| OVERVIEW |
| |
| Background |
With US backing,
Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a
treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal
and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of
the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was
built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914.
On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete
transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of
1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility
over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years.
With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989.
The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and
remaining US military bases were turned over to Panama by
or on 31 December 1999. |
| Natural
resources |
copper, mahogany forests,
shrimp, hydropower |
| Land
use |
arable land: 6.72%
permanent crops: 2.08%
other: 91.2% (1998 est.) |
| Population |
2,960,784 (July 2003 est.)
|
| Ethnic
groups |
mestizo (mixed Amerindian
and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white
10%, Amerindian 6% |
| Religions |
Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant
15% |
| Languages |
Spanish (official), English
14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
| Literacy |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 92.6%
male: 93.2%
female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
| Capital |
Panama |
| Government
type |
constitutional democracy
|
| Independence |
3 November 1903 (from
Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)
|
| National
holiday |
Independence Day, 3 November
(1903) |
