About

Overview In 2022, Panama was the number 74 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 119 in total exports, the number 59 in total imports, the number 59 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 51 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Panama are Copper Ore ($2.94B), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($691M), Special Purpose Ships ($195M), Bananas ($191M), and Refined Petroleum ($179M), exporting mostly to China ($1.14B), Japan ($785M), South Korea ($539M), United States ($357M), and Spain ($306M).

Imports The top imports of Panama are Crude Petroleum ($16.1B), Refined Petroleum ($11.7B), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($5.4B), Packaged Medicaments ($819M), and Cars ($786M), importing mostly from China ($11.2B), United States ($10.8B), Guyana ($5.84B), Colombia ($5.84B), and Ecuador ($4.97B).

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

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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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 (2022)Copper Ore$2.94B
Top Destination (2022)China$1.14B

In 2022, Panama exported a total of $6.62B, making it the number 119 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Panama have changed by -$2.44B from $9.05B in 2017 to $6.62B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Copper Ore ($2.94B), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($691M), Special Purpose Ships ($195M), Bananas ($191M), and Refined Petroleum ($179M). The most common destination for the exports of Panama are China ($1.14B), Japan ($785M), South Korea ($539M), United States ($357M), and Spain ($306M).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
Denmark$118M (+ 575%)
South Korea$117M (+ 27.8%)
Canada$87.4M (+ 140%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
Guyana$5.02B (+ 605%)
United States$4.05B (+ 60.4%)
Colombia$3.44B (+ 143%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

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)0.19Rank 51 of 124
Economic Complexity (Technology)0.092Rank 49 of 96
Economic Complexity (Research)0.35Rank 41 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Panama has a high level of specialization in Copper Ore (117), Scrap Vessels (85.7), Bananas (50.3), Passenger and Cargo Ships (34.3), and Special Purpose Ships (24.6). 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 Reagents; diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing and prepared diagnostic or... (1.54), Machines for additive manufacturing (1.16), Textile products and articles for technical uses; specified in note 7 to... (1.1), Nitrogen-function compounds, n.e.c. in chapter 29 (0.93), and Medicaments; (not goods of heading no. 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of... (0.92). 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), Crude Petroleum (0.12), Cocoa Beans (0.12), Fish: dried, salted, smoked or in brine (0.12), and Coconut Oil (0.11). 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.

Diversification Frontier

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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.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Panama's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively more complex, moving from the ⁩⁨58th to the 51st⁩ 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.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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