World Countries: Panama

Location

The southernmost country on the Central American isthmus, Panama is bordered by Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east.

Geographic Features

Hills across the country are cut through for the Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The country has extensive coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean).

Climate

Panama's climate is hot and humid with a marked wet season.

Panama's flag, pictured above, features four
rectangles of color. The red and blue colors
symbolizes the country's major political parties.
White stands for peace. According to the CIA
World Factbook₁, the red star represents the
law and the blue star symbolizes civic virtues.

Official Name

Republic of Panama

Capital

Panama City

Official Language

Spanish

Population

July 2011 Estimate: 3,460,462

Formation

Panama became an independent country in 1903.

Fun Facts

Traveling by ship, going through the Panama Canal, can shorten a sea voyage from Japan to the east coast of the United States by approximately 3000 miles (4800 km).

Neighbors

See also the Central American countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Source: 1. CIA World Factbook

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