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General Information
Area: 75,517 sq km (29,157 sq miles).
Population: 2,839,177 (2000).
Population Density: 37.6 per sq km.
Capital: Panama City. Population: 708,438 (2000).
GEOGRAPHY: Panama forms the land link between the North and South American continents. Panama borders Colombia to the east, Costa Rica to the west, and the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean to the north and south. The country forms an S-shaped isthmus which runs east–west over a total length of 772km (480 miles) and is 60-177km (37-110 miles) wide. The landscape is mountainous with lowlands on both coastlines cut by streams, wooded slopes and a wide area of savannah-covered plains and rolling hills called El Interior between the Azuero peninsula and the Central Mountains. The Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean are linked by the man-made Panama Canal, cut into a gap between the Cordillera de Talamanca and the San Blas mountain range and stretching for over 65km (40 miles); the length of the Canal is often referred to as 80km (50 miles) as this is the distance between deep-water points of entry. Only about a quarter of the country is inhabited. The majority of the population live either around the Canal and main cities of Panama City and Colón (the two cities which control the entrance and exit of the Canal) or in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent mountains.
Government: Republic. Gained independence from Colombia in 1903. Head of State and Government: President Mireya Elisa Moscoso De Gruber since 1999.
Language: The official language is Spanish, but English is widely spoken.
Religion: Eighty-six per cent Roman Catholic.
Time: GMT - 5.
Electricity: 120 volts AC, 60Hz. Plugs are the flat two-pin American type.
Communications:
Telephone
IDD is available. Country code: 507. There are no area codes. Outgoing international code: 00.
Mobile telephone
Roaming agreements exist. The main network provider is Cable & Wireless (website: www.cwpanama.com). Coverage is good.
Fax
Main post offices and some hotels have facilities.
Telegram
Facilities exist in main post offices of Panama City and other major cities and hotels. A tax of 50 cents is levied against each telegram.
Internet
ISPs include Interdotnet (website: www.pa.inter.net). Internet cafes such as Ruta 57 (website: www.ruta57.com) exist in main urban areas.
Post
Airmail to Western Europe takes five to ten days. Main post offices have Poste Restante and EMS (Express Mail Services) facilities. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1600, Sat 0800-1300.
Press
Crítica Libre, La Estrella de Panamá, El Matutino, El Panamá America, La Prensa, La Republica, El Siglo and El Universal (all in Spanish) are the largest daily newspapers.
BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.
BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice):
Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov):
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
Terms and Conditions apply.
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