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Panama population, regions and labor market: where people live and work

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Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

INEC projects 4,645,375 residents on 1 July 2026, based on the 2023 census. More than half live in Panamá and Panamá Oeste provinces, around the Canal and the capital, and 69.7 percent live in urban areas. The country has 10 provinces and three indigenous comarcas counted at provincial level. In August 2026 the labor force was 2,235,167, unemployment was 8.5 percent (down from 10.4 percent in September 2025) and non agricultural informality was 45.8 percent. Fertility fell to replacement level in 2022, so the working age population will grow more slowly.

Panama's currency, the balboa (B/.), is at par with the US dollar, which circulates as legal tender; the Superintendencia de Bancos states that the official currency is the balboa, whose value is on a par with the United States dollar (checked 29 October 2026). USD figures therefore equal the balboa figures.

Key facts

Population, 1 July 2026 (INEC projection)	4645375 personsINEC projections based on Census 2023, as of 2026-07-01 · in force
Population projected for 2030	4810744 personsINEC projections based on Census 2023, as of 2030-07-01 · pending
Urban share of population, 2026	69.7 %INEC Cuadro 2, as of 2026-07-01 · in force
Share living in Panamá and Panamá Oeste provinces, 2026	52.1 %INEC Cuadro 2, as of 2026-07-01 · in force
Share under 15, 2026	24.2 %INEC Cuadro 1, as of 2026-07-01 · in force
Share 65 and over, 2026	10.4 %INEC Cuadro 1, as of 2026-07-01 · in force
First level divisions	10 provinces and 3 comarcas at provincial level textConstitución art. 5; INEC Cuadro 2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Economically active population, August 2026	2235167 personsINEC EML agosto 2026, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Labor force participation rate, August 2026	64.0 %INEC EML agosto 2026, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Employed persons, August 2026	2045979 personsINEC EML agosto 2026, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Unemployment rate, August 2026	8.5 %INEC EML agosto 2026, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Unemployment rate ages 20 to 24, August 2026	22.6 %INEC EML agosto 2026, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Non agricultural informal employment rate, August 2026	45.8 %INEC Situación de la población ocupada agosto 2026, as of 2026-08-31 · in force

