President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
President: Ricardo Martinelli
Population
65,630,692
3,510,045
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
77.960 years
Capital City
Paris
Panama
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Panama (population: 408,168)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.832
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$14,300 US
Literacy Rate
99%
91.9%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
3.4
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
16.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
4.500%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
constitutional democracy
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$13,340,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
balboas (PAB) per US dollar - 1 (2008 est.), 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004) note: the US dollar is the legal currency
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
1.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
1
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica
Area
643,801 km sq
75,420 km sq
Coastline
0 km
2,490 km
Climate
tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
