1 est.)

Imports - commodities: capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer
goods, chemicals

Imports - partners: US 33.1%, Ecuador 7.2%, Venezuela 6.6%, Japan 5.5%
(2000 est.)

Debt - external: $7.6 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $197.1 million (1995)

Currency: balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD)

Currency code: PAB; USD

Exchange rates: balboas per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Panama

Telephones - main lines in use: 396,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 17,000 (1997)

Telephone system: general assessment: domestic and international
facilities well developed domestic: NA international: 1 coaxial submarine
cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected
to the Central American Microwave System

Radio broadcast stations: AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 815,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 38 (including repeaters) (1998)

Televisions: 510,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .pa

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000)

Internet users: 45,000 (2000)

Transportation Panama

Railways: total: 355 km broad gauge: 76 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge:
279 km 0.914-m gauge (2001)

Highways: 4,079 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: Waterways:
882 km note: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal

Pipelines: crude oil 130 km (2001)

Ports and harbors: Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo, Manzanillo (part of
Colon area), Vacamonte

Merchant marine: total: 4,838 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
118,878,358 GRT/180,588,102 DWT ships by type: bulk 1,445, cargo 907,
chemical tanker 337, combination bulk 73, combination ore/oil 18,
container 560, liquefied gas 207, livestock carrier 5, multi-functional
large-load carrier 12, passenger 38, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker
542, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 283, roll on/roll off 104,
short-sea passenger 38, specialized tanker 34, vehicle carrier 230
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Albania 2, Angola 1, Antigua and Barbuda 1, Argentina 11,
Australia 13, Austria 2, Bahamas, The 5, Belgium 2, Belize 6, Brazil 6,
British Virgin Islands 8, Cambodia 1, Canada 9, Chile 12, China 259,
Colombia 14, Croatia 2, Cuba 20, Cyprus 3, Denmark 3, Dominican Republic
1, Ecuador 3, Egypt 16, Equatorial Guinea 1, France 9, Germany 72, Greece
523, Haiti 1,