Panamà: Visió econòmica i política
Panama is mainly export oriented and highly dependent on trade, which represents 83.2% of GDP. The country also has the largest trading fleet in the world, with 16% of the global fleet carrying capacity being registered in Panama. The free zone of Colón is the second largest free zone in the world after Hong Kong, demonstrating the country’s openness to foreign trade. Panama mainly exports medicaments (14.6%), oxygen-function amino-compounds (5.6%), sulphonamides (4.5%), electrical apparatus for line telephony (4.3%), and perfumes (3.5%), while its top imports include petroleum oils (8.6%), medicaments (6.7%), motor vehicles (3.9%), oxygen-function amino-compounds (3.4%), and electrical apparatus for line telephony (2.7%). According to IMF Foreign Trade Forecasts, the volume of exports of goods and services decreased by 14.7% in 2020 and is expected to increase by 17.1% in 2021, while the volume of imports of goods and services decreased by 17.4% in 2020 and is expected to increase by 17.6% in 2021.
The country’s partners are the United States, China, Colombia, Singapore, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, and South Korea. The expansion of the canal has more than doubled its capacity, allowing it to accommodate vessels that were originally too wide with the United States and China being the first users of this vessel type. The country has trade agreements with the United States, Mexico, Peru, Canada, Chile, Singapore, Taiwan, and Israel. Panama is also a member of the "Central American Integration System" (or SICA), a regional institution whose main purpose is to promote integration between Central American countries, fostering security, freedom, democracy, and social development within the region. Additionally, Panama is also one of the countries in the Central America-EFTA agreement, as well as the Central America-EU agreement.
According to the last available data from WTO, Panama imported USD 14.7 million worth of goods and USD 3 million in services in 2020. Over the same period, the country exported USD 9.4 million in goods and USD 8.5 million in services. As a result, when only accounting for goods, Panama had a trade deficit of USD 2.7 million. However, the country registered an overall trade balance (including services) of USD 2.7 million in 2020.
Foreign Trade Values | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 21,939 | 23,006 | 21,492 | 14,740 | 20,596 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 11,093 | 11,480 | 11,318 | 9,483 | 13,161 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 4,652 | 4,828 | 5,001 | 3,009 | 4,263 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 13,303 | 13,678 | 13,817 | 8,502 | 10,745 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 87.4 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 74.1 | 92.7 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | -8,469 | -9,209 | -7,607 | -2,819 | -3,871 |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | 192 | -355 | 1,023 | 2,677 | 2,610 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 4.3 | 4.5 | -2.5 | -34.0 | 25.2 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 5.0 | 5.3 | 1.2 | -20.6 | 20.6 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 45.6 | 47.2 | 43.8 | 34.5 | 41.6 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 41.8 | 42.8 | 41.2 | 39.6 | 51.1 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2022 | 2023 (e) | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 5.7 | 6.1 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 6.4 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 1.7 | 1.9 | 10.1 | 7.6 | 7.3 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2021 |
China | 31.7% |
Japan | 13.2% |
South Korea | 10.2% |
Spain | 8.7% |
India | 5.1% |
See More Countries | 31.2% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2021 |
United States | 25.5% |
China | 11.9% |
Mexico | 4.9% |
Costa Rica | 4.0% |
Colombia | 3.2% |
See More Countries | 50.5% |
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
13.9 bn USD of services exported in 2019 | |
50.71% | |
32.49% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 31.18% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 1.31% |
7.78% | |
3.96% | |
2.18% | |
1.90% | |
0.83% | |
0.09% | |
0.05% |
5.1 bn USD of services imported in 2019 | |
37.91% | |
27.60% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 21.46% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 6.14% |
16.65% | |
7.24% | |
4.56% | |
2.39% | |
1.64% | |
1.39% | |
0.62% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: January 2023