Demographics of Panama

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Panama, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Population

Panama's population, (1961-2003).

Panama's population was 3,678,000 in 2010, compared to 860,000 in 1950. The proportion of the population aged below 15 in 2010 was 29%. 64.5% of the population were aged between 15 and 65, with 6.6% of the population being 65 years or older.[1]

Total population
(x 1000)
Proportion
aged 0–14
(%)
Proportion
aged 15–64
(%)
Proportion
aged 65+
(%)
1950 86040.255.74.1
1955 98341.854.14.1
1960 1 13642.952.84.3
1965 1 31943.851.84.4
1970 1 52643.951.84.3
1975 1 75442.852.84.4
1980 1 99040.455.04.6
1985 2 23337.657.64.7
1990 2 48735.259.95.0
1995 2 75733.361.55.2
2000 3 05531.862.65.5
2005 3 36630.463.75.9
2010 3 67829.064.56.6

Structure of the population [2]

Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates - Data refer to projections based on the 2010 Population Census):

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 1 934 264 1 916 471 3 850 735 100
0-4 187 797 179 822 367 619 9,55
5-9 184 487 176 909 361 396 9,39
10-14 180 579 173 379 353 958 9,19
15-19 170 895 164 639 335 534 8,71
20-24 160 414 155 878 316 292 8,21
25-29 154 493 150 986 305 479 7,93
30-34 147 618 144 488 292 106 7,59
35-39 140 942 138 936 279 878 7,27
40-44 130 725 130 042 260 767 6,77
45-49 113 877 114 213 228 090 5,92
50-54 96 564 98 076 194 640 5,05
55-59 76 084 78 641 154 725 4,02
60-64 58 974 62 105 121 079 3,14
65-69 45 360 48 700 94 060 2,44
70-74 33 839 37 313 71 152 1,85
75-79 23 622 27 020 50 642 1,32
80-84 14 944 17 956 32 900 0,85
85-89 8 174 10 458 18 632 0,48
90-94 3 573 4 938 8 511 0,22
95-99 1 119 1 678 2 797 0,07
100+ 184 294 478 0,01
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0-14 552 863 530 110 1 082 973 28,12
15-64 1 250 586 1 238 004 2 488 590 64,63
65+ 130 815 148 357 279 172 7,25

Population distribution

More than half the population lives in the Panama City-Colón metropolitan corridor.

Province Capital city Population(2010 Est.)[3]
Bocas del Toro Bocas del Toro118,405
CocléPenonomé237,840
Colón Colón250,802
ChiriquíDavid426,790
DariénLa Palma46,011
HerreraChitré112,538
Los SantosLas Tablas90,984
PanamáCiudad de Panamá1,796,674
VeraguasSantiago226,847
Comarca Capital city Population
Emberá-WounaanUnión Choco9,497
Kuna de MadugandíN/DN/D
Kuna Yala El Porvenir37,545
Kuna de WargandíN/DN/D
Ngöbe-BugléBuabidi150,550

Ethnic groups

Ethnic Groups in Panama %[4]

  Mestizos (mixed Amerindian and White) (65%)
  Native Americans (12.3%)
  Mulattos (6.8%)
  White (6.7%)

The culture, customs, and language of Panama are predominantly Caribbean Spanish. In 2010 the population was 65% Mestizo (mixed white, Native American), 9.2% Black, 6.8% mulattoes, 13% White and 6% Native Americans.[4]

Ethnic groups in Panama include Spanish British and Irish, Dutch, French, Germans, Italians, Portuguese, Poles, Russians or Ukrainians (a large number are Jews), and Americans.

Afro-Panamanian groups include West Indies/Caribbean (esp. Afro-Caribbean) nationalities, in which thousands of Barbadian and Jamaican workers played a role in the construction of the Panama Canal. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, thousands of West Africans were transported to various places in Panama. This took place around the 1500s, making half of all Panamanians contain African ancestry. There has also been immigration of Arabs and Asians: in particular Chinese, Lebanese, Palestinians, South Asians (from India and Pakistan) and Syrians.

