Every figure below carries its named source and year. The Eco Index scores twelve pillars on the same scale everywhere; seven are measured from published data with fixed thresholds, five are assessed from the named sources.
Panama at a Glance.
The score, and the four numbers that set the tone. 12 equally-weighted pillars, every pillar sourced.
Compare with:
Renewable power
68%
of electricity
Food imported
19%
of merchandise imports · ~US$4,825m a year
The Eco Index across 12 pillars · scored 0 to 5 · World Bank, OWID, WHO/UNICEF JMP, FiBL, Protected Planet, IUCN, UNESCO (2023-24)
Water
Food & farming
Plant-based
Organic
Conservation
Wildlife
Materials
Pollution
Recycling
Energy
Culture
Heritage
Facts That Surprise People About Panama.
The numbers and firsts that change how you see Panama, the sobering and the remarkable. Every one is dated and linked to its source.
SoberingHealth
Seven in ten adults are overweight
In 2022, 71.6% of adults in Panama were overweight, according to World Bank data.
Source: World Bank, Prevalence of overweight (% of adults) · 2022
SoberingHealth
One woman in four is anaemic
In 2023, 25.5% of Panamanian women aged 15 to 49 had anaemia.
SoberingHealth
More than one adult in ten has diabetes
In 2024, 11.1% of Panamanians aged 20 to 79 were living with diabetes.
SoberingFood
Food is nearly a fifth of all imports
In 2025, food made up 19.0% of the value of Panama's merchandise imports.
Source: World Bank, Food imports (% of merchandise imports) · 2025
RemarkableEnvironment
A founder of the carbon negative club
At the COP26 climate talks in 2021, Panama, Bhutan and Suriname formed an alliance of carbon negative countries, which absorb more climate changing emissions each year than they produce. Bhutan and Suriname were already carbon negative, and Panama expected to be certified later that year.
RemarkableNature
A marine park on the World Heritage List
Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005.
Worth knowingNature
The gap in the Pan American Highway
The Darién Gap on the Panama and Colombia border is the break in the Pan American Highway, between Yaviza in Panama and Turbo in Colombia.
Source: BBC News, Silent Darien, the gap in the world's longest road · 2014
The History of Panama.
Panama keeps a vibrant living heritage. Drum dances such as the tamborito and cumbia are still performed, and UNESCO has inscribed the ritual and festive expressions of the Congo culture, in 2018, and the dances and expressions associated with the Corpus Christi festivity, in 2021, in which performers stage the battle between St Michael the Archangel and the great devil and his legion.
The land itself: steep, rugged mountains through the interior with dissected upland plains, and rolling coastal plains on both sides. Its high point is Volcán Barú, 3,475 m. Source: national mapping and survey records.
Where it starts
Among the oldest pottery in the Americas
Monagrillo ware, made between about 3520 and 1300 BC, is the earliest pottery in Panama and one of the first ceramics in the New World, found in shell middens on the Azuero Peninsula and in rock shelters across the foothills and Caribbean slopes. At Sitio Conte in Coclé, a cemetery used between about AD 450 and 900 held goldwork of exquisite workmanship, including large plaques in high relief, ear rods, nose ornaments and pendants, many made by lost-wax casting. Guna, Ngäbe, Buglé, Emberá and Wounaan peoples hold recognised territories in Panama today.
How it got here
A crossing point
Panama City was founded on the Pacific coast in 1519 and grew into a hub of the Spanish empire, and the Spanish moved gold and silver across the isthmus to galleons in the Caribbean. Independence from Spain came in 1821, separation from Colombia in 1903, and full control of the canal passed to Panama on 31 December 1999.
The timeline
c. 3500 to 1300 BC
Monagrillo, the first pottery.
Monagrillo ware, made between about 3520 and 1300 BC, is the earliest pottery in Panama and one of the first ceramics in the New World. Source
c. AD 450 to 900
Sitio Conte.
A cemetery of rich chiefly tombs in Coclé province. Excavated more than eighty years ago, it gave the first archaeological evidence of the wealth of Panama's ancient chiefdoms. Source
1930 to 1940
Goldwork.
Harvard's Peabody Museum excavated Sitio Conte from 1930 to 1933, and the Penn Museum dug there in 1940. The graves held gold plaques, ear rods, nose ornaments, bells, beads and pendants, many cast by the lost-wax method. Source
1953 to 2020
Indigenous comarcas.
Panama recognises seven indigenous peoples. Laws create indigenous territories, or comarcas, starting with Guna Yala in 1953 and followed by Emberá Wounaan in 1983, Ngäbe Buglé in 1997 and Naso Tjër Di in 2020. Source
1501
European contact.
Rodrigo de Bastidas lands on the isthmus in 1501, and the following year Christopher Columbus explores the region on his fourth voyage. Source
1519
Panama City founded.
The city is founded on the Pacific coast and grows into a hub of the Spanish empire, profiting from the bullion trade. Source
1821
Independence from Spain.
The isthmus gains independence from Spain and becomes part of Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia. Source
1903
Separation from Colombia.
Panama separates from Colombia, and canal construction follows. Source
1999
The canal returns.
Full control of the Panama Canal passes to Panama on 31 December. Source
Iizuka and others, The earliest Panamanian pottery, Geoarchaeology · University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Sitio Conte, Panama expedition records (Penn Museum Archives) · Inferring provenance, manufacturing technique and firing temperatures of the Monagrillo ware, Panama's first pottery (HBKU Press, 2014) · Mayo and Mayo, El descubrimiento de un cementerio de élite en El Caño, Arqueología Iberoamericana (2013) · Ministerio de Salud de Panamá, Perfil de salud de los pueblos originarios (2024) · Rodrigo de Bastidas and the Discovery of Panama, Geographical Review (1984) · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá · University of Cincinnati Press, Imagining Central America, A Brief History of Panama · US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Building the Panama Canal, 1903 to 1914 · US Department of State, Office of the Historian, The Panama Canal and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties · US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Panama
Nature and Biodiversity in Panama.
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 whose 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.
Is wild Panama protected? 31.4% of the land is, already past the 30% target for 2030
How protected is nature in Panama?
