At One Place

Panama

Panama
Capital Panama City
75,420 km² · 4,571,189 people (2025) · Panamanian balboa

The canal is 82 km long and lifts ships 26 m up to Gatún Lake and back down, using gravity-fed fresh water rather than pumps. Because the isthmus curves, a ship going from the Atlantic to the Pacific travels roughly south-east. The Darién Gap is the only break in the 30,000 km Pan-American Highway.

The facts

Capital
Panama City
Area
75,420 km² — 29,120 sq mi
Population
4,571,189 (2025)
Density
60.6 people per km²
Currency
Panamanian balboa (PAB, B/.)
Official language
Spanish
Time zone
UTC-05:00
Calling code
+507
Drives on the
right
ISO codes
PA · PAN
Continent
North America

How it compares

By area
117 of 200
By population
129 of 200

Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

Countries of a similar size

Country Area (km²) Population
Czechia 78,867 10,886,878
Serbia 77,474 6,549,143
Panama ← 75,420 4,571,189
Sierra Leone 71,740 8,819,794
Ireland 70,273 5,484,367

Common questions

What is the capital of Panama?
Panama City
What currency does Panama use?
The Panamanian balboa (PAB).
How big is Panama?
75,420 km², or 29,120 square miles — 117 of 200 by area.
Which side of the road does Panama drive on?
The right.

Related pages

Sources

  1. The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))
  2. World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (CC BY 4.0)

How these figures are compiled and checked