America’s to elect a female President, Mireya Moscoso in 1999.

Facts About The Panama Canal

iStock/Marina113

1. 14. The first excavations on the Panama Canal were done by the French in 1880.
2. 13. The work was abandoned due to high mortality rate amongst workers and rising costs.
3. 12. It is estimated over 22,000 people died during the first attempt to build the canal.
4. 11. The U.S. started work on the canal in 1904 and it was the first crossing was in 1914.
5. 10. Richard Halliburton was the first person to swim the Panama Canal, in 1928.
6. 9. He also paid the lowest toll, 36 cents.
7. 8. The highest toll was $376,000 paid by the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl. The Panama Canal was controlled by the U.S. until 1999 when it was transferred to Panamanian ownership.
8. 7. The first ship to cross the Panama Canal was the Ancon.
9. 6. The Panama Canal generates nearly a third of the country’s revenue.
10. 5. 121 million cubic feet of concrete went into making the locks and dams in the canal.

Facts About Wildlife In Panama

1. 4. Panama is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It is home to 218 species of mammal, 226 species of reptile and164 amphibian species. Alamy/Rick & Nora Bowers
2. 3. 125 animal species found in Panama are not found anywhere else in the world.
3. 2. Panama is home to 940 avian species, the largest most in Central America.
4. 1. The National Bird of Panama is the Harpy Eagle. It is amongst the largest and most powerful raptors in the world.