Forest cover62.2%
Terrestrial protected area31.37%
Marine protected area26.3%
403 (mammals, birds, fish & plants) listed as threatened.
Found only here. Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki); Coiba endemics; Volcan Baru highland species
The watchlist
ThreatenedGreat Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (bird).
ThreatenedHawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (turtle).
ThreatenedLemur Leaf Frog (Agalychnis lemur) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (amphibian).
ThreatenedReef starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedParamachaerium gruberi Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (plant).
ThreatenedFire coral (Millepora complanata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedZamia nesophila Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (species).
ThreatenedAtelopus limosus Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (amphibian).
What is still here, and what is gone?
Tap a species for the honest status.
Closest to being lost, by name
Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Panama. GBIF holds 19 verified occurrence records.
Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Panama. GBIF holds 187 verified occurrence records.
Lemur Leaf Frog (Agalychnis lemur)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Panama. GBIF holds 16 verified occurrence records.
Reef starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Panama. GBIF holds 55 verified occurrence records.
Species named here are drawn from GBIF occurrence records for Panama filtered to the IUCN Red List threatened categories. Species are listed where GBIF holds occurrence records for them in this country. Record counts are not published here because the figure cannot be reproduced from a public GBIF query.
Who is putting it back
National park in Darién, mapped and named in the open record for Panama. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Panamá Province, mapped and named in the open record for Panama. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Veraguas, mapped and named in the open record for Panama. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Panamá Oeste, mapped and named in the open record for Panama. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Chiriquí, mapped and named in the open record for Panama. OpenStreetMap.
Nature reserve in Panamá Province, mapped and named in the open record for Panama. OpenStreetMap.
Water and Ocean in Panama.
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 water 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.
Does Panama have enough fresh water? Yes, with headroom
Panama City tap water is drinkable; elsewhere stick to bottled.
Cleanest water: Coiba National Park; Guna Yala (San Blas); Bocas del Toro
How much fresh water does Panama have, per person?
31,040 m³
Panama
1,000 m³
the UN “water scarce” line
Panama withdraws about 1,211 million cubic metres of fresh water a year (2022). That is 0.9% of the fresh water actually available to it, which FAO counts as no water stress. Of what is taken, farming takes 37%, homes and towns 63%, industry 1%. Source: FAO AQUASTAT.
What are the rules on Panama beaches?
·Tap water: Varies.
✓Plastic rules: Yes, single use plastic bags banned under Law 1 of 2018.
✕Solo travel: rated take care on the record for this destination.
✕Marine protection: 26.84% of the sea is protected. The 30x30 pledge for 2030 is not met yet.
Named on the open map: Playa Bluff, Playa Candelaria, Playa El Rompio, Playa El Salado, Playa El Toro, Playa Grande, Playa La Honda, Playa Los Bajaderos de La Candelaria. That is 19 named beaches in the public record for Panama, each one a place you can look up before you go. OpenStreetMap.
Where does the sewage go?
89.1%
of people have at least basic sanitation
89.0% of people here use at least a basic toilet not shared with other households (2024, World Bank / WHO UNICEF JMP). No figure is published for how much of that waste is safely treated, so the share reaching the ground or the water untreated is unknown.
How is the sea around Panama doing?
One cross-section, every answer measured.
Surface
What the coast carries
Dry Jan–Apr, wet May–Dec; Caribbean coast is wetter year-round.
Nearshore
Protected water
26.3% of territorial waters are protected, against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Cleanest
Where the water is cleanest
Coiba National Park; Guna Yala (San Blas); Bocas del Toro.
The record
Measured
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 water 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.
Panama scored 77 out of 100 on the Ocean Health Index in its 2025 assessment, above the global average of 72, and ranked 38th of 220 coastal regions. The index team says it is no longer updating scores, so the 2025 figures may be the last.
Sea protected
26.3%
Against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Threatened species
403 (mammals, birds, fish & plants)
Mammals, birds, fish and higher plants on the IUCN list.
Is the tap water safe in Panama?
The national water utility IDAAN runs the treatment plants that supply the larger towns, and the Ministry of Health (Minsa) decides whether water is fit to drink. In June 2026, during a rise in vomiting and diarrhoea cases in Chiriquí, IDAAN said water from its 13 plants in the province met the national standard (COPANIT 2019) and that chlorine levels in the network were within legal limits. In Azuero, where the La Villa river was contaminated, Minsa was still waiting in January 2026 for an outside laboratory to certify the water as drinkable, and supplied wells and tanker trucks in the meantime. Smaller villages rely on community systems treated with chlorine, which a 2014 report said the health ministry did not routinely test. Outside the main cities, and anywhere in Azuero, drink bottled, boiled or filtered water.
How hard is the water supply being pushed?
Of every 10 buckets nature refills, 0 are already taken. Withdrawals run at 0.9% of what Panama renews internally each year (2022, World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT). That is inside the 25% mark generally treated as water stress, so the supply has headroom.
Seaweed on the beaches. Sargassum has historically reached Panama far less than the eastern Caribbean, but it is turning up more often on the Caribbean coast. In March 2022 the Ministry of Environment reported an unusual influx, mainly on the beaches of Colón province, larger than earlier arrivals; its coastal resources chief linked it to climate change and nutrients in the water, and urged clean ups with light, wide tyred vehicles to protect nesting beaches. On 24 March 2026 the EU's Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellite photographed streaks of sargassum at the entrance to Limón Bay near Colón, which the EU Agency for the Space Programme called unusual for Panama.
When is the best time to visit Panama? Tap your month.
Tap your month.
How much fresh water does Panama actually have?
Nature renews about 31,040 cubic metres of fresh water per person per year here. That ranks Panama 190 of 208 countries measured, placing it among the 20 best-watered countries measured. The UN treats anything under 1,000 cubic metres as water scarce, and this is above that line. World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT.
FAO AQUASTAT · WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme · World Bank Open Data · Ocean Health Index, Panama · Ocean Health Index, Global scores · La Estrella de Panamá, Casos de vómito y diarrea en Chiriquí: Idaan afirma que agua cumple con normas de calidad (30 June 2026) · Telemetro, Agua en Azuero sigue en evaluación: Minsa espera validación de laboratorio externo (16 Jan 2026) · La Estrella de Panamá, Salud no analiza la calidad de agua de los acueductos rurales (7 Oct 2014) · Ministerio de Ambiente de Panamá, Costas del Caribe panameño presentan proliferación inusual de sargazo (15 March 2022) · EU Agency for the Space Programme, Copernicus image of the day: Sargassum along the coasts of Panama (30 March 2026)
Food and Drink in Panama.
Panama's Ministry of Health guidance, prepared with FAO, builds everyday meals around rice, beans, plantain, yuca and tortillas. Food made up about 19% of the value of the country's merchandise imports in 2025, according to the World Bank.
Where does the food in Panama come from?
18.7% imported
about US$4,825m a year
On the plate: Rice, beans, plantain, yuca, maize tortillas, patacones, sancocho
2 of 10
bites are imported
The island buys in more food energy than it eats. About US$4,825m a year leaves the country to pay for it. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
About 18.7% of everything Panama buys in from abroad is food, roughly 2 in every 10 imported items on the dock (2024, World Bank). Farming itself is 2.6% of the economy and 23.1% of the land is agricultural, of which 7.6% is arable. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
What is killing people in Panama? The imported diet.
Cause of death, and the diet behind it.
Non-communicable diseases, all combined66.7%
Diabetes11.1%
There is no recent national count. In a March 2017 report on diabetes, La Estrella de Panamá cited Ministry of Health figures of 150 major amputations in the previous five years across the social security fund (CSS) and ministry hospitals. A CSS deputy director said in 2015 that a patient who needs an amputation costs the fund US$20,000 to US$60,000, against US$1,200 to US$1,700 for a diabetic patient without major complications. Source: La Estrella de Panamá.
Adults living with overweight or obesity. 71.6%.
Can Panama feed itself?
6.7%
Arable land
23.1%
Agricultural land
366,924
Farmers
1,396,143
Arable acres
2.6%
Agriculture, share of GDP
Harvest: Coffee harvest December to March in Boquete; rice and maize through the rains
Feeding itself
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.
Certification
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. Certification is a small niche within otherwise conventional farming.
Water for crops
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 water 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.
Why the organic number looks like that. Certification covers only part of what is grown cleanly, so a small certified share is a gap in the paperwork rather than proof that nothing is. What the official land record does show: 23.1% of the country is agricultural land and 7.6% is arable (2023, World Bank). Certification is paid for per farm per year by a foreign body, which prices out smallholders, so the organic number reads worse than the practice.
What actually grows here
SugarcaneRiceBananasOrangesOil palm fruitPlantainsMaizePineapples
The food that already fits
The plant-based kitchen here is not an import. By tonnage, the largest crops grown in Panama are sugarcane, bananas, rice, oil palm fruit and plantains and cooking bananas (FAO, FAOSTAT crop production, 2024). That is what the land itself puts on a plate.
Buy direct where residents buy: Farmers Market Panama Fresh, Mercado Agrícola, Mercado Municipal, Mercado Público, Mercado de Frutas. Each is a mapped, named marketplace, so the money stays with the seller rather than the importer. OpenStreetMap.
Not yet checked by us. Plant based kitchens listed publicly: Loving Hut, vegan restaurant in Panama City: buffet and à la carte vegan food, coffee and desserts near El Cangrejo; Rock and Rolls Vegan Sushi, vegan restaurant in Panama City: sushi rolls made with hearts of palm, mushrooms, avocado and tofu, at The Plaza on Calle 72 Este; The Community Kitchen, vegan restaurant in Panama City: falafel, burritos, curries and açaí bowls in a community space near Albrook; Cow's Revenge Vegan, vegan food truck in Panama City: burgers, nachos and tacos on Calle Aquilino de la Guardia. Tell us how they are.
Is this grown in Panama?
Tap a food for the honest answer.
RiceBeansPlantainYucaMaize tortillasPataconesSancocho
World Bank Open Data · FAO, FAOSTAT crop production · World Health Organization · FAO AQUASTAT · La Estrella de Panamá, Más de 300 mil panameños padecen algún tipo de diabetes (28 March 2017) · TVN, diabetes quinta causa de muerte en Panamá (23 November 2015) · HappyCow, Loving Hut, Panama City · HappyCow, Rock and Rolls Vegan Sushi, Panama City · HappyCow, The Community Kitchen, Panama City · HappyCow, Cow's Revenge Vegan, Panama City · Ministerio de Salud de Panamá and FAO, Guías alimentarias para los menores de 2 años de Panamá, documento técnico (2018) · World Bank, Food imports (% of merchandise imports), Panama
Climate and Energy in Panama.
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 emits. 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.
What powers Panama?
Renewable 68%Fossil 32%
The national transmission grid belongs to Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica (ETESA), a company wholly owned by the state. Law 6 of 3 February 1997 split the old state utility, IRHE, into generation, transmission and distribution and created a public services regulator. When the restructuring ended in November 1998, generation was opened to private companies, while the state kept all of the transmission company and a minority stake in distribution. ETESA began operating on 17 January 1999. It carries high voltage power from generators to distribution companies and large customers, and earns its income from network tariffs paid by generators, distributors and large customers. It also holds shares in the Colombia Panama interconnection company (ICP) and in EPR, which runs the Central American regional transmission line.
Climate pollution per person
The safe amount, what the planet can absorb
2 tonnes
One person here
2.74 tonnes
The world average, for comparison
4.7 tonnes
The worst it ever got
3.11 tonnes
The grid
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 emits. 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.
Pollution
Panama banned single use plastic shopping bags under Law 1 of 2018, with the ban on supermarkets, pharmacies and retailers taking effect from July 2019. Ambient PM2.5 averages around 11.4 micrograms per cubic metre (World Bank, 2017), relatively clean by regional standards though above the WHO guideline.
Water stress
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 water 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.
What pollutes most here
1The grid The share of electricity still generated from fossil fuel.38%
2Industry Large scale mining, notably the Cobre Panama copper mine ordered shut after 2023 protests and a Supreme Court ruling.named
3Air Modelled annual mean against a WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.11.4
4On the record Panama banned single use plastic shopping bags under Law 1 of 2018, with the ban on supermarkets, pharmacies and retailers taking effect from July 2019.
What has Panama promised on climate?
Net zero, whole economyAlready achieved and commit to maintain
Electricity renewable today69.0% (2021)
Land protected, against a 30% target31.4% by 2025
Sea protected, against a 30% target26.3% by 2025
The net-zero target year on file with Climate Watch is Already achieved and commit to maintain, status: in policy document. Measured against it, 69.0% of electricity is already renewable (2021, World Bank), so 20.7% of the grid is still to be converted. The pledge on file is measured here against what has actually been delivered, not taken on its own (UNFCCC NDC Registry, CBD Kunming-Montreal Target 3).
The biggest line item
One return flight against a whole year of living.
A resident's entire year2.74 t CO2e
Safe-climate budget, per year2 t CO2e
Singapore return, economy3.39 t CO2e
Sydney return, economy2.55 t CO2e
Dubai return, economy2.49 t CO2e
Johannesburg return, economy2.2 t CO2e
Frankfurt return, economy1.64 t CO2e
How much CO2 does flying to Panama emit?
Tap where you would fly from. One return flight, economy.
Firsts on climate finance. In June 2024 Panama's Ministry of Economy and Finance set out a sustainable financing framework for future green, social and sustainable bonds and loans. Sustainable Fitch judged it aligned with the international bond principles, and the ministry commits at least half of the money raised to new spending rather than refinancing. Panama launched its Sustainable Finance Taxonomy in March 2024, and in 2023 drew up its National Adaptation Plan with the Green Climate Fund. On the local exchange, Latinex, the head of the exchange said in April 2024 that eight themed issues worth more than US$750 million had been listed, including green bonds and a US$40 million social bond, and that the next would be a blue bond. None of the sources we opened records a catastrophe bond or a disaster insurance payout for Panama.
Climate Watch (WRI) · UNFCCC NDC Registry · World Bank Open Data · UK DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors · ETESA, Nuestra Empresa · ETESA, Historia del servicio de energía en Panamá · Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama, Sustainable Fitch second party opinion on the Sustainable Debt Framework (27 June 2024) · La Estrella de Panamá, Panamá ha emitido más de $750 millones en bonos temáticos al mercado internacional (25 April 2024)
AI and Data Centres in Panama.
Every prompt runs on a machine in a building on somebody’s grid. What that costs the planet depends less on the prompt than on what is burning to power it. Here is what would power one in Panama.
Data centres
9
Registered colocation and interconnection facilities, PeeringDB, 2026
Grid renewable
68.0 %
What a machine here runs on.
What powers a data centre in Panama?
A machine here runs mostly on renewables, but not entirely.
Renewable 68%Fossil 32%
Cooling water. Every one of those halls runs on the national grid, which is 69.0% renewable today (World Bank). A data centre is only as clean as the electricity behind it, so the same figure that decides this country's climate score also decides the footprint of the AI running inside it. Cooling water use is not separately published by facility, and no operator here reports it.
The rules. Panama has 9 colocation and interconnection facilities on the public PeeringDB register, concentrated in Panama (5), Panama City (2), Distrito de Panamá (1), alongside 2 internet exchanges (InteRed Panama, BGP.Exchange, Panama City). Named sites include KIO Panamá 1 (PAN1), Ufinet Panamá - Urbanización Obarrio, Navégalo Data Center Panama (PA1), Panama Business Park, Movistar.
Where the cables land. 7 landing points · Balboa, Colón, Cristóbal, Fort Amador
Economy and Tourism in Panama.
65% residents to 35% visitors across a year. 2,494,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 4,571,189 people who live here (2025, World Bank / UN Tourism).
Where a visitor dollar goes in Panama
647k
Visitors a year
0.1
Visitors per resident
How deep in debt is Panama?· for every $100 Panama earns in a year, it owes…
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · the 1994 peak
$ 89The worst year on the IMF record. Panama owed $89 for every $100 it earned.
IMF World Economic Outlook, 1994signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · today
$ 58What is owed now, for every $100 of national income (2026).
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · projected 2031
$ 54The IMF's own forecast has this falling to $54 by 2031.
IMF World Economic Outlook projection, 2031signed, the forecast
For every $100 Panama earns in a year, it owes $58 (2026, IMF World Economic Outlook). The interest on that is paid before schools, clinics or coastline get their turn.
Where does a tourist dollar actually go in Panama?
Play one tourist dollar around the board. Every square is a measured fact from this page.
START!
1
GO: a visitor lands
$100 goes on the table. 2,494,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 4,571,189 residents, 0.5 visitors for every resident (World Bank / UN Tourism).
$100 in play2
The bed
Who owns the largest places to stay in Panama is not published in the records we can check, so this square is left open rather than guessed. Where a listing names its owner, it is shown in the ownership table below.
not published3
The plate
Food is 18.7% of everything Panama imports (2024, World Bank), so a large part of every restaurant bill is paid to a supplier abroad. Eating what the land here actually grows, sugarcane, rice, bananas, oranges, oil palm fruit, plantains, maize, pineapples, keeps that money with the grower.
sails in4
The power
69.0% of the electricity is renewable (2021, World Bank), so the energy on the bill is mostly generated inside the country rather than shipped in.
made at home5
What actually stays
On the parts that can be measured, the plate leaves and the power stays. It is genuinely a coin toss, decided by what you book.
split6
Pay the bank first
Panama owes $58 for every $100 it earns (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). The interest is paid before anything else on this board.
$58 per $1007
No plan B
73.3% of everything Panama sells abroad is ores, slag and ash (2023, UN Comtrade). One market moving takes the whole board with it.
73.3% one export8
Community chest
Tourism earns 9.3% of everything Panama makes from exports (2020, World Bank / UN Tourism). That is how much of the economy depends on the game continuing.
9.3% of exports9
The flight
Getting here is usually the biggest single line on the bill. From Singapore a return economy seat is 3.39 t CO2, on the UK Government's published conversion factors. It is the one part of the trip this board cannot reduce.
3.39 t CO210
Back to GO
The economy turns over about US$95 billion a year (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). Every lap of this board is a choice about how much of it stays.
