Panama Population
Panama had an estimated population of 4,571,189 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 128th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.06% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.22% a year.
Panama at a glance
How Panama's population is changing
Panama's population is growing: +1.22% a year, which works out to about +55,953 people per year, or +153 a day. Births (15.9 per 1,000) and deaths (4.9 per 1,000) alone would give +1.10% a year; net migration adds about 6,151 people a year (+0.13%). Roughly one in every 1,797 people on Earth lives in Panama.
Population of Panama since 1960
In 1960, Panama had 1,126,005 people. By 2025 that was 4,571,189 — 4.1× larger. The fastest growth came between 1960 and 1970, when the population rose by 34%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1,126,005 | — |
| 1970 | 1,513,070 | +34.4% |
| 1980 | 1,957,534 | +29.4% |
| 1990 | 2,455,583 | +25.4% |
| 2000 | 3,010,369 | +22.6% |
| 2010 | 3,628,535 | +20.5% |
| 2020 | 4,293,261 | +18.3% |
| 2025 | 4,571,189 | +6.5% |
Panama from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Panama at about 75,600 people in 1800; the UN estimates 4,571,194 in 2025 (60× 1800) and projects 5,904,928 for 2100 in its medium scenario. The population is projected to peak around 2080 at 6,029,729 and decline afterwards.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 75,600 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 109,736 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 257,249 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 860,855 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 3,010,376 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 4,571,194 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 5,630,682 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 6,017,721 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 5,904,928 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Panama
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 4,571,189. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 1,527,393 | UN urban centre | 33.41% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | San Miguelito | 321,501 | GeoNames settlement | 7.03% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Arraiján | 257,136 | UN urban centre | 5.63% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Colón | 187,007 | UN urban centre | 4.09% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | La Chorrera | 166,922 | UN urban centre | 3.65% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | David | 121,467 | UN urban centre | 2.66% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Juan Díaz | 100,636 | GeoNames settlement | 2.20% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Tocumen | 50,844 | GeoNames settlement | 1.11% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Santiago de Veraguas | 45,355 | GeoNames settlement | 0.99% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Chilibre | 33,536 | GeoNames settlement | 0.73% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Panama compares
Panama has almost the same population as Kuwait (4,865,298).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Panama | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #126 |  Costa Rica | 5,152,950 | +13% | compare → |
| #127 |  Kuwait | 4,865,298 | +6% | compare → |
| #129 |  Georgia | 3,935,766 | −14% | compare → |
| #130 |  Croatia | 3,876,200 | −15% | compare → |
Compare Panama with any country →
Same region (Latin America & Caribbean): Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela.
Explore around Panama
Land neighbours (2)
Colombia 53,425,635 · 11.7× the population · compare- Costa Rica 5,152,950 · 1.1× the population · compare
Panama's 2 neighbours together hold 58,578,585 people — 12.8× Panama's population. The most populous is Colombia (53,425,635).
In its region
Panama is the 19th most populous of the 42 economies in Latin America & Caribbean, holding 0.7% of the region's 666,592,570 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Panama City, San Miguelito, Arraiján, Colón, La Chorrera, David, Juan Díaz, Tocumen — all Panama's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Panama when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.