Demographics of Panama explained

Place:	Panama
Major Ethnic:	Mestizo - 65%
Caption:	Population pyramid of Panama in 2020
Size Of Population:	4,337,768 (2022 est.)
Nation:	Panamanian
Official:	Spanish
Growth:	1.53% (2022 est.)
Birth:	14.5 births/1,000 population (2022)
Death:	5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2022)
Net Migration:	3.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant Mortality:	16.44 deaths/1,000 live births
Age 0–14 Years:	25.44%
Age 15–64 Years:	65.66%
Age 65 Years:	8.90%
Life:	77.62 years
Life Male:	74.76 years
Life Female:	80.66 years
Fertility:	1.92 children per woman (2022)

This is a demography 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.Panama's 2020 census has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the government are currently assessing additional implications. They are evaluating the preparatory processes that can begin now, such as procurement.^[1]

Population size and structure

Panama's population was people in, 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.^[2]

	Total population (x 1000)	Proportion aged 0–14 (%)	Proportion aged 15–64 (%)	Proportion aged 65+ (%)
1950	860	40.2	55.7	4.1
1955	983	41.8	54.1	4.1
1960	1 136	42.9	52.8	4.3
1965	1 319	43.8	51.8	4.4
1970	1 526	43.9	51.8	4.3
1975	1 754	42.8	52.8	4.4
1980	1 990	40.4	55.0	4.6
1985	2 233	37.6	57.6	4.7
1990	2 487	35.2	59.9	5.0
1995	2 757	33.3	61.5	5.2
2000	3 055	31.8	62.6	5.5
2005	3 366	30.4	63.7	5.9
2010	3 678	29.0	64.5	6.6
2015	4 080	28.1	64.6	7.3

Structure of the population

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

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 173 761	2 163 645	4 337 406	100
0–4	188 707	180 605	369 312	8.51
5–9	188 786	180 836	369 622	8.52
10–14	186 177	178 516	364 693	8.41
15–19	184 931	177 805	362 736	8.36
20–24	179 023	173 354	352 377	8.12
25–29	166 836	163 323	330 159	7.61
30–34	158 793	156 785	315 578	7.28
35–39	152 777	150 905	303 682	7.00
40–44	145 734	144 050	289 784	6.68
45–49	136 697	136 413	273 110	6.30
50–54	121 428	122 735	244 163	5.63
55–59	102 281	105 070	207 351	4.78
60–64	82 346	86 597	168 943	3.90
65-69	61 869	67 091	128 960	2.97
70-74	45 329	50 809	96 138	2.22
75-79	31 963	37 293	69 256	1.60
80-84	20 693	25 375	46 068	1.06
85-89	11 689	15 209	26 898	0.62
90-94	5 433	7 528	12 961	0.30
95-99	1 894	2 777	4 671	0.11
100+	375	569	944	0.02
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	563 670	539 957	1 103 627	25.44
15–64	1 430 846	1 417 037	2 847 883	65.66
65+	179 245	206 651	385 896	8.90

2020 Statistics

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2,144,802	2,133,698	4,278,500	100
85+	18,483	24,818	43,301	1.01
80-84	19,871	24,313	44,184	1.03
75-80	30,773	35,841	66,614	1.56
70-75	43,590	48,775	92,365	2.16
65-69	59,351	64,385	123,736	2.89
60-64	78,840	82,999	161,839	3.78
55-59	99,474	102,273	201,747	4.72
50-54	118,116	119,439	237,555	5.55
45-49	134,702	134,564	269,266	6.29
40-44	144,249	142,660	286,909	6.71
35-39	151,334	149,273	300,607	7.03
30-34	157,658	155,574	313,232	7.32
25-29	164,397	161,047	325,444	7.61
20-24	176,772	171,243	348,015	8.13
15-19	184,134	177,065	361,199	8.44
10-14	185,734	178,125	363,859	8.50
5-9	188,401	180,480	368,881	8.62
0-4	188,923	180,824	369,747	8.64

Population distribution

Source:^[3]