The rule

1. The territory is divided into provinces, districts and corregimientos, and the law may create other divisions under special regimes. INEC publishes official population estimates for 10 provinces (Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Colón, Chiriquí, Darién, Herrera, Los Santos, Panamá, Panamá Oeste and Veraguas) and three indigenous comarcas at provincial level (Kuna Yala, Emberá and Ngäbe Buglé). Each comarca and Darién elect deputies under art. 147.Constitución Política de la República de Panamá (texto único, Gaceta Oficial 25176 of 15 November 2004); INEC, Estimaciones y proyecciones de la población por provincia y comarca indígena 2020 a 2035, Constitución art. 5 and art. 147, 2004-11-15 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Official population figures are INEC's estimates and projections revised with the 2023 Population Census: 4,496,166 on 1 July 2023, 4,645,375 on 1 July 2026, 4,810,744 in 2030 and 5,269,645 in 2050. INEC notes that the census showed fertility reached the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman in 2022, six years earlier than the 2010 based projection expected, and that net migration for 2024 to 2030 is now projected above 10,000 people a year.INEC, Revisión de las estimaciones y proyecciones de la población basadas en el Censo de Población 2023, Cuadro 1 (1950 to 2050) and Comentarios, 2026-01-26 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Population is concentrated around the Canal: on 1 July 2026 Panamá province has 1,659,618 residents (35.7 percent) and Panamá Oeste 759,869 (16.4 percent), together 52.1 percent of the country; Chiriquí follows with 537,473. Urban areas hold 3,239,035 people (69.7 percent). Panamá Oeste is the fastest growing province, projected at 819,076 in 2030.INEC, Estimaciones y proyecciones de la población total por provincia y comarca indígena, al 1 de julio de 2020 a 2035, Cuadro 2, 2026-09-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. The population is aging: on 1 July 2026, 1,123,158 people (24.2 percent) are under 15 and 481,045 (10.4 percent) are 65 or older. By 2050 INEC projects the 65 and over group at 1,088,631 (about 20.7 percent of 5,269,645).INEC, Estimaciones y proyecciones de la población total de la República por edad y sexo, Cuadro 1, 2026-09-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. INEC's August 2026 labor market survey (Encuesta de Mercado Laboral) counts an economically active population of 2,235,167 (participation rate 64.0 percent: 75.7 percent men, 53.3 percent women), 2,045,979 employed and 189,188 unemployed. The unemployment rate fell from 10.4 percent in September 2025 to 8.5 percent; open unemployment fell from 6.9 to 6.7 percent. Youth unemployment remains high: 26.3 percent at ages 15 to 19, 22.6 percent at 20 to 24 and 14.4 percent at 25 to 29.INEC, Encuesta de Mercado Laboral, agosto 2026, Comentario, 2026-09-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Services employ 69.6 percent of workers (1,423,897), led by commerce (346,622), transport, storage and mail (162,665), hotels and restaurants (131,162), public administration (130,486) and education (124,961); construction employs 165,068 and manufacturing 151,265. Employees are 61.5 percent of the employed (939,420 private and 319,610 government) and own account workers 31.5 percent (644,596).INEC, Encuesta de Mercado Laboral, agosto 2026, Comentario, sections B.1 and B.2, 2026-09-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Informality is the main labor market fault line: of 1,714,087 non agricultural employed in August 2026, 784,244 held informal jobs, a rate of 45.8 percent (47.1 percent in September 2025). Informal jobs are concentrated in the informal sector (72.5 percent), followed by formal firms (17.5 percent) and households (10.0 percent); informal jobs inside formal firms rose from 114,069 to 136,951.INEC, Situación de la población ocupada, agosto de 2026, Comentarios, empleo informal (cuadro 11), 2026-09-29 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Province or comarca	Population 2026	Share	Projection 2030
Panamá	1,659,618	35.7%	1,703,584
Panamá Oeste	759,869	16.4%	819,076
Chiriquí	537,473	11.6%	550,189
Colón	316,546	6.8%	323,459
Coclé	287,937	6.2%	292,199
Veraguas	285,889	6.2%	286,731
Comarca Ngäbe Buglé	258,765	5.6%	279,713
Bocas del Toro	193,054	4.2%	205,136
Herrera	130,676	2.8%	130,981
Los Santos	105,811	2.3%	106,637
Darién	57,622	1.2%	60,013
Comarca Kuna Yala	37,912	0.8%	38,399
Comarca Emberá	14,203	0.3%	14,627
Total	4,645,375	100%	4,810,744

Population by province and comarca, 1 July 2026 (INEC projections based on Census 2023)

Indicator	September 2025	August 2026
Economically active population	2,196,050	2,235,167
Employed	1,968,748	2,045,979
Unemployed	227,302	189,188
Unemployment rate	10.4%	8.5%
Open unemployment rate	6.9%	6.7%
Non agricultural informality rate	47.1%	45.8%

Labor market, September 2025 and August 2026 (INEC)

Worked example

Siting a service center. A 300 seat operation recruiting graduates aged 20 to 29 draws on the provinces of Panamá and Panamá Oeste, which hold 2,419,487 people (52.1 percent of the country) and most of the urban labor force. With unemployment of 22.6 percent at ages 20 to 24 and 14.4 percent at 25 to 29 in August 2026, entry level supply is ample; budget for training rather than wage premiums, and check the applicable minimum wage band in labor/minimum-wage.
Formal payroll cost versus informal competition. A retailer paying a formal wage of B/.1,000 a month (US$1,000) competes with a market where 45.8 percent of non agricultural jobs are informal; price benchmarks from informal competitors exclude social security contributions (see labor/social-security-contributions).

Step by step

1. Use INEC's 2023 census based projections (revised January and September 2026), not the older 2010 based series, for market sizing.
2. Pull district and corregimiento level projections from INEC when choosing store or plant locations.
3. Check the latest Encuesta de Mercado Laboral (published about a month after fieldwork) for unemployment and informality by region before setting wage offers.
4. Combine with the labor section on contracts, minimum wages and foreign worker quotas: labor/foreign-workers-and-quotas.

Common traps

Using census counts as current population. INEC adjusts census results for coverage and projects forward; quote the projection for the year you need and say so.
Reading the unemployment rate alone. Panama also reports open unemployment (6.7 percent in August 2026), and informality affects close to half of non agricultural jobs.
Assuming national averages apply in the comarcas. The comarcas are entirely rural in INEC's tables and have special legal regimes; land and labor arrangements there differ.

Sources

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