_#_Literacy: 88% (male 88%, female 88%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 770,472 (1987); government and community services 27.9%; agriculture, hunting, and fishing 26.2%; commerce, restaurants, and hotels 16%; manufacturing and mining 10.5%; construction 5.3%; transportation and communications 5.3%; finance, insurance, and real estate 4.2%; Canal Zone 2.4%; shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor
_#_Organized labor: 17% of labor force (1986)
_*Government #_Long-form name: Republic of Panama
_#_Type: centralized republic
_#_Capital: Panama
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (provincias, singular—provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, Veraguas
_#_Independence: 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)
_#_Constitution: 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983
_#_Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations