Panama is situated on an isthmus and connects the north and south part of America. It is a transit country and is also known as an international business center. Panama assumed full control of the Panama Canal in 1999, which was previously taken care by the U.S. troops. It is one of the most developed economies in Central America and even has the largest expenditure on resource consumption. The economy of the country is basically service-based, heavily inclined towards banking, real estate, commerce, tourism, trading and private industries and not to forget the operation of the Panama Canal, owing to its key geographic location. Given below are some more interesting and fun facts about Panama.
Interesting & Fun Facts About Panama
- Panama is the southernmost country in Central America.
- The official name of the country is the ‘Republic of Panama’.
- The official language of Panama is Spanish, although most Panamanians speak English also.
- The currency of the country is Balboa and Dollar.
- Panama is the most industrialized country in Central America and even its third largest economy.
- The country is even the largest per capita consumer in Central America.
- Panama has the lowest population in the Central America, though being the most industrialized country in Central America. Around 70% of the population is a mixture of Europeans and Native Americans.
- About 85% of the people in the country are Catholics and the remaining 15% Protestants.
- At one point of time, the shares of the Panama Railroad were the highest priced stock on the New York Stock Exchange, at $295 per share.
- Panama houses over 10,000 different plants species, including 1,200 varieties of orchids, 678 ferns and more than 1,500 varieties of trees.
- The country has set multi-world records in the area of bird watching and fishing, as it shelters more birds than United States and Canada combined.
- Panama has the most diversified wildlife of all the countries in Central America. It is home to north as well as South American species.
- At its narrowest distance, only 80 kilometers is the land in Panama, which separates the Atlantic from the Pacific Ocean.
- With 5,637 kilometers of coastline and more than 1,518 islands, Panama has more beaches than one can imagine.
- The country is the only place in the world, where you can see the sun rise in the Pacific and set in the Atlantic.
- Panama elected its first female President in 1999 as Mireya Moscoso.
- The Panama Railroad was the most expensive railroad ever built, as it cost 8 million dollars and took 5 years to build.
- More than 12000 people died in the construction of the Panama Railroad.
- Most retirees are real estate owners and buyers in Panama and thus, Panama in considered as one of the best locations in the world to retire. Boquete is considered to be one of the best destinations to retire in Panama.
- Baseball is the most common sports in the country, along with boxing and soccer.
- Panama has the second largest duty free zone in the world. It also has the second largest registrant for offshore companies, after Hong Kong.