ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population: 3.0m

Population growth: 1.49%

Population density (people per sq. km): 40

UN Human Development Index ranking: 61/177

Gross national income (current US$): $12.7bn (2003)

Gross national income per capita: $4,250

PPP Gross national income: $18.8bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $6,310

GDP growth: 2.3% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 5.6%, Industry: 13.56%, Services: 80.85%

Inflation (12-month average): 1.1 (2003)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 26.07%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 77.0% (4.9%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 27.6%

Top 3 export markets: US, Sweden, Benelux

Local industries: Construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement & other construction materials, sugar milling

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking * : 58/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking **: 60/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: 58/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 62/145

Languages: Spanish (official), English

FDI INFORMATION

Region: Central America

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 15

Market-share of projects in the region: 3.3%

Value of projects relative to GDP : 11.5%

Top 3 destination sectors: Financial services, business services, energy

Top 3 business functions: Business services, sales, marketing & support, customer support centre

Top 3 source countries: US, Spain, Mexico

Top 3 investors: Hutchison Whampoa, National Assets Recovery Services, Dell Computer

IPA

Name: Business Panama

Web address: www.businesspanama.com

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations