Panama
Capital: Panama City
Size: About 29,120 square miles (75,420 sq km).
Language: Spanish
Currency: Balboa and U.S. dollar (both are used)
Capital population: Panama City has about 880,000 people (over 1.9 million in the metro area).
Population: About 4.4 million people.See the biggest cities →National animal: Harpy Eagle (the national bird, one of the biggest eagles in the world)
National flower: Holy Ghost Orchid (the flor del Espiritu Santo)
Climate
Warm and tropical all year, with a rainy season and a dry season. Average highs are about 85F to 90F (29C to 32C).
Main industries
The Panama Canal, banking and shipping, plus bananas, coffee, and copper mining.
Top places for tourists
The famous Panama Canal, the old town of Casco Viejo, and rainforest islands full of birds.
Places of interest
Watching giant ships rise and fall in the canal locks, the beaches of the San Blas islands, and the Biomuseo designed by Frank Gehry.
A little history
A Spanish colony and then part of Colombia, Panama became its own country in 1903. The Panama Canal opened in 1914 and Panama took full control of it in 1999.
Fun fact
The Panama Canal lets ships cross between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, saving a trip of many thousands of miles around South America.