NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 77; PANAMA; THE ECONOMY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NIS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080044-9
• Release Decision: RIF
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 22
• Document Creation Date: October 25, 2016
• Sequence Number: 44
• Content Type: REPORTS

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WARNING
The NIS is National Intelligence and may not be re-
leased or shcwn to representatives of any foreign govern-
ment or international body except by specific authorization
of the Director of Central Intelligence in accordance with
the provisions of Notional Security Council Intelligence Di-
rective No. 1.
For NIS contain.ag unclassified material, however, the
portions so marked may be made available for official pur-
poses to foreign nationals and nongovernment personnel
provided no attribution is made to National Intelligence or
the National Intelligence Survey.
Subsections and graphics are individuolly classified
according to content. Classification /control designo-
tions are:
(U /OU) Unclassified /For Official Use Only
(C) Confident9al
(S) Secret
c.
E
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Page
3 Metals and minerals
8
4.
Manpower
4. Manufacturing and construction
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a. Labor force
5. Canal Lone
10
Growth of real CDP and selected
b. Levels of training
8. Domestic trade
10
3
Fig. 3
Land use, 1970 (chart)
4
Fig. 4
c. Rages
C. Government finance and economic policy
10
area harvested table)
d. Labor movement
1. Economic policy and programs
10
9
Fig. 8
2. Public finance
11
D. International economic relations
a. Revenues of the central government
11
1.
Foreign trade
h. Expenditures of the central govern-
It
nues (table)
12
ment
2.
Relations with the Canal Zone and the
c. Publ'.c debt
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Colon Free -one
3. Financial institutions, monetary policy,
3.
Balance of payments
and prices
12
4.
Foreign aid
FIGURES
Fig. 8 Central government expenditures
(table)
Page
Fig. I
Real gross domestic product by
Participation of population in
sector table)
2
Fig. 2
Growth of real CDP and selected
sector (chart)
Fig. 12
components chart)
3
Fig. 3
Land use, 1970 (chart)
4
Fig. 4
Principal crops; Production and
Fig. 16
Balance of payments ;table)
area harvested table)
5
Fig. 5
Value added in manufacturing table)
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Fig. 8
Cross receipts from the Canal
Zone (table)
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Fig. 7
Central government current reve-
nues (table)
12
Fig. 8 Central government expenditures
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(table)
Fig. 9
Financing of public debt (table)
Fig. 10
Participation of population in
labor force (table)
Fig. 11
Labor force by major economic
sector (chart)
Fig. 12
Balance of foreign trade chart
Fig. 13
Merchandise exports (table)
Fig. 14
Composition of imports (table)
Fig. 15
Direction of trade (chart)
Fig. 16
Balance of payments ;table)
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The Economy
A. General characteristics
One of till- smallest nations in Latin Anu�ric�a �in
both .1re'a and pupuhtIi4111-- I'nnarna transcends the
lirltilatirtns of its size b% Oriole of its location It Ilas
our of the Itigbest per capita incuures in iartin
1nu'ricu_ uiainlN because' of 160 highly advanced
urban ectmooi 111M has dev4-loped around tilt Canal
Lonv Gross Doi l-%tie Product ((;I)P) e'as an
v%Iinialed 51.322 million in I9e2 (in current it ri cv%), or
S868 porcapita, "ItIIdirec't and indirect earnings from
tie Canal Zuni accounting for more than one -third of
the total. LDP bas grown rapid1% during the past
duc�ade
Irivonu' distribution is strikingly otimc'n. 'File upper
lt)s: of incYnne recipients receive Amer �I r of (lie
"Bill s inarnup "Illlr tu' Inner one -third ry vi%e Iess
than W, In Latin America onh Colombia has .1 more
income (listributinn, although Venezuela alld
Mexivo approach it Despite this oneven irieornr
dlstribntlnit. 11411vt -er, general health and education
indices in Panama Aire among the Ieighest in lattin
America
1. Structure of the economy
Panama divides at tilt- Canal 7.nne into two p�irts
kith different gnu �riphical characterislics. (Sep the
inset reap of the Gen4-rd Survey Summary Map in the
Countn Profile chapter.l The section from [lie Costa
Rican Murder to the Zone resembles inosl of Central
O"Ft 'I'lu� rrdlm nnaeal of this rhaph�r is CNCIASSIFIED
lout t, FOR OFFICIAL ('SE ONLY
.inn �a. ssith cenlr l Itigltlands, %%et Caril,bean
loMarlds, and moist Pacific slope Tile eastern third of
the� c'oirntr%, himeu'r begins to l-xhibit [and forms�
elite :lie. and vegetation characteristic of unrtli%vestern
South Aint�rica.
