Language
Panama is a country with a language focus on Spanish and English. The Panama national language is Spanish, but about 14% of people speak English. Most are bilingual in other areas. Many people speak English as well as Spanish. Another common language is Kuna, spoken among the Kuna people of Panama and Columbia. Panama does not have a lingual diversity like countries from the EU and the US.
Ethnicity and Population
Panama is a host to many ethnicities and tribes. The majority of the people are Mestizo. Mestizo is a mix of two other ethnic groups which are Amerindian and white, Mestizos make up about 65% of the population. Some of the other ethnicities are Native America (they make up 12% of the population), Black or African decent (they make up 9% of the population, and Ngabe (they make up 7.6% of the population). There are other ethnic groups but they are very small minorities. Also the tribes in Panama are spread out so the people of the tribes consider themselves as their tribes more than Panamanians. As of 2013, the population of Panama is 3,864,000 people.
Geography and Climate
Panama is a Central American country. Two of Panama’s borders are oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic but it also borders Colombia to the south and Costa Rica to the north. Also, Panama is the isthmus that connects America and South America. Panama’s total area is 75,420 sq km, 74,340 sq km of that area is land and 1,080 sq km is water like lakes or rivers. In the world, Panama is the 118th largest country in the world. Panama is famous for its canal, The Panama Canal. This canal was built by Teddy Roosevelt and it separated North and South America. Panama had a tropical climate and it had lots of rainy seasons.
Religion
The government in Panama does not collect statistics on religions. Panama also doesn’t have a national religion, they are a secularist nation like its colonizer Spain. So, it is hard to find the exact statistics on Panamanian religions because the census doesn’t check that and some Panamanians prefer to keep their religion private. But, other unofficial polls have found the religion of Panama. In Panama the majority of the people are Roman Catholic, about 75% to 85%. This majority was probably caused when the Spanish (who were Roman Catholic) colonized Panama and spread their religion. The minority of Panamanians are Evangelical Christians and Protestant. This minority makes up 15% to 25% of Panama's religion.
Government
Panama has a similar government to the United States. It is known as a Constitutional Democracy. This is where a government does two things to aid the people. It gives itself limits, and allows people to have a voice in the government. The people, through this voice, may vote in free and fair elections with no bias against people of any ethnicity or religion. Panama has many exports too.
Music
In Panama there are many types of music. There is tribal music, ethnic specific music, and popular salon music. One of the types of music is Saloma and Mejorana, this type of music consists of five stringed guitars and three stringed violins. Cumbia is also a popular music form, it is very popular and it is played in salons and restaurants. Tamborito is a more traditional style of music where men and women dance in costume. Finally, Congo is a popular style with the black communities of Panama, it can also be found on the coast.
Sports
It might surprise you to find that Panama’s national sport (it’s odd enough in itself that any country would have a national sport) is baseball. Panama has an international team called Probeis, also known as the Panamanian Professional Baseball League, which plays during the winter. It also has a more local team, the Panama National Baseball Team. Aside from baseball, Panama enjoys both European and American Football, and has several championship Golf courses. They also do things like snorkeling and water skiing because of the long coastlines on either side of the isthmus.
