Panama has always been a very fortunate country. First, by its privileged geographical location, between two oceans. The great explorer Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the Indies, was attracted by the enchantment of a breeze in these oceans and Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1502, discovered the other ocean.

The creation of the first inter-ocean railway in the world between 1849 and 1850 by the New Yorker Panama Rail Road Company, joined these two oceans by land.

In 1914, Panama realized its dream of uniting the waters of these two oceans with the construction of the Panama Canal, the most important engineering work of the twentieth century.

Panama has always been blessed land where no significant natural disasters occur, this being of great advantage to the smooth operation of the Panama Canal and the railroad. Since the colonial period, Panama was the center of major international trade fairs. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through the Camino de Cruces and the route of Portobelo, most trade was carried between the so-called Indian colonies of Castilla and Spain.

Today, Panama and its Canal have attracted worldwide interest, becoming a center for tourism, finance and an investment center for the world. Thanks to the dedication and effort to become a country which offers benefits to all, there is stability in its democratic policy. There has been no central bank since 1930, the dollar remains the legal currency, so there is no devaluation. Panama has offered the lowest inflation rate in the hemisphere in the last 50 years, even less than that of the United States of America.
It is one of the most important centers of incorporation for companies throughout the world, with law firms having international offices. This has led to maintain one of the most stable financial banking centers in the world, with more than 70 local and international banks. More than 35 billions in assets, with an ample monetary and credit base which is supported by the free use of the Dollar. It has more than one hundred national and international banks, whose assets exceed 35 billion dollars.

·In 2005 it had a GDP growth of 6.4%.
·In 2006 the estimated growth of the GDP is 6.2%.
·In 2005 the per capita GDP registered an increase of 4.5% with respect to 2004.
·In 2005 the unemployment rate decreased from 12.5% to 9.6%.
·The estimated population of Panama is 3.2 million (2005).
·In 2007 the growth of the GDP was 11.20% and in 2008 was 7.50%.
·The city of Panama has 1.6 million inhabitants.

At present, Panama has an economy with very good performance, supported by the development of the service sector.

Colon Free Zone

Panama is a major source in the operation of services, in communications at the highest levels and with the greatest technological advances of this century, in the storage and processing of high level products. Has a duty-free zone, which is the second largest after that of Hong Kong with an area of over 400 hectares. There are over 2,000 companies that have an established business of more than 13 billion dollars annually. Panama has the largest shipment of containers in America. The main customers in terms of import are Switzerland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Italy, USA and others ... and as for export Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and others. The National Harbor Port System, moved in 2006, 38 million metric tons with a growth of 5.2% compared to 2005. The movement of containers was 2.8 million TEUs in 2005, 14.8% compared with 2004. A new mega port is going to be built in the Pacific.

The Panama Canal

The Republic of Panama assumed full management, operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal on December 31, 1999. According to the Constitution, the Canal is a birthright of the nation, and therefore cannot be sold or transferred, or mortgaged or in any other way disposed of or encumbered.

Annually, an estimated ten million dollars are invested in training staff on the operation and maintenance of the Canal.

About 4.2% of world trade, including 11% of total U.S. trade cross the Canal.

The Canal is approximately 80 kilometers long and links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Crossing takes between 8 and 12 hours.

Everyday boats cross through the Panama Canal from around the world, in 2004, 14,096 ships passed by paying a total of $767 million. At the end of 2005 about 17,000 ships had crossed the Canal, breaking historical records and under excellent safety standards. Today, the Canal produces $1.250 million dollars a year and earnings of $500 million.

The main canal users are the United States, China, Japan, Chile, South Korea, Peru, Ecuador, Canada, Panama and Mexico.

On October 22, 2006 a referendum was held for the expansion of the Panama Canal with a third set of locks, where the yes vote was favored with total votes of 76.83%. This project has a cost of 5.2 billion dollars and the estimated time of construction is 96 months.