The water
Panama City tap water is drinkable; elsewhere stick to bottled. Tap water: Varies.
Panama
Guna Yala (San Blas), an autonomous indigenous archipelago of some 350 islands governed by the Guna
RegionCentral AmericaCurrencyUSDPowerType A/B, 120VTap waterVaries
Strong
Eco Index
What to expect on the ground
At a glance
Food & farming
Panama grows much of its own rice, plantain, maize, beef, coffee and seafood, but a service based, dollarised economy imports a substantial share of its food, especially processed goods and some staples. Farming remains important…Read more
Panama grows much of its own rice, plantain, maize, beef, coffee and seafood, but a service based, dollarised economy imports a substantial share of its food, especially processed goods and some staples. Farming remains important in Chiriqui and the interior. Self sufficiency in basics is moderate.
Local staples
Rice, beans, plantain, yuca, maize tortillas, patacones, seafood, sancocho
Markets
Daily markets; Panama City's Mercado de Mariscos seafood market and interior farmers' markets
In season
Coffee harvest December to March in Boquete; rice and maize through the rains
Wildlife
As the land bridge between North and South America, Panama is extraordinarily biodiverse, with more than 1,000 bird species, the harpy eagle as national bird, and high endemism in Darien and the western highlands. Coiba shelters…Read more
As the land bridge between North and South America, Panama is extraordinarily biodiverse, with more than 1,000 bird species, the harpy eagle as national bird, and high endemism in Darien and the western highlands. Coiba shelters endemic subspecies, and the Panamanian golden frog is a national symbol. The World Bank and IUCN list about 18 threatened mammal and 19 threatened bird species (2022), but the story here is richness and endemism.
Found nowhere else
Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki); Coiba endemics; Volcan Baru highland species
Natural phenomena
Dry Jan–Apr, wet May–Dec; Caribbean coast is wetter year-round.
When to go
Dry season for both coasts and the highlands
Getting around
Panama City's metro, the first in Central America, plus buses; domestic flights and water taxis for Bocas del Toro and Guna Yala; the Canal railway
Good to know
USD is the currency; cards widely accepted. English on the islands.
Safety
Solo female travel: Take care. LGBTQ+: Mixed.
Only hereGuna Yala (San Blas), an autonomous indigenous archipelago of some 350 islands governed by the Guna
Assessed across 10 equally-weighted pillars
The Eco Index, pillar by pillar
77/100
Strong
The Eco Index: Panama
12 pillars, equally weighted, from published sources. All 12 assessed. Blanks mean unverified, never estimated.
Only here Guna Yala (San Blas), an autonomous indigenous archipelago of some 350 islands governed by the Guna
- Forest cover
- 56.5%
- Land protected
- 31.37%
- Sea protected
- 26.84%
- Organic farmland
- 0.3%
- Found nowhere else
- Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki); Coiba endemics; Volcan Baru highland species
- Renewable power
- 62%
- CO2 per person
- 2.8 tonnes (2024) t
- Air quality (AQI)
- 11.4
- Cleanest air
- Chiriqui highlands around Boquete and Volcan
- Water from
- Panama City tap water is drinkable; elsewhere stick to bottled.
- Tap water
- Varies
- Cleanest water
- Coiba National Park; Guna Yala (San Blas); Bocas del Toro
- Springs
- Hot springs at El Valle de Anton and the Pozos de Caldera near Boquete
- In season
- Coffee harvest December to March in Boquete; rice and maize through the rains
- Plastic ban
- Yes, single use plastic bags banned under Law 1 of 2018
- Watch out for
- Large scale mining, notably the Cobre Panama copper mine ordered shut after 2023 protests and a Supreme Court ruling
- Solo female travel
- Take care
- LGBTQ+ acceptance
- Mixed
- Best months
- Mid December to April
- Getting around
- Panama City's metro, the first in Central America, plus buses; domestic flights and water taxis for Bocas del Toro and Guna Yala; the Canal railway
- Power
- Type A/B, 120V
- Currency
- USD
| Pillar | Score | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| WaterWhere the water comes from, and whether there is enough of it | 4/5 | High rainfall and the Panama Canal watershed, centred on Gatun and Alhajuela lakes, give Panama abundant freshwater, and Panama City is one of the few Latin American capitals where the tap … Full assessmentater is generally safe to drink. Pressure is rising, though: record droughts in 2023 and 2024 lowered Canal reservoirs and rationed shipping, and rural and Guna Yala island communities face supply gaps. A national safely managed drinking water figure is not published, but at least basic water reaches about 96 percent of people. Overall the country holds reliable freshwater with localised stress. |
| Food and farmingWhat the island actually grows, and what arrives by boat | 3/5 | Panama grows much of its own rice, plantain, maize, beef, coffee and seafood, but a service based, dollarised economy imports a substantial share of its food, especially processed goods and… Full assessmentsome staples. Farming remains important in Chiriqui and the interior. Self sufficiency in basics is moderate. |
| Plant based and real foodWhether you can eat unprocessed from local supply | 4/5 | Rice, beans, plantain, yuca, maize tortillas, patacones and tropical fruit are everyday staples, so unprocessed plant food is easy to find in markets and fondas. Full assessmentCuisine leans on seafood and meat, but a plant based diet is straightforward, especially with Caribbean and interior produce. |
| OrganicCertified and chemical free growing, which is not the same thing as plant based | 2/5 | FiBL records only about 0.3 percent of agricultural land as certified organic in 2020, roughly 5,900 hectares, mostly specialty coffee in the Boquete highlands. Full assessmentCertification is a small niche within otherwise conventional farming. |
| ConservationWhat is protected, and whether protection is enforced | 5/5 | Terrestrial protected areas cover about 31.4 percent of the land (World Bank, 2021), including the UNESCO listed Darien and La Amistad parks and Coiba National Park, a former penal island w… Full assessmentose isolation preserved outstanding marine and forest life. Marine protection stood at about 26.8 percent in 2021, and Panama expanded it sharply in 2023 by enlarging the Cordillera de Coiba reserve, reporting more than 30 percent of its waters protected. Coverage is strong, though Darien faces logging and migration pressure. |