US$95bnGDPUS$90.5bn
Agriculture, share of GDP2.6%
Visitors a year647,000
Visitors per resident0.1
Residents~4,571,189
Agriculture
Farming is 2.6% of the economy. 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.
Natural materials
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 Embera Wounaan from chunga palm and nawala fibre. These are worn and traded daily, not staged for tourists.
Energy
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 emits. 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.
Who owns the biggest hotels in Panama?
By rooms · company records and press.
La Loma Jungle Lodge · ~5 roomsIndependentnot published
Isla Palenque · ~9 roomsIndependentnot published
Akwaba Lodge · ~8 roomsIndependentnot published
Casa Cayuco · ~8 roomsIndependentnot published
Mount Totumas · ~8 roomsIndependentnot published
Visitors, over time
20152,553k
20162,379k
20172,517k
20182,487k
20192,494k
2020647k
International tourism receipts run at about US$1.84 billion in 2020 (World Bank / UN Tourism). That is 9.3% of everything the country earns from exports.
How much of your money actually stays here?
Tap the holiday you are planning.
Visiting Panama, whoever you are.
Resort guest, villa renter, family, nomad or backpacker. The honest playbook for each, from the same sourced numbers.
Already booked a resort? · the rescue list
Five swaps that move your money back on-island
1. Eat where the country eats Choose kitchens cooking what the land here grows, sugarcane, rice, bananas, oranges, oil palm fruit, plantains, maize and pineapples, over an imported menu.
2. Book with a local operator Never the lobby desk. The margin on a tour is the part that stays.
3. Stay somewhere locally owned Ownership decides where the room rate books. Eco stays
4. Use the transport residents use Panama City has the only metro in Central America, opened in 2014, alongside buses; boats and small domestic flights serve Bocas del Toro and Guna Yala; and a railway runs beside the Canal.
5. Buy the craft, not the souvenir Natural-materials work made here pays the maker directly; imported gifts pay a shipping line.
Swipe
First time here
Panama is a narrow isthmus joining two continents and two oceans, with high forest cover, some of the region's strongest protected areas and highly autonomous indigenous comarcas.
Best time: Dry season for both coasts and the highlands
Getting around
Panama City has the only metro in Central America, opened in 2014, alongside buses; boats and small domestic flights serve Bocas del Toro and Guna Yala; and a railway runs beside the Canal.
Transport is where the fare either stays or leaves.
Eating here
The everyday plate that actually grows here is sugarcane, rice, bananas, oranges, oil palm fruit, plantains, maize and pineapples. Ordering those keeps the money with the grower and cuts the imported share of the meal.
Eating what the country grows is the cheapest way to cut the import bill.
Good to know
USD is the currency; cards widely accepted. English on the islands.
Rate my hotel. Tap yours for the honest verdict.
Ownership from company records and press.
Who owns the big hotels
La Loma Jungle LodgeIndependent · 5 rooms
Isla PalenqueIndependent · 9 rooms
Akwaba LodgeIndependent · 8 rooms
Casa CayucoIndependent · 8 rooms
Mount TotumasIndependent · 8 rooms
None of the 5 properties listed here publishes who ultimately owns it, so no claim is made either way. Ownership is what decides how much of a room rate stays in the country, which is why we show it when a listing states it.
Society and Governance in Panama.
How well is Panama actually run?
Governance, measured · World Bank WGI
Four measured answers, none of them opinion. Averaged across corruption control, delivery and accountability, Panama scores 52 out of 100 (2024, World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators). That matters here because every pledge on this page is only as good as the machinery meant to deliver it.
What is daily life in Panama really like? Measured
Getting around, breathing, throwing away, learning. The honest checklist.
TransportAirWaterWastePower
✓How you get around Panama City has the only metro in Central America, opened in 2014, alongside buses; boats and small domestic flights serve Bocas del Toro and Guna Yala; and a railway runs beside the Canal.
96.2%
literacy. Public spending on education runs at 2.5% of GDP and 16.3% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment stands at 76.6% gross (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2017 to 2024).
Made in Panama.
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 Embera Wounaan from chunga palm and nawala fibre. These are worn and traded daily, not staged for tourists. Every step of processing done at home is value that stops leaving the country.
What Panama actually sells the world
The single biggest thing Panama sells the world is ores, slag and ash, 73.3% of all exports in 2023 (about US$2.47 billion, UN Comtrade). The next four are fruit and nuts at 5.1%, fish and seafood at 3.8%, animal and vegetable fats and oils at 2.8%, iron and steel at 1.7%.
Made now · natural materials
Fibre crafts: the reverse applique molas sewn by Guna women
Worked in Panama from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Chacara bags woven by the Ngabe Bugle
Worked in Panama from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Embera Wounaan chunga palm baskets
Worked in Panama from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Traded daily
Worked in Panama from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Buys in · 20.1% of imports
Mineral fuels and oils
Panama imported US$2.92 billion of mineral fuels and oils in 2023, 20.1% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 9.9% of imports
Machinery and mechanical appliances
Panama imported US$1.43 billion of machinery and mechanical appliances in 2023, 9.9% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 8.1% of imports
Vehicles
Panama imported US$1.18 billion of vehicles in 2023, 8.1% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 7.1% of imports
Electrical machinery and electronics
Panama imported US$1.03 billion of electrical machinery and electronics in 2023, 7.1% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
The maths for an entrepreneur. Panama produces about US$90 billion a year, which is roughly US$19,790 per person (2025, World Bank). Farming is 2.6% of that, while food is 18.7% of everything the country imports. The country buys in more food than its own farms contribute to the economy, and every point of that gap is a business someone could build here rather than ship in. With 7.6% of the land arable, the raw material for that is already in the ground.
See the verified makersCulture in Panama.
Tamborito
A drum dance of the central provinces and Panama City, played on three drums with a female lead singer, the cantelante, answered by a female chorus.
Cumbia panameña
A round dance in which dancers circle the drummers anticlockwise while a lead singer and chorus answer each other.
since 1949
Mejorana
Music of the Azuero peninsula played on the mejorana, a small five-string guitar, for couples dances or sung verses. Guararé has held a Mejorana Festival every year since 1949.
Saloma
A yodelling style of singing, heard at folk festivals and sung by the female vocalist in música típica bands.
