_#_Coastline: 2,490 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 200 nm
_#_Climate: tropical; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
_#_Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills
_#_Natural resources: copper, mahogany forests, shrimp
_#_Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 15%; forest and woodland 54%; other 23%; includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: dense tropical forest in east and northwest
_#_Note: strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean
_*People #_Population: 2,476,281 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)