Panama People 2024, CIA World Factbook
Population
4,404,108 (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian
Ethnic groups
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Native American 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.)
Languages
Spanish (official), indigenous languages (including Ngabere (or Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (or Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian English Creole (similar to Jamaican 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); note - many Panamanians are bilingual
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.
Spanish audio sample:
Religions
Roman Catholic 48.6%, Evangelical 30.2%, other 4.7%, agnostic 0.2%, atheist 0.2%, none 12.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2018 est.)
Demographic profile
Panama is a country of demographic and economic contrasts. It is in the midst of a demographic transition, characterized by steadily declining rates of fertility, mortality, and population growth, but disparities persist based on wealth, geography, and ethnicity. Panama has one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and dedicates substantial funding to social programs, yet poverty and inequality remain prevalent. The indigenous population accounts for a growing share of Panama's poor and extreme poor, while the non-indigenous rural poor have been more successful at rising out of poverty through rural-to-urban labor migration. The government's large expenditures on untargeted, indirect subsidies for water, electricity, and fuel have been ineffective, but its conditional cash transfer program has shown some promise in helping to decrease extreme poverty among the indigenous population.
Panama has expanded access to education and clean water, but the availability of sanitation and, to a lesser extent, electricity remains poor. The increase in secondary schooling - led by female enrollment - is spreading to rural and indigenous areas, which probably will help to alleviate poverty if educational quality and the availability of skilled jobs improve. Inadequate access to sanitation contributes to a high incidence of diarrhea in Panama's children, which is one of the main causes of Panama's elevated chronic malnutrition rate, especially among indigenous communities.
Age structure
0-14 years: 25.19% (male 569,439/female 540,143)
15-64 years: 64.87% (male 1,444,638/female 1,412,319)
65 years and over: 9.94% (2023 est.) (male 204,156/female 233,413)
2023 population pyramid: 
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 53.8
youth dependency ratio: 40.6
elderly dependency ratio: 13.2
potential support ratio: 7.6 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 31.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 30.8 years
female: 31.6 years
Population growth rate
1.51% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
17.7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
5.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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
Urbanization
urban population: 69.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.977 million PANAMA CITY (capital) (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
50 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 15.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 16.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 78.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 75.6 years
female: 81.5 years
Total fertility rate
2.37 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.15 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
50.8% (2014/15)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 88.1% of population
total: 96.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 11.9% of population
total: 3.8% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
9.7% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
1.63 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
Hospital bed density
2.3 beds/1,000 population (2016)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 95.5% of population
rural: 69.1% of population
total: 87.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 4.5% of population
rural: 30.9% of population
total: 12.8% of population (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
22.7% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 6.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 5.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.02 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.)
Tobacco use
total: 5% (2020 est.)
male: 7.7% (2020 est.)
female: 2.2% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
3% (2019)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
58.6% (2023 est.)
Education expenditures
3.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.7%
male: 98.8%
female: 95.4% (2019)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2016)
NOTE: The information regarding Panama on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Panama 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Panama 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.