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

Province	Capital city	Population (census 2000)	Population (census 2010)	Population (census 2023)
	Bocas del Toro	89,269	125,461	159,228
Coclé		Penonomé	202,461	233,788	268,264
	Colón	204,208	241,928	281,956
Chiriquí	David	368,790	416,873	471,071
Darién	La Palma	40,264	48,378	54,235
Herrera	Chitré	102,465	109,955	122,071
Los Santos	Las Tablas	83,495	89,592	98,466
Panamá	Ciudad de Panamá	1,388,357	1,713,070	1,439,575
Panamá Oeste Province				653,665
Veraguas	Santiago	209,076	226,991	259,791
Comarca	Capital city	Population
Emberá-Wounaan	Unión Choco	8,246	10,001	12,358
Kuna de Madugandí	N/D	N/D	N/D
	El Porvenir	32,446	33,109	32,016
Kuna de Wargandí	N/D	N/D	N/D
Ngäbe-Buglé	Buabidi	110,080	156,747	212,084

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Registration of vital events (especially deaths) was in Panama not complete until the end of the 20th century. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.^[2]

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	27 000	41.4	12.0	29.5	5.76	92	56.8	55.9	57.8
1955-1960	44 000	11 000	33 000	41.7	10.6	31.1	5.87	80	59.5	58.6	60.5
1960-1965	50 000	11 000	39 000	40.9	9.2	31.6	5.79	68	62.1	61.1	63.3
1965-1970	55 000	12 000	44 000	38.8	8.1	30.7	5.41	58	64.3	63.2	65.6
1970-1975	59 000	11 000	48 000	36.1	7.0	29.2	4.88	48	66.7	65.1	68.5
1975-1980	61 000	11 000	50 000	32.5	5.9	26.6	4.19	39	69.2	67.2	71.5
1980-1985	62 000	11 000	51 000	29.5	5.4	24.1	3.63	34	71.0	68.6	73.7
1985-1990	64 000	12 000	53 000	27.3	5.1	22.3	3.24	29	72.4	69.6	75.4
1990-1995	67 000	13 000	54 000	25.5	4.9	20.6	2.96	26	73.6	70.8	76.5
1995-2000	71 000	14 000	57 000	24.6	4.8	19.8	2.87	24	74.6	72.2	77.2
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)

Registered births and deaths

^[4]

