Panama’s census reveals 4.2 million inhabitants

Panama’s population has been counted at 4,202,572 people, according to the final results of the National Population and Housing Census conducted from January to March this year.

The Panamanian General Comptroller’s Office presented these findings during an event held in the capital city, coinciding with World Population Day.

The data indicates that 50.4 percent of the population are women, while 49.6 percent are men.

Samuel Moreno, the director of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) of the Comptroller General’s Office, shared additional insights.

He noted that 31.7 percent of the inhabitants identify as Afro-descendants, while 17.2 percent are indigenous.

The census also revealed that 62 percent of the indigenous population resides outside their native regions.

This information was collected by a team of 8,848 census enumerators and supervisors who visited 1,589,018 residences.

The Comptroller’s Office highlighted a decline in the illiteracy rate, which decreased from 5.5 percent to 3.7 percent between censuses, reflecting a positive trend.

Additionally, the census reported the presence of 249,000 foreigners in Panama, with the majority hailing from Colombia.

Regarding employment, the census indicated an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, an improvement compared to the 9.9 percent recorded in a previous multi-purpose survey conducted in April 2022.

However, Moreno acknowledged that job creation is not keeping pace with economic growth.

Furthermore, the census data revealed that the average life expectancy in Panama is 76 years for men and 80 years for women, underscoring positive health outcomes for the population.