4losl of I':ulannt's 1.5 million inhabitants live in
t%%o %sell defined regions_ Ovl-r 0110 -1114d are
concentrated within the Irinsit area that inciudes tilt-
Canal lone. I'anania City and Colon' while inure
than one -half iollabit the Pacific lowlands and
adjacent ouunitain sloths west of the Canal. 'These
t .hens of population mucentrati011 uildencor(' the
clualit% of Panama's geognrphical personality The
transit ..one is chiefly urban, and its people are
vosnaolxolilarl of man> races and nilti(lnali(ICS. 1 1 14-
%l esterrl Pacific him l and is rural� and its people are Irie
Panamanians, of mixed Indian. white. and sometimes
Negro blood. Thi pattern of population distribition
dates front the lair sixteenth century, after the rise of
Peruvian trine with Spain and the establishment of
the transit mute across the isilunus near the present
ca na l,
l'amina's dual personality is exhibited even ittore in
its economy than in its population distribution. The
more important of its two ccunonaic systeins is tine
highly sophisticated urban economy of Panama Laity�
Colon, and their envimns, which is based orh domestic
and foreign trade and services and provides a
comparatively high -'andard of living for most
residents. The bustling eccmomic activity in this
'For dinrrinn on plum flames ur talc list of n:atos's on ill(, aparar
Of tits� Sunlm tryy %.1ap in khc (:utsnln YrslGlr ehaptrc and ilu� map
ilwif
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srcti.,n of thr cyHmlry gc�ncrac, more tharl half all tilt�
n.etional snot erne. Pa rth In Ihe� turn) of ttage, pasd to
1'.amirtiarnan natty 1.111 ltork llg III Ihe (:anal zone jild
parch a reuvipls frrtlll trad I,% tilt ;t H.d /J like rt'11dUll 1
�Ile] t titIt Inan,ls .Ind Snrelt;n Irautmerils
i�he Other ocom11111C ,tent t, tht� agnculture��bast�el
ecun41111% that pnnide, I Obskit -Ove ur Iou�incnnte
Standard of Ming Agric�ullure produces a consl;vah
decre,wrig pvrveritaev of C1)P Onh 17 in 1972
i Figure i lie ma)e�ritc of firmer produce nmmIN for
favW4 ttl +si%tencc and riu,e littir fox inarket IAM
rlutpnt nl the igrlr'11ltllral lector and cost 1% domu�,tic
tI.lnsportatutn mean that tilt- urflan arc.%, Often can
buv mury cht-aph (ill tilt- ttndd market [hall from the
inlersor Of tilt- cnnntrt
2. Economic growth and gos�cmmenl policy
Rvat (;DI' grew ooh about -V, per tear of tnug the
1954) s, but the rate inc�rcawd to about per ,ear
during 1900 (Figure� 21 In onh 2 sear, since 1960
o Iht- grm %th rkte,ignific11nth helots lilt, averatge
19(11. �he�n real GDP Brett onit d 4`1 breads( husimw
confident-'( �e�ikkencd following not, ill fa11uan. and
1968. when political instabiliiy ag:un caused a loss of
burin(�,-, confidence 111111 the gruu tit rat- sh iwed to
5 :3''o
The growth of real GDP %%a�, sparked b expansion
Ilk construction and rrtanuf leturiitg. ht strong expnrl
performance, and by rising tt ;egos for the 10'+ of the
country urban labor force employed in tilt- Canal
Zone (:rntrth Oho was aided by sizable direct L' S.
itivestnlcnt. especially in Ill(- hiller years of the period
7 ht- book value of stick investment rose from $1,072
million in 1969 to 61.461 million in 1971 The U S
ur %shit-) Is cone�e�ntr