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	Crude migration rate	TFR
1952	905,050	29,013	6,791	22,222	36.0	8.4	27.6
1953	929,425	31,428	7,638	23,790	37.9	9.2	28.7	-1.8
1954	954,952	33,521	7,511	26,010	39.3	8.8	30.5	-3.0
1955	981,686	34,592	8,059	26,533	39.4	9.2	30.2	-2.2
1956	1,009,696	35,582	8,352	27,230	39.3	9.2	30.1	-1.6
1957	1,039,038	37,743	8,656	29,087	40.5	9.3	31.2	-2.1
1958	1,069,783	37,733	8,364	29,369	39.3	8.7	30.6	-1.0
1959	1,101,997	40,296	8,959	31,337	40.8	9.1	31.7	-1.6
1960	1,135,703	42,359	8,827	33,532	39.9	8.3	31.6	-1.0	5.254
1961	1,170,572	44,207	8,851	35,356	40.4	8.1	32.3	-1.6
1962	1,206,608	46,274	8,239	38,035	41.1	7.3	33.8	-3.0
1963	1,243,015	46,656	9,239	37,417	40.2	8.0	32.2	-2.0
1964	1,280,333	47,419	8,743	38,676	39.6	7.3	32.3	-2.3
1965	1,318,567	48,377	9,035	39,342	39.2	7.3	31.9	-2.0	5.191
1966	1,357,739	49,394	9,184	40,210	38.9	7.2	31.7	-2.0
1967	1,397,854	50,795	8,938	41,857	38.8	6.8	32.0	-2.5
1968	1,438,933	52,489	9,568	42,921	38.9	7.1	31.8	-2.4
1969	1,480,988	52,799	9,791	43,008	38.0	7.0	31.0	-31.0
1970	1,524,445	53,287	10,225	43,062	37.1	7.1	30.0	-0.7	5.041
1971	1,568,674	54,948	9,857	45,091	37.2	6.7	30.5	-1.5
1972	1,613,452	54,910	9,076	45,834	36.0	6.0	30.0	-1.5
1973	1,658,734	52,091	9,161	42,930	33.2	5.8	27.4	0.7
1974	1,704,363	52,772	9,001	43,771	32. 6	5.6	27.0	0.5
1975	1,750,317	53,790	8,683	45,107	32.3	5.2	27.1	-0.1	4.254
1976	1,796,453	53,002	8,564	44,438	30.8	5.0	25.8	0.6
1977	1,842,719	52,722	8,036	44,686	29.8	4.5	25.3	0.5
1978	1,889,061	53,040	7,555	45,485	29.1	4.1	25.0	0.1
1979	1,935,383	52,919	8,192	44,727	28.2	4.4	23.8	0.7
1980	1,981,562	52,626	7,959	44,667	26.9	4.1	22.8	1.1	3.443
1981	2,029,834	53,873	7,976	45,897	26.9	4.0	22.9	1.5
1982	2,078,394	54,491	8,142	46,349	26.7	4.0	22.7	1.2
1983	2,127,000	55,222	8,499	46,723	26.4	4.1	22.3	1.1
1984	2,175,942	56,659	8,250	48,409	26.5	3.9	22.6	0.4
1985	2,225,132	58,038	8,991	49,047	26.6	4.1	22.5	0.1	3.199
1986	2,274,440	57,655	8,942	48,713	25.9	4.0	21.9	0.3
1987	2,323,965	57,647	9,105	48,542	25.3	4.0	21.3	0.5
1988	2,373,821	58,459	9,382	49,077	25.2	4.0	21.2	0.3
1989	2,423,924	59,069	9,557	49,512	25.1	4.1	21.0	0.1
1990	2,474,119	59,904	9,799	50,105	25.0	4.1	20.9	-0.2	2.884
1991	2,527,391	60,080	9,683	50,397	24.6	4.0	20.6	0.9
1992	2,581,476	59,905	10,143	49,762	24.1	4.1	20.0	1.4
1993	2,636,079	59,191	10,669	48,522	23.3	4.2	19.1	2.1
1994	2,691,244	59,947	10,983	48,964	23.2	4.3	18.9	2.0
1995	2,746,944	61,939	11,032	50,907	23.5	4.2	19.3	1.4	2.718
1996	2,803,853	63,401	11,161	52,240	23.7	4.2	19.5	1,2
1997	2,861,700	68,009	12,179	55,830	25.0	4.5	20.5	0.1
1998	2,920,591	62,351	11,824	50,527	22.6	4.3	18.3	2.3
1999	2,980,088	64,248	11,938	52,310	22.9	4.2	18.7	1.7
2000	3,040,701	64,839	11,841	52,998	22.7	4.1	18.6	1.7	2.672
2001	3,102,268	63,900	12,442	51,458	21.3	4.1	17.2	3.0	2.509
2002	3,164,354	61,671	12,428	49,243	20.2	4.1	16.1	3.9	2.393
2003	3,226,535	61,753	13,248	48,505	19.8	4.3	15.5	4.2	2.368
2004	3,288,733	62,743	13,475	49,268	19.8	4.2	15.6	3.7	2.379
2005	3,351,007	63,645	14,180	49,465	19.7	4.4	15.3	3.6	2.388
2006	3,413,399	65,764	14,358	51,406	20.0	4.4	15.6	3.0	2.441
2007	3,475,741	67,634	14,775	52,589	19.4	4.3	15.1	3.2	2.477
2008	3,537,986	68,759	15,115	53,644	19.4	4.3	15.1	2.8	2.506
2009	3,600,000	68,364	15,498	52,866	19.0	4.3	14.7	2.8	2.466
2010	3,661,835	67,955	16,542	51,413	18.6	4.5	14.1	3.1	2.430
2011	3,723,821	73,292	16,367	56,925	19.7	4.4	15.3	1.6	2.466
2012	3,787,511	75,486	17,350	58,136	19.9	4.6	15.3	1.8	2.511
2013	3,850,735	73,804	17,767	56,037	19.2	4.6	14.6	2.1	2.428
2014	3,913,275	75,183	18,171	57,012	19.2	4.6	14.6	1.6	2.447
2015	3,975,404	75,901	18,182	57,919	19.1	4.6	14.5	1.4	2.445
2016	4,037,043	75,184	18,882	56,302	18.6	4.7	13.9	1.6	2.424
2017	4,098,135	76,166	19,482	56,684	18.6	4.8	13.8	1.3	2.403
2018	4,158,783	76,863	19,720	57,143	18.5	4.7	13.8	1.0	2.400
2019	4,218,808	72,456	20,049	52,407	17.2	4.8	12.4	2.0	2.240
2020	4,278,500	69,945	25,151	44,794	16.3	5.9	10.4	3.7	2.142
2021	4,337,406	66,498	24,663	41,835	15.3	5.7	9.6	4.2	2.020
2022	4,395,414	63,920	22,860	41,060	14.5	5.2	9.3	4.1	1.923
2023 (p)	4,452,823	59,242	21,540	37,702	13.3	4.8	8.5	4.6	1.82

(p)=preliminary data

Ethnic groups

The culture, customs, and language of Panama are predominantly Caribbean Spanish. In 2010 the population was 65% Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian), 12.3% Native Panamanians, 9.2% black, 6.8% mulattoes, and 6.7% white.^[5] According to the 2023 census 17.2% of the population were native Panamanians, 31.7% was of (part) African descent, while the remainder (51%) were mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) and whites.^[6]

Indigenous Panamanians

Population of Panama according to ethnic group

Ethnic group	Census 1990		Census 2000		Census 2010		Census 2023
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Amerindian	194,269	8.3	285,231	10.0	417,559	12.3	698,114	17.2
Non-indigenous	2,135,060	91.7	2,553,946	90.0	2,988,254	87.7	3,366,666	82.8
Total	2,329,329		2,839,177		3,405,813		4,064,780

Indigenous population of Panama according to ethnic group

Ethnic group	Census 1990		Census 2000		Census 2010		Census 2023
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Ngäbe (Guaymi)	123,626	63.6	169,130	59.3	260,058	62.3	444,878	63.7
Buglé (Bokota)	3,784	1.9	18,724	6.6	26,871	6.4	24,488	3.5
Guna	47,298	24.3	61,707	21.6	80,526	19.3	112,319	16.1
Emberá	14,659	7.5	22,485	7.9	31,284	7.5	51,657	7.4
Wounaan	2,605	1.3	6,882	2.4	7,279	1.7	10,634	1.5
Teribe/Naso	2,194	1.1	3,305	1.2	4,046	1.0	6,899	1.0
Bribri			2,521	0.9	1,068	0.3	799	0.1
Other	103	0.1			460	0.1	45,498	6.5
Not declared			477	0.2	5,967	1.4	975	0.1

European Panamanians

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

Asian Panamanians

Panama has a considerable population of Asians origin; in particular Chinese, West Asians (Lebanese, and Palestinians and Syrians) and South Asians (from India and Pakistan). The first Chinese immigrated to Panama from southern China in the 19th century to help build the Panama Railroad. There followed several waves of immigrants, especially after the 1970s, when the ensuing decades saw up to 80,000 immigrants from all over China. At least 50,000 Panamanians are ethnically Chinese, though some estimates count as many as 135,000. Most of the Chinese population reside in the province of Chiriquí. Some studies suggest that almost 1 million Panamanians have at least one Chinese ancestor.^{[7] [8]}

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.^[9]

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.^[9]

Languages

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

Indigenous languages include Guaymí, Kuna, Northern Embera and Teribe. Bocas del Toro Creole is also spoken.

Religion

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.

See also

• Panama
• Ethnic groups in Central America

Notes and References

1. Book: Technical Brief on the Implications of COVID-19 on Census. UNFPA. 2020.
2. Web site: Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. World Population Prospects. 2012 Revision. 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20110506065230/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm . 6 May 2011 .
3. https://www.inec.gob.pa/archivos/P00453527620231009162255CUADRO%209.pdf
4. Web site: Estadísticas Vitales - Volumen II - Nacimientos Vivos y Defunciones Fetales. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo - INEC.
5. Web site: CIA - The World Factbook -- Panama . 2013-10-07 . CIA .
6. https://www.inec.gob.pa Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censo (INEC)
7. Panama's Chinese community celebrates a birthday, meets new challenges. Jackson. Eric. 10. 9. May 2004. November 7, 2007. The Panama News. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070916050839/http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_10/issue_09/community_01.html. September 16, 2007.
8. Web site: President Chen's State Visit to Panama. Government Information Office, Republic of China. October 2003. November 7, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070814124323/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/panama/ch_pa01.htm#3 . August 14, 2007.
9. Web site: Panama : Afro-Panamanians. Minority Rights Group International. June 26, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121203020951/http://www.minorityrights.org/4210/panama/afropanamanians.html. December 3, 2012.