Land boundaries: total: 555 km border countries: Colombia 225 km,
Costa Rica 330 km

Coastline: 2,490 km

Maritime claims: 200 NM territorial sea: Climate: tropical maritime;
hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry
season (January to May)

Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland
plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point:
Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m

Natural resources: copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 2% other: 91% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 320 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional severe storms and forest fires in the
Darien area

Environment - current issues: water pollution from agricultural runoff
threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest;
land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal;
air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine
Life Conservation

Geography - note: strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming
land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal
that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean

People Panama

Population: 2,882,329 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 29.6% (male 433,494; female 418,120) 15-64
years: 64.3% (male 939,550; female 914,646) 65 years and over: 6.1%
(male 84,130; female 92,389) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.26% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 18.6 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 19.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 78.74 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.22