PA is the abbreviation for Panama, the 116th largest country in the world. Officially the Republic of Panama, Panama is a country located in Central America, bordering 2 countries – Costa Rica and Colombia. Panama City is the capital city of Panama. Major cities include Panama City (population: 408,157), San Miguelito (population: 321,490), Juan Díaz (population: 100,625), David (population: 81,946), Arraiján (population: 76,804), Colón (population: 76,632), La Chorrera (population: 61,221), Pedregal (population: 51,630), Tocumen (population: 50,833), and Santiago (population: 45,344).
Country Profile
- Capital: Panama City
- Language: Spanish
- Area: 75,417 km2
- Population: 4,034,108
- Currency: Balboa (PAB), United States dollar (USD)
- Time zone: UTC−5
- Calling code: 507
- ISO 2-Letter Abbreviation: PA
- UN 3-Letter Abbreviation: PAN
- Internet TLD: .pa
- State Government Website:
List of Panama Acronyms
The most commonly used abbreviations about Panama are PA which stands for Panama and PAB which means Balboa (Panama currency). In the following table, you can see all acronyms related to Panama, including abbreviations for airport, city, school, port, government, and etc.
Geography
Panama joins North and South America, and is just 55 km wide at its narrowest. The landscape is characterized by jungle in the lowlands along the coasts and mountain ranges in the east and west. To the west is the country’s highest peak, Vólcan de Chiriqui, at 3475 meters. A narrow belt of low-lying land between the eastern and western mountain ranges provides an ideal starting point for transatlantic and Pacific travel. The climate is tropical, with high humidity and high temperatures. Along the Pacific coast, temperatures are somewhat lower. Almost all the rainfall falls during the rainy season from May to December.
Panaman is struggling with several environmental challenges related to deforestation and agriculture. Deforestation has led to eclipse in the arid areas. In addition, the harvest of the rainforest has caused soil and mud to be washed away by rain and wind. This has caused the Panama Canal to become sealed again, and the oceans have high levels of pesticides, fertilizers and pollution from the rinsed soil. Pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture have also caused a lot of pollution in rivers, streams and drinking water.
History
Panama’s location between North and South America has made it an important transit country for different peoples and civilizations. When the Spaniards crossed the narrow tongue separating the Atlantic from the Pacific in 1513, as the first Europeans, the area was sparsely populated. The strategically important crossing point between the world seas made the area the hub of the Spanish Empire in Central America for over 300 years. Most of the inhabitants of the country were exterminated after the arrival of Europeans, mainly due to slavery and new diseases brought in. In 1821, Panama was incorporated into the Republic of Greater Colombia, before it gained independence in 1903.
From the 1870s onwards, repeated attempts were made to build a channel for shipping traffic from the Atlantic to the Pacific through Panama. The country’s dense rainforest and swamp caused tropical diseases such as malaria to demand tens of thousands of workers’ lives. Only in 1914, when the United States bought the land between the seas, was the channel realized. Since then, the country has struggled with unstable political conditions. From 1968 to 1989, Panama was ruled by various military dictatorships, before the United States organized a coup and reinstated democracy. The Americans have had a great influence over the country’s politics since independence, and owned and controlled the Panama Canal until 1999.
Society and politics
Panama is a republic where the president is both the head of state and the head of government. The president is elected in the general election for five years and cannot be re-elected. The National Assembly is elected every five years from local districts. The country is struggling with widespread corruption, which has led to widespread political disdain. The military has historically played a very strong role in society and politics. Still, the president relies on military support to be able to govern.
The most important political issues are related to corruption and the country’s reputation as a tax haven. Despite the desire to reduce corruption, the problem is still widespread. The country’s reputation as a tax haven has also stood despite political efforts to tighten the rules in the financial sector.
Society is characterized by great inequalities between poor and rich. Welfare benefits such as health insurance and pensions mainly apply to those who are officially employed, which means that almost one in three Panamans are not covered. The health system is well developed in the larger cities, but has major shortages in the countryside. Domestic violence and sex trafficking are common crimes that are rarely prosecuted.
Economics and Commerce
Panama has little industry, and about 80 percent of the gross domestic product comes from service industries. The majority of revenues come from industries linked to the Panama Canal, such as fees to drive through, personal taxes, freight transport, hotels and ship supplies. Liberal establishment and taxation schemes have given the country a significant international banking and insurance business. For this reason, many foreign companies have their headquarters in Panama, which has given the country a reputation for being a tax haven. Around one in five Panamans work in agriculture, where production is small and income is small. Mainly, bananas are grown, which also make up about a third of exports. The country has a large trade deficit (they import more than they export).
Despite extensive social reforms in recent decades, more than 20 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line. Per capita income is higher than many other countries in the region, but the inequality between poor and rich is among the largest in the world. Poverty is most prevalent in rural areas where the indigenous people make up the majority, and among the population descended from African slaves.
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