Panama Safety for Expats in 2026: One Province Skews Everything
PANAMA · EXPAT GUIDE
Key Facts
- —The national figure 593 homicides in 2025, roughly 13 per 100,000. That is flat on 2024.
- —The regional comparison Lower than Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, and about three times the United States.
- —The outlier Colón province ran at 41.9 per 100,000, three times the national rate.
- —The highlands Chiriquí, where Boquete sits, ran at 2.9 per 100,000, below the United States average.
- —The Darién 320 irregular crossings in the first seven months of 2026, against 520,085 in 2023.
- —The catch Canada rates Panama at its lowest advisory tier, the same footing as Western Europe.
Two things are true at once here. The national numbers are the best in mainland Central America, and one province is three times the national rate.
Ask whether Panama is safe and the honest answer needs a map, not a number. The national figure and the provincial figures tell different stories.
Panama recorded 593 homicides in 2025. Against a population near 4.6 million that is roughly 13 per 100,000.
The official statistics office publishes 14.2, which appears to use a smaller population denominator. The count itself is not in dispute.
The Trend
The 2025 total was nine deaths higher than 2024, a rise of two percent. That is flat, not deteriorating.
The first eight months of 2026 produced 377 homicides. Annualised that is around 565 deaths, slightly below last year.
Firearms were involved in 522 of the 593 cases in 2025. That is 88 percent.
Where It Happens
Panamá province recorded 365 homicides at 24.6 per 100,000. Colón recorded 121 at 41.9, which the statistics office itself calls alarming.
Then the picture changes completely. Chiriquí, the highland province containing Boquete and David, recorded 14 deaths at 2.9 per 100,000.
That is below the United States national rate, which one research body projects near 4.0 for 2025. Bocas del Toro ran at 4.2.
The top three districts in 2025 were Panamá with 247, Colón with 120 and San Miguelito with 100. Those three carry most of the national total.
One caution for the highlands. Chiriquí’s homicides rose 113 percent year on year in the first eight months of 2026, from a very low base of 17.
How That Compares
Costa Rica ran at 16.8 per 100,000 in 2025 and Guatemala at 17.4. Belize was 21.8 and Honduras 23.2.
Panama at 12.9 is the lowest in mainland Central America apart from El Salvador, whose figure independent researchers flag as unreliable.
Against the United States, Panama is roughly three times higher. Against Chiriquí specifically, the United States is higher.
The City, District by District
Foreign governments name the same places. Calidonia, Curundú, El Chorrillo, Santa Ana, Río Abajo, 24 de Diciembre and Juan Díaz all appear.
So does the district of San Miguelito, and specifically four of its neighbourhoods. The official hotspot list matches almost exactly.
Where foreign residents actually live is a different list. Costa del Este, Punta Pacífica, Punta Paitilla, San Francisco, Obarrio, El Cangrejo, Bella Vista and Clayton are the usual choices.
Casco Viejo is heavily policed and safe on the main squares. It borders two districts that are not, which is worth knowing when you walk home.
Colón city is the standout warning. At nearly 42 per 100,000 it is three times the national rate and Canada singles it out.
The Darién, and the Figure Everyone Still Quotes
In 2023 the migration service counted 520,085 irregular crossings from Colombia. In 2024 it counted 302,203.
In 2025 it counted 3,091 for the entire year. In the first seven months of 2026 it counted 320 people.
That is a fall of 99.9 percent from the peak. Any guide quoting half a million crossings is describing 2023.
The flow has also reversed. Through early September 2026 the service counted 6,293 people moving north to south, most of them Venezuelans returning.
They now enter from Costa Rica, cross eastward and take boats to Colombia. They bypass the jungle entirely.
None of this makes the Darién safe. It remains an avoid-all-travel zone for reasons that have nothing to do with migration volume.
What the Advisories Say
The United States places Panama at level two, exercise increased caution, updated on 19 August 2026. Its level four areas are the Mosquito Gulf and parts of the Darién.
The United Kingdom advises against no travel to the country as a whole. It asks for organised groups only east of a line through Punta Carreto and Yaviza.
Canada is the striking one. It places Panama at take normal security precautions, its lowest tier.
That is the same national footing as Western Europe. Regional exceptions cover the Darién, the Mosquito Gulf and Colón.
The Crime You Will Actually Meet
Pickpocketing in busy areas, on buses and at bus stations is the common complaint. So is robbery at cash machines.
Use machines inside a bank or a mall. That single habit removes most of the exposure.
Canada also names theft from hotel rooms, residential robberies and express kidnappings in Colón, David and beach communities. Violent crime is described as infrequent but real.
Targeted gang killings have happened in tourist areas. They are rival-gang matters rather than attacks on visitors, which is cold comfort but a meaningful distinction.
Roads and Weather
Roads are the underrated risk. The first half of 2025 produced 24,200 accidents and 171 deaths, with deaths down four percent on the year before.
Driving standards are poor, lighting is bad and potholes are common. After an accident the advice is to stay in the vehicle and not confront the other driver.
The country sits south of the Atlantic hurricane track and has no modern record of a direct major landfall. The Caribbean coast can still catch outer bands.
Seismic risk is real and concentrated in Chiriquí and off the Pacific coast. That is the same highland area that has the lowest crime.
The Scams Aimed at You
The most expensive category is investment solicitation promising guaranteed returns. It targets newcomers unfamiliar with local procedure.
Counterfeit fifty and hundred dollar notes given as change matter more here than elsewhere. The country uses United States currency and issues no notes of its own.
Card skimming at machines, unmetered taxi overcharging and fake tour agencies taking upfront payment complete the list. None of them is violent and all of them are avoidable.
More: Expat guides, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How safe is Panama for expats.
On the national numbers, yes by regional standards. Panama recorded 593 homicides in 2025, about 13 per 100,000, lower than Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras and roughly three times the United States.
Which areas should I avoid?
Colón city, which runs at three times the national rate, and in Panama City the districts of Curundú, El Chorrillo, Santa Ana, Calidonia, Río Abajo and parts of San Miguelito.
Is the Darién Gap still a migration crisis?
No. Crossings fell from 520,085 in 2023 to 320 in the first seven months of 2026. The flow has reversed, with people now travelling south by boat and bypassing the jungle.
Where do foreign residents live?
Costa del Este, Punta Pacífica, Punta Paitilla, San Francisco, Obarrio, El Cangrejo, Bella Vista and Clayton in the city, and Boquete in the highlands, where the provincial rate is 2.9 per 100,000.
What do travel advisories say?
The United States rates Panama level two. Canada rates it at its lowest tier, take normal security precautions. Both carve out the Darién and the Mosquito Gulf.
Sources: SIEC of the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública, the Servicio Nacional de Migración irregular transit series, InSight Crime’s 2025 homicide round-up, the Council on Criminal Justice, the US State Department advisory of 19 August 2026, the UK FCDO and the Government of Canada.
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