Panama Economy - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Economic overview

Panama's dollar-based economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for more than three-quarters of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, logistics, banking, the Colon Free Trade Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism and Panama is a center for offshore banking. Panama's transportation and logistics services sectors, along with infrastructure development projects, have boosted economic growth; however, public debt surpassed $37 billion in 2016 because of excessive government spending and public works projects. The US-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement was approved by Congress and signed into law in October 2011, and entered into force in October 2012.

 

Future growth will be bolstered by the Panama Canal expansion project that began in 2007 and was completed in 2016 at a cost of $5.3 billion - about 10-15% of current GDP. The expansion project more than doubled the Canal's capacity, enabling it to accommodate high-capacity vessels such as tankers and neopanamax vessels that are too large to traverse the existing canal. The US and China are the top users of the Canal.

 

Strong economic performance has not translated into broadly shared prosperity, as Panama has the second worst income distribution in Latin America. About one-fourth of the population lives in poverty; however, from 2006 to 2012 poverty was reduced by 10 percentage points.

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$109.52 billion (2020 est.)

$133.47 billion (2019 est.)

$129.54 billion (2018 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

5.4% (2017 est.)

5% (2016 est.)

5.8% (2015 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$25,400 (2020 est.)

$31,400 (2019 est.)

$31,000 (2018 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$66.801 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

0.9% (2017 est.)

0.7% (2016 est.)

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: BBB (2011)

Moody's rating: Baa1 (2019)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2020)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 2.4% (2017 est.)

industry: 15.7% (2017 est.)

services: 82% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 45.6% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 10.7% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 42.9% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: 3% (2017 est.)

exports of goods and services: 41.9% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -44.2% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

sugar cane, bananas, rice, poultry, milk, plantains, pineapples, maize, beef, pork

Industries

construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling

Industrial production growth rate

6.3% (2017 est.)

Labor force

1.633 million (2017 est.)

note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 17%

industry: 18.6%

services: 64.4% (2009 est.)

Unemployment rate

6.14% (2018 est.)

6% (2017 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 22.4%

male: 19.8%

female: 27.1% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

22.1% (2016 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

49.2 (2018 est.)

56.1 (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.1%

highest 10%: 38.9% (2014 est.)

Budget

revenues: 12.43 billion (2017 est.)

expenditures: 13.44 billion (2017 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

37.8% of GDP (2017 est.)

37.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

20.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

-$3.036 billion (2017 est.)

-$3.16 billion (2016 est.)

Exports

$20.18 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$28.58 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$28.55 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

note: includes the Colon Free Zone

Exports - partners

Ecuador 20%, Guatemala 14%, China 8%, United States 6%, Netherlands 6% (2019)

Exports - commodities

refined petroleum, copper, bananas, ships, coal tar oil, packaged medicines (2019)

Imports

$17.41 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$27.38 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$28.9 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

note: includes the Colon Free Zone

Imports - partners

China 21%, United States 19%, Japan 16%, Colombia 6%, Ecuador 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

ships, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, tanker ships, packaged medicines (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$2.703 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$3.878 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Debt - external

$101.393 billion (2019 est.)

$94.898 billion (2018 est.)

Exchange rates

balboas (PAB) per US dollar -

1 (2017 est.)

1 (2016 est.)

1 (2015 est.)

1 (2014 est.)

1 (2013 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Panama on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Panama 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Panama 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.