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2023
Economic Complexity
Trade -0.14Rank 69 of 132
2021
Economic Complexity
Technology 0.092Rank 49 of 96
2022
Economic Complexity
Research -0.0081Rank 60 of 140
2023
Product
Exports | Imports $6.59B | $34.8B121 of 226 |  68 of 226
2023
Per Capita Product
Exports | Imports $1.48k | $7.8k109 of 220 |  81 of 220

About

Overview In 2023, Panama was the number 76 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 121 in total exports, the number 68 in total imports, the number 65 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 69 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Panama are Copper Ore ($2.94B), Special Purpose Ships ($441M), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($342M), Refined Petroleum ($306M), and Bananas ($273M), exporting mostly to China ($1.62B), Japan ($653M), United States ($385M), Thailand ($346M), and Costa Rica ($307M).

Imports The top imports of Panama are Crude Petroleum ($9.81B), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($3.8B), Refined Petroleum ($3.37B), Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds ($2.45B), and Cars ($910M), importing mostly from United States ($5.29B), Colombia ($4.66B), China ($4.43B), Ecuador ($4.38B), and Japan ($3.74B).

Location Panama borders Colombia and Costa Rica by land and Colombia and Ecuador by sea.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

Flow
View
Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Panama.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2023)Copper Ore$2.94B
Top Destination (2023)China$1.62B

In 2023, Panama exported a total of $6.59B, making it the number 121 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Panama have changed by -$2.59B from $9.18B in 2018 to $6.59B in 2023.

The most recent exports are led by Copper Ore ($2.94B), Special Purpose Ships ($441M), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($342M), Refined Petroleum ($306M), and Bananas ($273M). The most common destination for the exports of Panama are China ($1.62B), Japan ($653M), United States ($385M), Thailand ($346M), and Costa Rica ($307M).

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Exports (2023)
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Destinations (2023)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Growth
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2022 - 2023)
China$484M (+ 42.7%)
Gabon$120M (+ 68k%)
Denmark$88.6M (+ 58.8%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2022 - 2023)
Spain$1.82B (+ 338%)
Japan$516M (+ 16%)
Canada$293M (+ 139%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2022 - 2023)

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Service Trade

Service Trade

Panama Exports Services (2019)$13.9B
Panama Imports Services (2019)$5.12B

In 2019, Panama exported $13.9B worth of services. The top services exported by Panama in 2019 were Transportation ($7.06B), Personal travel ($4.34B), Financial services ($1.08B), Other business services ($552M), and Computer and information services ($303M).

The top services imported by Panama in 2019 were Transportation ($1.94B), Personal travel ($1.1B), Other business services ($852M), Financial services ($370M), and Business travel ($314M).

Service Exports (2019)

Service Imports (2019)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-0.14Rank 69 of 132
Economic Complexity (Technology)0.092Rank 49 of 96
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.0081Rank 60 of 140

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Panama has a high level of specialization in Copper Ore (106), Fish Oil (98.8), Special Purpose Ships (75.9), Bananas (59.3), and Prepared Explosives (23.1). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Panama observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of Panama according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Wrist-watches, pocket-watches, stop-watches and other watches, other than those of heading no.... (1.16), Nitrogen-function compounds, n.e.c. in chapter 29 (1.16), Textile products and articles for technical uses; specified in note 7 to... (1.08), Medicaments; (not goods of heading no. 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of... (0.88), and Pianos; including automatic pianos, harpsichords and other keyboard stringed instruments (0.66). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Panama according to the relatedness index, were Gold (0.13), Cocoa Beans (0.13), Processed Crustaceans (0.13), Bran (0.12), and Processed Fish (0.12). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Panama is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Panama. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Panama exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Relatedness Space (2023)

Diversification Frontier

Filter
Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Diversification Frontier

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Panama's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨64th to the 69th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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