Pab; Usd

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$5.074 billion (2005)

Currency (code):

balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD)

Currency code:

Exchange rates:

balboas (PAB) per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003)

Communications
Panama

Telephones - main lines in use:

491,900 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

2.392 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: domestic and international facilities well developed domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is approaching 90 per 100 persons international: country code - 507; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), the MAYA-1, and PAN-AM submarine cable systems that together provide links to the US and parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:

815,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

38 (including repeaters) (1998)

Televisions:

510,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.pa

Internet hosts:

7,858 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

6 (2000)

Internet users:

525,200 (2007)

Transportation
Panama

Airports:

116 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 54 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 29 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 62 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 50 (2007)

Heliports:

2 (2007)

Railways:

total: 355 km standard gauge: 77 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 278 km 0.914-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 11,978 km paved: 4,300 km unpaved: 7,343 km (2002)

Waterways:

800 km (includes 82 km Panama Canal) (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 6,323 by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 2,143, cargo 1,208, carrier 13, chemical tanker 565, combination ore/oil 6, container 790, liquefied gas 189, passenger 44, passenger/cargo 71, petroleum tanker 557, refrigerated cargo 265, roll on/roll off 128, specialized tanker 29, vehicle carrier 313 foreign-owned: 5,394 (Albania 2, Argentina 8, Australia 4, Azerbaijan 1, Bahamas 9, Bangladesh 2, Belgium 2, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 3, Burma 1, Canada 18, Chile 12, China 532, Colombia 4, Croatia 3, Cuba 10, Cyprus 19, Denmark 40, Dominican Republic 1, Ecuador 4, Egypt 17, Estonia 5, Finland 2, France 5, Gabon 1, Germany 44, Gibraltar 1, Greece 510, Hong Kong 130, India 27, Indonesia 31, Iran 7, Israel 3, Italy 28, Japan 2,335, Jordan 13, North Korea 1, South Korea 303, Kuwait 2, Latvia 8, Lebanon 5, Lithuania 7, Malaysia 12, Maldives 1, Malta 3, Mexico 2, Monaco 16, Netherlands 14, Nigeria 10, Norway 89, Oman 2, Pakistan 9, Peru 16, Philippines 7, Poland 11, Portugal 9, Qatar 1, Romania 7, Russia 18, Saudi Arabia 16, Singapore 100, Spain 50, Sri Lanka 1, Sweden 6, Switzerland 25, Syria 32, Taiwan 320, Thailand 10, Tunisia 1, Turkey 94, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, Ukraine 10, UAE 109, UK 59, US 126, Venezuela 10, Vietnam 30, Yemen 6) registered in other countries: 3 (Marshall Islands 1, Sierra Leone 1, Venezuela 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Balboa, Colon, Cristobal

Military
Panama

Military branches:

no regular military forces; Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police (PNP), National Maritime Service (NMS), and National Air Service (NAS) (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 851,044 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 673,103 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 31,042 female: 29,969 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1% of GDP (2006)

Military - note:

on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression"

Transnational Issues
Panama

Disputes - international:

organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate within the remote border region with Panama

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Panama is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; the majority of victims are Panamanian women and children trafficked within the country into the sex trade; rural children in Panama may be trafficked internally to urban areas for labor exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Panama is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly with respect to prosecuting, convicting, and sentencing human traffickers for their crimes, and for failing to provide adequate victim assistance (2008)

Illicit drugs:

major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Papua New Guinea

Introduction
Papua New Guinea

Background:

The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.

Geography
Papua New Guinea

Location:

Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia

Geographic coordinates: