Panama, officially the Republic of Panama is a country in Latin America, bordering South America. It sis bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Half of Panama's 4 million population reside in Panama City, the country's capital.
A number of indigenous tribes inhabited Panama before the Spanish colonialist occupation in the 16th century. It later broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia, a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of the Panama Canal to be completed by the United States Army Corp of Engineers between 1904 and 1914.
The 1977 Torrijos--Carter Treaties agreed to transfer the canal from the United States to Panama on December 31, 1999. The surrounding territory was returned first, in 1979. Panama is a founding member of the United Nations , The Organization of American States, Latin American Association Group, Group of 77, and Non-Aligned Movement.
Before the Europeans arrived , Panama was widely settled by Chibchan, Chocoan, and Cueva people. Estimates range the size of the indigenous population somewhere around two million but recent studies place the number closer to 200,000. When Panama was colonized, the indigenous people fled into the forest and nearby islands. Panama was under Spanish rule for almost 300 years. However, Spanish authorities had little control over much of the territory as large sections managed to resist conquest and missionization until late in the colonial era.
Panama declared itself independent from the Spanish Empire on November 28, 1821. In the 80 years following the independence from Spain, Panama was a subdivision of Gran Colombia. The United States invaded Panama on December 20, 1989. Today the Panamanian population consists of 65% Mestizos( a mix of white and indigenous), 12.3% indigenous, 9.2% Blacks, 6.8% Mulatto (a mixture of Black and White), and 6.7% White. Most of the population identify as Christians with 91.5% making up this group, 7.6% no religion and 0.9% other.Panama make a substantial revenue from the Panama Canal where international vessels pass through. Tourism is also a big revenue source.
The GDP of this country stands at around 77 billion USD.