| Wildlife and endemicsWhat lives here and nowhere else on earth | 4/5 | As the land bridge between North and South America, Panama is extraordinarily biodiverse, with more than 1,000 bird species, the harpy eagle as national bird, and high endemism in Darien an… Full assessmentthe western highlands. Coiba shelters endemic subspecies, and the Panamanian golden frog is a national symbol. The World Bank and IUCN list about 18 threatened mammal and 19 threatened bird species (2022), but the story here is richness and endemism. |
| Natural materialsWhat you can eat from and carry here instead of plastic, and who still makes it | 3/5 | Panama has some of the Americas' most vivid living textile and fibre crafts: the reverse applique molas sewn by Guna women, chacara bags woven by the Ngabe Bugle, and baskets made by the Em… Full assessmentera Wounaan from chunga palm and nawala fibre. These are worn and traded daily, not staged for tourists. |
| Pollution and plasticPlastic law and contamination | 4/5 | Panama was the first Central American country to ban single use plastic shopping bags, under Law 1 of 2018, phased in from 2019. Full assessmentAmbient PM2.5 averages around 11.4 micrograms per cubic metre (World Bank, 2017), relatively clean by regional standards though above the WHO guideline. Urban litter and waste handling remain works in progress. |
| Recycling and wasteWhat actually happens to the rubbish once you have thrown it away | 2/5 | Formal municipal recycling is limited and much of Panama's waste still goes to landfill, notably the Cerro Patacon site serving the capital. Full assessmentRecovery is small scale and often informal. |
| Energy and climateClean power, carbon emissions per person and the pace of decarbonisation | 5/5 | Panama is one of only three countries in the world, with Bhutan and Suriname, currently assessed as carbon negative, its extensive forests absorbing more carbon than the national economy em… Full assessmentts. Renewables supplied roughly 73% of electricity in 2024, led by hydropower at about 60% with growing solar and wind, and fossil carbon dioxide emissions were a low 2.8 tonnes per person. The country helped form the carbon negative alliance at COP26 and keeps forest cover across around 65% of its territory. Remaining gas and oil generation in the grid is the main caveat to an otherwise leading position. |
| Culture and peopleIndigenous and living communities, and who the money reaches | 5/5 | Panama's indigenous peoples hold strong legal autonomy through comarcas: Guna Yala (San Blas), where the Guna run their own islands and community tourism, plus the Embera Wounaan, Ngabe Bug… Full assessmente and the recently recognised Naso Tjer Di. Village stays and Guna owned lodges keep tourism income with local communities. This is living self government, not heritage on display. |
| Living heritage and ancestral traditionsNational dance and music, and the ancestral and spiritual traditions still practised | 5/5 | Panama holds vibrant living heritage across indigenous, Afro-Panamanian and mestizo communities. Full assessmentThe tamborito is the national dance, and Afro-Panamanian Congo culture, with its dances, music and rituals, is inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, as are the Corpus Christi devil dances of Los Santos. The Guna people sustain a self governed living culture in Guna Yala, famed for the reverse applique mola textiles, while the Embera, Wounaan and Ngabe-Bugle keep their own languages and ancestral practice. The embroidered pollera dress remains central to festival life. |
Before you go
USD is the currency; cards widely accepted. English on the islands.
Where these figures come from
- FAO and World Bank, Forest area (percent of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, 2022. source
- World Bank, Terrestrial protected areas (percent of total land area) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, 2021. source
- World Bank, Marine protected areas (percent of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, 2021. source
- Low Carbon Power (data from Ember, IEA and World Bank), Panama electricity mix, 2023. source
- WHO/UNICEF JMP and World Bank, drinking water services, 2022 (national safely managed figure not published; at least basic about 96 percent). source
- World Bank, PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic metre) EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3, 2017. source
- FiBL, The World of Organic Agriculture 2022 (2020 data), organic farmland share. source
- World Bank and IUCN Red List, threatened mammal and bird species (EN.MAM.THRD.NO, EN.BIR.THRD.NO), 2022. source
- Government of Panama, Law No. 1 of 2018 (single use plastic bag ban), 2018.
- UNESCO World Heritage List, Darien and Coiba National Parks. source
- Our World in Data, CO2 emissions per capita, 2024 source
- BNamericas, Panama renewable electricity generation, 2024 source
- Good Good Good, carbon negative countries (Panama, Bhutan, Suriname), 2023 source
- UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists source
- Wikipedia, Mola (art) source
Living heritage and ancestral traditions
The culture still danced, played and believed
Panama holds vibrant living heritage across indigenous, Afro-Panamanian and mestizo communities. The tamborito is the national dance, and Afro-Panamanian Congo culture, with its dances, music and rituals, is inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, as are the Corpus Christi devil dances of Los Santos. The Guna people sustain a self governed living culture in Guna Yala, famed for the reverse applique mola textiles, while the Embera, Wounaan and Ngabe-Bugle keep their own languages and ancestral practice. The embroidered pollera dress remains central to festival life.
- Tamborito national dance
- cumbia panamena, mejorana and saloma
- Afro-Panamanian Congo dance and ritual
- Corpus Christi diablos danzantes
- Guna mola textiles and Guna Yala self governance
- Embera, Wounaan and Ngabe-Bugle indigenous practice
- the pollera.
Sleep well, tread lightly
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