20 January, San Sebastián Day, to Ash WednesdayCongo culture rituals and festivitiesDescendants of black rebels enslaved in the colonial period gather in a palisade ruled by a queen and her court, playing congo, singing and dancing barefoot. The congos protect the queen from the devils, who are baptised on Ash Wednesday. UNESCO inscribed it in 2018.
Does Panama protect its heritage by law?
Partly, and the gaps say as much as the protections.
What is kept alive. 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 dances and expressions associated with the Corpus Christi festivity, inscribed for Panama as a whole in 2021, in which performers stage the battle between St Michael the Archangel and the devils. 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.
Who it belongs to. 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 Bugle 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.
Only here. Guna Yala (San Blas), an autonomous indigenous archipelago of some 350 islands governed by the Guna.
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Panama · UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Ritual and festive expressions of the Congo culture · Sean Bellaviti, Negotiating Musical Style in Panama, PhD thesis, University of Toronto (2013) · UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Dances and expressions associated with the Corpus Christi Festivity
The Future of Panama.
Three futures for Panama, every one run forward from measured data.
Where the making actually happens
Named cultural and craft sites on the open map: Panama Canal Museum (Panama City), Panama History Museum (Panama City), Museum Belisario Porras (Las Tablas), Museum of Kuna Cultura (Gaigirgordub), Tanager Botanical Garden (Veraguas). OpenStreetMap. Named craft workshops on the open map: Artesanías Sam, Casa de la Artesanía y Folcklore, Grupo Friolin, La Casa del Montuno, Mercado de Artesanías.
Every measured trend on one line
Run forward at the pace already recorded.
World Bank open data, recorded series
How much forest is left?
Forest cover moved from 65.6% to 62.2% across 29 recorded years.
How clean is the grid?
Renewable electricity moved from 69.1% to 69% across 26 recorded years.
How much climate pollution per person?
CO2 per person moved from 1.61 t to 2.74 t across 29 recorded years.
How many people visit?
Tourist arrivals moved from 417k to 647k across 25 recorded years.
How much land is protected?
Protected land moved from 20.9% to 31.4% across 12 recorded years.
How many people still farm?
Farm workforce moved from 22.8% to 16% across 30 recorded years.
How much sea is protected?
Protected sea moved from 1.7% to 26.3% across 12 recorded years.
How much land is farmed?
Agricultural land moved from 28.7% to 23.1% across 29 recorded years.
How fast is it urbanising?
Urban population moved from 58.2% to 66.2% across 30 recorded years.
Is the air getting cleaner?
Air pollution moved from 18 µg/m³ to 15.1 µg/m³ across 28 recorded years.
Is water getting scarcer?
Fresh water per person moved from 50,137 m³ to 31,040 m³ across 27 recorded years.
Is diet-related disease rising?
Adult overweight moved from 44.5% to 71.6% across 27 recorded years.
Who has power?
Electricity access moved from 76.7% to 96% across 29 recorded years.
Is income rising?
GDP per person moved from 3,514 to 19,790 across 30 recorded years.
How fast is it growing?
Population moved from 2,725k to 4,571k across 30 recorded years.
What share of all energy is renewable?
Renewable energy use moved from 34.8% to 28% across 26 recorded years.
How much energy does one person use?
Energy per person moved from 728 kg to 1,002 kg across 29 recorded years.
How much land and sea is protected together?
Protected area, total moved from 5.2% to 27.2% across 12 recorded years.
How long do people live?
Life expectancy moved from 72 yrs to 79.8 yrs across 29 recorded years.
How much does a hectare of cereal produce?
Cereal yield moved from 1,957 kg/ha to 4,226 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How much fertiliser goes on the land?
Fertiliser use moved from 55.4 kg/ha to 95.6 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How many people still live rurally?
Rural population moved from 41.8% to 33.8% across 30 recorded years.
How much value per cubic metre of water?
Water productivity moved from 37.4 $/m3 to 58 $/m3 across 12 recorded years.
How much goes on health?
Health spending moved from 6.98% to 8.33% across 23 recorded years.
How much forest is there in total?
Forest area moved from 48,734 km2 to 46,146 km2 across 30 recorded years.
How much electricity per person?
Electric power use moved from 1,069 kWh to 2,242 kWh across 29 recorded years.
How have agriculture emissions moved?
Agriculture emissions moved from 3.28 to 3.75 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have building emissions moved?
Building emissions moved from 0.57 to 0.96 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have electricity/heat emissions moved?
Electricity/Heat emissions moved from 0.55 to 4.16 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have energy emissions moved?
Energy emissions moved from 2.95 to 14.09 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have industrial processes emissions moved?
Industrial Processes emissions moved from 0.14 to 1.77 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have manufacturing/construction emissions moved?
Manufacturing/Construction emissions moved from 0.52 to 1.68 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have transportation emissions moved?
Transportation emissions moved from 1.31 to 5.73 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
Worst caseCurrent pathBest case
Worst case
Every measured decline continues at the pace already recorded. The weakest pillar, organic farming at 1/5, is the one that gives way first.
Computed from: recorded series extended with no policy change
What the best case actually asks for
Lift organic farming
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Panama's record. 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. Certification is a small niche within otherwise conventional farming.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift food and farming
It scores 2 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Panama's record. 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.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift recycling
It scores 2 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Panama's record. Formal municipal recycling is limited and much of Panama's waste still goes to landfill, notably the Cerro Patacon site serving the capital. Recovery is small scale and often informal.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Government and Goals in Panama.
Who is in charge of Panama now · Office-holders from the UN Protocol and Liaison Service public list of Heads of State and Heads of Government, 20 October 2026. Legislature and election dates from IFES ElectionGuide. Constitution dates from the Constitute Project. Governance scores from the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2024.
José Raúl Mulino
President
José Raúl Mulino is the head of government of Panama, in office since 1 July 2024. Every climate, protection and energy pledge on this page is delivered, or not, under this administration.
