Mireya Moscoso
President

(pronounced "meeh-REH-yu mos-KOH-soh")

"From now on we are in charge of our own destiny. We don't want a divided country, we want a unified nation."

The Republic of Panama is a Central American country of 78,200 sq km (30,193 sq mi). It shares a western border with Costa Rica and an eastern border with Colombia. The Caribbean Sea lies north of Panama, and the Pacific Ocean is on the southern end of the country.

Panama had an estimated population of 2,882,329 in 2002, with a population growth rate of 1.26%. Panama enjoys one of the highest standards of living in Central America. Life expectancy is 75.9 years and 90.8% of the population is literate. Approximately 70% of all Panama-nians are mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white); 14% are West Indian; 10% are white; and 6% are Native American. A majority of the population (85%) is Roman Catholic but a significant number (15%) are...