Plan your trip to Panama with our Panama travel guide information
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Panama - Travel guidePanama - Country backgroundWith 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. |
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Panama General Information |
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| Country full name : | conventional long form: Republic of Panama conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
| Capital : | Panama |
| Religions : | Roman Catholic (85%), Protestant (10%), Islamic and Jewish (1%) |
| Languages : | Spanish (official), English (other) |
| Location : | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica |
| Geographic coordinates : | 9 00 N, 80 00 W |
| Area : | total: 78,200 sq km land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
| Climate : | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) |
| Population : | 3,191,319 (July 2006 est.) |
| Nationality : | noun: Panamanian(s) adjective: Panamanian |
| Ethnic groups : | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% |
| Government type : | constitutional democracy |
| Administrative divisions: | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*(Kuna Yala), and Veraguas |
| Legal system : | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Suffrage : | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Internet code : | .pa |
| Calling code : | +507 |
| Time zone : | GMT/UTC -5 |
| Electricity : | 120V 60Hz |
| National holiday : | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) |
| Interesting link : | Panama travel guide - Lonely Planet Panama travel guide - Wikitravel Tourism Office of Panama |
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Panama Travel Guide Information