Public opinion, measured
Voice and accountability, the freedom to question government scores 66.5 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 67.0 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Control of corruption scores 36.8 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 37.1 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Political stability and absence of violence scores 69.9 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 71.8 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Rule of law scores 53.6 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 53.2 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Regulatory quality scores 53.4 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 54.0 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
José Raúl MulinoPresident
National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional)Legislature, unicameral
Last election5 May 2024
Constitution1972, as revised to 2004
Government typepresidential republic
Panama national goals: climate commitments on record · as recorded by Climate Watch, World Resources Institute
Plain Answers About Panama.
The questions people actually type, answered in full sentences from the sourced data above.
Swipe
Is Panama sustainable?
Panama scores 70 out of 100 on the Throne Eco Index, across twelve equally weighted pillars. Panama is a narrow isthmus joining two continents and two oceans, with high forest cover, some of the region's strongest protected areas and highly autonomous indigenous comarcas.
Is the water in Panama safe and plentiful?
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 water 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.
Can Panama feed itself?
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.
Is it easy to eat plant-based in Panama?
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. Cuisine leans on seafood and meat, but a plant based diet is straightforward, especially with Caribbean and interior produce.
How much of Panama is actually protected?
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 whose 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.
What wildlife is left in Panama?
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.
Is Panama on clean energy?
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 emits. 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.
How polluted is Panama?
Panama banned single use plastic shopping bags under Law 1 of 2018, with the ban on supermarkets, pharmacies and retailers taking effect from July 2019. Ambient 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.
Does recycling work in Panama?
Formal municipal recycling is limited and much of Panama's waste still goes to landfill, notably the Cerro Patacon site serving the capital. Recovery is small scale and often informal.
Is the farming in Panama organic?
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. Certification is a small niche within otherwise conventional farming.
Are there natural materials and craft in Panama?
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 Embera Wounaan from chunga palm and nawala fibre. These are worn and traded daily, not staged for tourists.
Is there living culture in Panama?
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 Bugle 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.
What heritage does Panama keep alive?
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 dances and expressions associated with the Corpus Christi festivity, inscribed for Panama as a whole in 2021, in which performers stage the battle between St Michael the Archangel and the devils. 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.
So is Panama actually green? The measured answer
What is working: land protected at 31.4%, sea protected at 26.3%, renewable electricity at 69.0%.
What is not: the gaps are narrower here than in most of the directory, and each remaining one is named below.
How Panama Ranks, region and world.
Where Panama sits on the Eco Index, against its Central America neighbours and the 77 destinations scored worldwide.
How does Panama compare in Central America?
2Costa Rica67
3Guatemala65
4Honduras62
5Nicaragua58
Scored Central America destinations, Eco Index.
The global top 10 of the 77 destinations scored
1Switzerland78
2France78
3Finland77
4Slovenia77
5Australia77
6Portugal75
7Germany75
8New Zealand75
9Italy73
10Spain73
Panama sits 20 of 77 at 70/100. Every name links to its own destination page, built exactly like this one. The full ranking
What is Panama particularly good at?
✓ Water, scored 5/5. 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 water 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.
✓ Conservation, scored 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 whose 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.
✓ Culture, scored 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 Bugle 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.
Where does Panama score worst?
✕ Organic farming, scored 1/5. 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. Certification is a small niche within otherwise conventional farming.
✕ Food and farming, scored 2/5. 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 some staples. Farming remains important in Chiriqui and the interior. Self sufficiency in basics is moderate.
✕ Recycling, scored 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. Recovery is small scale and often informal.
A note from the lens of mother natureSwipe
Organic farming, 1/5
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. Certification is a small niche within otherwise conventional farming.
Consequence: It is the lowest-scoring part of Panama's record, so it is where the score moves first.
Food and farming, 2/5
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 some staples. Farming remains important in Chiriqui and the interior. Self sufficiency in basics is moderate.
Recycling, 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. Recovery is small scale and often informal.
The Panama Directory.
Everything on Hold The Throne that sits in Panama, checked and listed.
How the rest of the world scores Panama
Independent global indices, for calibration.
Forest cover
62.2
World Bank, 2024.
Protected land
31.4
World Bank, 2025.
Protected sea
26.3
World Bank, 2025.
Renewable grid
69.0
World Bank, 2021.
CO2 per person
2.7 tonnes (2024)
World Bank, 2024.
Threatened species
403 (mammals, birds, fish & plants)
Recorded figure, sourced on this page.
Control of corruption
36.8 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Government effectiveness
56.8 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Rule of law
53.6 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Political stability
69.9 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Voice and accountability
66.5 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Environmental Performance Index
45.1 / 100 · 66 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 66 of 177 countries assessed.
Ecosystem vitality
51.6 / 100 · 46 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 46 of 177 countries assessed.
Biodiversity and habitat
63.0 / 100 · 17 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 17 of 177 countries assessed.
Air quality
49.8 / 100 · 55 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 55 of 177 countries assessed.
Terrestrial biomes protected
93.4 / 100 · 27 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 27 of 177 countries assessed.
Marine habitat protected
21.0 / 100 · 56 of 111
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 56 of 111 countries assessed.
How Panama Is Scored. The Throne Standard.
Every destination on the index is scored the same way, so a 4 in Barbados means exactly what a 4 means in Iceland. No self-declared data and no brochure claims are accepted. Seven pillars are scored from published measurements with the same fixed thresholds everywhere: energy (low-carbon share of electricity, 90% or more scores 5, 70% 4, 50% 3, 25% 2), conservation (land and sea protected), water (safe drinking water, wastewater treated, water stress), organic farmland, recycling, food import dependence and air quality. Where a measurement is not published for a place, that pillar keeps its source-assessed score and is labelled as such. Wildlife, culture, heritage, materials and plant-based eating have no comparable measurement and are assessed from the named sources. The Eco Index is the average of the twelve pillar scores multiplied by 20. Every figure on this page carries its named source and year, and the history on each page names what empire took as plainly as it scores the present.
The 12 pillars every destination is scored on, equally weighted
01
Water
Safe drinking water, wastewater treated and water stress. Measured.
02
Food & farming
How much of the import bill is food: whether the place feeds itself. Measured.
03
Plant-based
How easy it is to eat plant-based, from documented sources.
04
Organic
Certified organic share of farmland. Measured.
05
Conservation
Land and sea legally protected, against the 30 by 30 goal. Measured.
