A Visitors guide to General Information about Panama

These facts will give you an overview of Panama, the safest country, in Central America where "gringos" (definition: any white foreigner but more specifically North Americans) can feel comfortable because Panama shared her territory with U.S. citizens of the "Canal Zone" for the entire 20th century.

LOCATION

Panama is located between Central and South America. It covers 75,517 square km (29,208 square miles), and is somewhat smaller than the state of South Carolina. Panama is between 50 and 120 miles wide (89 km and 192 km) and is bordered by 1,287.7 km (805 miles) of Caribbean coastline and 1,700.6 km (1,062.8 miles) of Pacific coastline.

CLIMATE

Panama has a tropical climate. Temperatures are around 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 25-30 degrees Celsius) and humidity is always high. The average rainfall per annum is 1,500 mm along the Pacific coast and 2,500 mm on the Caribbean side.

SEASONS

There are only two seasons, the "dry season" from January to April and the "rainy season" from May to the end of the year.

HIGHEST POINT

Volcan Barú, 3,475m

POPULATION

Around 3.2 million

LANGUAGE

Spanish is the official language. English is widely spoken in the business, banking, retail and international communities, in tourist oriented activities and in both the cities of Panama and Colón.

TIME ZONE

Panama is in the Eastern Standard Time Zone (EST), five hours behind GMT.

RELIGION

Freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed although the preeminence of Roman Catholicism is officially recognized.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

Democratic independent republic.

CURRENCY

The currency is the "Balboa" which has the same value as the dollar. The dollar is legal tender in Panama, which doesn’t print bank notes but only mints its own coins. Coinage is either Panamanian or the U.S. equivalent in 50¢, 25¢, 10¢, 5¢, and 1¢.

ELECTRICITY

120 volt, 60 cycles in all parts of the republic.

TOURIST INFORMATION

Panama’s Government Tourist Bureau (526-7000, is located on Ave. Samuel Lewis, Edificio Central, in front of Comosa and the Chamber of Tourism is located at Edificio Franz, 1-A, Vía Veneto. Tel: 223-3102.