Indigenous

Population of Panama according to ethnic group[5]
Ethnic
group
Census 1990 Census 2000 Census 2010
Number % Number % Number %
Non-indigenous2,135,06091.72,553,94690.02,988,25487.7
Amerindian194,2698.3285,23110.0417,55912.3
Total 2,329,329 2,839,177 3,405,813
Indigenous population of Panama according to ethnic group[5]
Ethnic
group
Census 1990 Census 2000 Census 2010
Number % Number % Number %
Ngäbe (Guaymi)123,62663.6169,13059.3260,05862.3
Buglé (Bokota)3,7841.918,7246.626,8716.4
Kuna47,29824.361,70721.680,52619.3
Emberá14,6597.522,4857.931,2847.5
Wounaan2,6051.36,8822.47,2791.7
Teribe/Naso2,1941.13,3051.24,0461.0
Bribri 2,5210.91,0680.3
Other1030.1 4600.1
Not declared 4770.25,9671.4

Chinese

Panama has a considerable populations of Chinese origin. The first Chinese immigrated to Panama from southern China to help build the Panama Railroad in the 19th century. There followed several waves of immigrants whose descendants number around 50,000. Starting in the 1970s, a further 80,000 have immigrated from various parts of China. Most of the Chinese population reside in the province of Chiriquí.[6][7]

African Panamanians

Afro-Panamanians first arrived during the colonial era. They are intermixed in the general population or live in small Afro-Panamanian communities along the Atlantic Coast and in villages within the Darién jungle. Most of the people in Darien are fishermen or small-scale farmers growing crops such as bananas, rice and coffee as well as raising livestock. Other Afro-Panamanians descend from later migrants from the Caribbean who came to work on railroad-construction projects, commercial agricultural enterprises, and (especially) the canal. Important Afro-Caribbean community areas include towns and cities such as Colón, Cristobal and Balboa, in the former Canal Zone, as well as the Río Abajo area of Panama City. Another region with a large Afro-Caribbean population is the province of Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast just south of Costa Rica.[8]

Most of the Panamanian population of West Indian descent owe their presence in the country to the monumental efforts to build the Panama Canal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Three-quarters of the 50,000 workers who built the canal were Afro Caribbean migrants from the British West Indies. Thousands of Afro-Caribbean workers were recruited from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad.[8]

Languages

Many languages, including seven indigenous languages, are spoken in Panama, although Spanish is the official and dominant language. English is sometimes spoken by many professionals and those working in the business or governmental sectors of society.

Religion

Further information: Religion in Panama

Religion in Panama (2013) [9]

  Protestants (15%)

The majority of Panamanians are Christian; most are Roman Catholics as a result centuries of Spanish colonial influence. Other faiths exist in Panama by the country's tolerance and freedom of religion, there are large Protestant, Jewish, Bahá'í, Muslim and Hindu religious groups in Panama.

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Panama not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.[1]

Period Live births
per year
Deaths
per year
Natural change
per year
CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR* Life expectancy
total
Life expectancy
males
Life expectancy
females
1950-1955 38 000 11 000 27 00041.412.029.55.769256.855.957.8
1955-1960 44 000 11 000 33 00041.710.631.15.878059.558.660.5
1960-1965 50 000 11 000 39 00040.99.231.65.796862.161.163.3
1965-1970 55 000 12 000 44 00038.88.130.75.415864.363.265.6
1970-1975 59 000 11 000 48 00036.17.029.24.884866.765.168.5
1975-1980 61 000 11 000 50 00032.55.926.64.193969.267.271.5
1980-1985 62 000 11 000 51 00029.55.424.13.633471.068.673.7
1985-1990 64 000 12 000 53 00027.35.122.33.242972.469.675.4
1990-1995 67 000 13 000 54 00025.54.920.62.962673.670.876.5
1995-2000 71 000 14 000 57 00024.64.819.82.872474.672.277.2
2000-2005 74 000 15 000 59 00023.14.818.32.762075.673.078.3
2005-2010 75 000 17 000 58 00021.34.916.42.621776.473.679.5
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Births and deaths [2]

Year Population Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
2009 68 364 15 498 52 866 19,0 2,5
2010 3 405 813 67 955 16 542 51 413 18,6 2,4
2011 73 292 16 367 56 925 19,7 2,5
2012 75 486 17 350 58 136 19,9 2,5
2013 73 804 17 767 56 037 19,2
2014
2015 75 183 18 171 57 012 18.9 4.6 14.3

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision
  2. 1 2 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
  3. http://www.contraloria.gob.pa/dec/Publicaciones/13-03/Boletin9.pdf
  4. 1 2 "CIA - The World Factbook -- Panama". CIA. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  5. 1 2 Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censo (INEC)
  6. Jackson, Eric (May 2004). "Panama's Chinese community celebrates a birthday, meets new challenges". The Panama News. 10 (9). Retrieved November 7, 2007.
  7. "President Chen's State Visit to Panama". Government Information Office, Republic of China. October 2003. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
  8. 1 2 "Panama : Afro-Panamanians". Minority Rights Group International. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  9. "Central America and Caribbean :: PANAMA". CIA The World Factbook.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.

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