06
Wildlife
What survives, what is endemic, what is lost, from documented sources.
07
Materials
Local natural fibres and craft, from documented sources.
08
Pollution
Air quality (PM2.5, measured) and plastics and waste policy.
09
Recycling
Share of municipal waste recycled. Measured.
10
Energy
Low-carbon share of electricity, nuclear included. Measured.
11
Culture
Living culture and community-led visits, from documented sources.
12
Heritage
What the law keeps standing, from documented sources.
What each 0 to 5 pillar score means, in plain words
0
Absent
nothing verifiable exists
1
Failing
measurably going the wrong way
2
Weak
claims outrun delivery
3
Fair
real effort, mixed results
4
Strong
genuinely good, evidence named
5
Leading
world class, and the trend holds
Where the numbers come from.
The institutions above are the ones cited on this page, ranked by how many of its figures they carry. This same sectioned page renders for all 77 scored destinations, each with its own researched history, comparison charts and three-way future. Read the full methodology
Every figure on this page, and where it came from: 78 sources across 31 institutions
World Bank22 FIGURES
- Terrestrial protected areas (percent of total land area) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, 2021. check
- Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, 2025 check
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic metre) EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3, 2017. check
- Threatened species (mammals EN.MAM.THRD.NO, birds EN.BIR.THRD.NO, fish EN.FSH.THRD.NO, higher plants EN.HPT.THRD.NO), 2022 check
- Renewable electricity output (% of total) EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, 2021 check
- CO2 emissions per capita EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, 2024 check
- GDP (current US$) NY.GDP.MKTP.CD, 2025 check
- International tourist arrivals ST.INT.ARVL, 2020 check
- Agricultural land (% of land area) AG.LND.AGRI.ZS, 2023 check
- Arable land (% of land area) AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, 2023 check
- Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS, 2025 check
- Adult literacy rate SE.ADT.LITR.ZS, 2024 check
- Renewable internal freshwater per capita (m3) ER.H2O.INTR.PC, 2022 check
- Overweight prevalence, adults (%) SH.STA.OWAD.ZS, 2022 check
- Population total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Panama, Terrestrial protected areas cover about 31.4 percent of the land (World Bank, 2021), including the UNESCO list check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Panama corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Panama corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Panama corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Panama corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Panama corroboration check
- What a Waste 2.0 country-level dataset check
GBIF occurrence search14 FIGURES
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Aves, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (bird). check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Aves corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Aves corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Aves corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, Testudines, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (turtle). check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, Testudines corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, Testudines corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Amphibia, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (amphibian). check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Amphibia corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Amphibia corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Anthozoa, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (coral). check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Anthozoa corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, class Anthozoa corroboration check
- Panama, IUCN Red List category Critically Endangered, all taxa, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Panama in GBIF occurrence data (species). check
UNESCO Institute for Statistics4 FIGURES
BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC3 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Panama, 2025 (54.1%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, marine Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_MRN_MPA, Panama, 2025 (40.3%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_FRHWTR, Panama, 2025 (78.5%), country-reported check
Iizuka3 FIGURES
- F., 'The earliest Panamanian pottery: Reconstructing production and distribution of Monagrillo ceramics through petrographic provenance analysis', Geoarchaeology, 2017, Monagrillo ware is the earliest pottery in Panama and among the oldest in the Americas, found in shell middens check
- F., 'The earliest Panamanian pottery: Reconstructing production and distribution of Monagrillo ceramics through petrographic provenance analysis', Geoarchaeology, 2017 corroboration check
- F., 'The earliest Panamanian pottery: Reconstructing production and distribution of Monagrillo ceramics through petrographic provenance analysis', Geoarchaeology, 2017 corroboration check
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species checklist (IUCN)3 FIGURES
Convention on Biological Diversity2 FIGURES
FAO2 FIGURES
FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment2 FIGURES
Ley 1 de 19 de enero de 20182 FIGURES
About 3520 to 1300 cal BC1 FIGURE
- the calibrated range published by Iizuka, Cooke, Frame and Vandiver (2014); Iizuka's 2017 Geoarchaeology paper gives ca. 4500 to 3200 radiocarbon years BP for the same ware check
BNamericas1 FIGURE
- Panama renewable electricity generation, 2024 check
Climate Watch (WRI)1 FIGURE
- Net-Zero Tracker check
Constitute Project1 FIGURE
- Panama 1972 (rev. 2004) check
FAO and World Bank1 FIGURE
- Forest area (percent of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, 2022. check
FiBL1 FIGURE
- The World of Organic Agriculture 2022 (2020 data), organic farmland share. check
Good Good Good1 FIGURE
- carbon negative countries (Panama, Bhutan, Suriname), 2023 check
Government of Panama1 FIGURE
- Law No. 1 of 2018 (single use plastic bag ban), 2018.
IEA, World Energy Balances1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, renewable share of total final energy consumption (%) EG_FEC_RNEW, Panama, 2023 (21.0%), modelled estimate check
IFES ElectionGuide1 FIGURE
- Panama elections and chambers check
INEC1 FIGURE
- Panama, national statistical authority check
IUCN1 FIGURE
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (conservation tool page), Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Panama. check
Low Carbon Power (data from Ember1 FIGURE
- IEA and World Bank), Panama electricity mix, 2023. check
Ministerio de Cultura de Panama (MiCultura)1 FIGURE
- The tamborito is the national dance, and Afro-Panamanian Congo culture, with its dances, music and rituals, is check
Other published sources1 FIGURE
- The inscribed element is Dances and expressions associated with the Corpus Christi Festivity, listed in 2021 for Panama with no restriction to Los Santos; Panama's Ministry of Culture records the festivity as celebrated across the country, with La Villa de Los Santos one centre among several check
Our World in Data1 FIGURE
- CO2 emissions per capita, 2024 check
UN Protocol and Liaison Service1 FIGURE
- Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, public list dated 20 October 2026 check
UNESCO1 FIGURE
- Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists check
UNESCO World Heritage List1 FIGURE
- Darien and Coiba National Parks. check
WHO/UNICEF JMP and World Bank1 FIGURE
- drinking water services, 2022 (national safely managed figure not published; at least basic about 96 percent). check