Panama Economy - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Economic overview

upper middle-income Central American economy; increasing Chinese trade; US dollar user; canal expansion fueling broader infrastructure investment; services sector dominates economy; historic money-laundering and illegal drug hub

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$126.352 billion (2021 est.)

$109.551 billion (2020 est.)

$133.509 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

15.34% (2021 est.)

-17.94% (2020 est.)

2.98% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$29,000 (2021 est.)

$25,500 (2020 est.)

$31,500 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$66.801 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.63% (2021 est.)

-1.55% (2020 est.)

-0.36% (2019 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

37.5% (2021 est.)

Labor force

1.966 million (2021 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

12.09% (2021 est.)

12.85% (2020 est.)

4.73% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 30%

male: 21.8%

female: 43.6% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

22.1% (2016 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

49.8 (2019 est.)

Average household expenditures

on food: 15.7% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco: 1.7% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.1%

highest 10%: 38.9% (2014 est.)

Budget

revenues: $9.743 billion (2020 est.)

expenditures: $15.145 billion (2020 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

8.51% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

-$1.412 billion (2021 est.)

$1.097 billion (2020 est.)

-$3.329 billion (2019 est.)

Exports

$27.237 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$20.179 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$28.622 billion (2019 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

$24.627 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$17.502 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$27.599 billion (2019 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

$9.614 billion (31 December 2020 est.)

$3.423 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

$2.121 billion (31 December 2018 est.)

Debt - external

$101.393 billion (2019 est.)

$94.898 billion (2018 est.)

Exchange rates

balboas (PAB) per US dollar -

1 (2021 est.)

1 (2020 est.)

1 (2019 est.)

1 (2018 est.)

1 (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Panama on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Panama 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Panama 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.