Total area: 78,200 km2
land area: 75,990 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries: 555 km total
Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km

Coastline: 2,490 km

Maritime claims: Territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)

Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills

Natural resources: copper, mahogany forests, shrimp

Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 15%; forest and woodland 54%; other 23%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Environment: dense tropical forest in east and northwest

Note: strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean

NOTE: The information regarding Panama on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Panama Geography 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Panama Geography 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.