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[when?], such as procurement.[1]
Panama's population was 4,351,267 people in 2021, compared to 860,000 in 1950.[3][4] 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.[5]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
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
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2013) (Data refer to projections based on the 2010 Population Census.):[6]
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 Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2021) (Data based on the 2010 Population Census.): [7]
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.[5]
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)
The culture, customs, and language of Panama are predominantly CaribbeanSpanish. 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.[11] 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.[12]
Indigenous Panamanians
Population of Panama according to ethnic group[12]
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.[13][14]
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.[15]
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.[15]
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.
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.
^This is an attempt to dynamically display a population pyramid for this data. The pyramid is canted to the left and the Male Data is made negative to create the image as close to what is desired as possible.