The Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on an isthmus, Panama is a transcontinental nation connecting North and South America. It borders Costa Rica to the north-west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It is an international business center and is also a transit country. In Central America, it is the second most industrialized country, behind El Salvador.
Besides having a very colourful political history, Panama is also known to the rest of the world as the country that links the North Atlantic Ocean via the Caribbean Sea with the North Pacific Ocean thru the Panama Canal. It is also home to the Darien Gap, a nearly impenetrable large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest separating Panama and Colombia which forms the only gap of the Guinness Book of World Records’ longest “motorable road†– the Pan-American Highway.
The culture, customs, and language of the Panamanians are predominantly Caribbean and Spanish. Ethnically, the majority of the population is mestizo of mixed Amerindian, African, Spanish and aboriginal descent. Spanish is the official and dominant language; English is spoken widely on the Caribbean coast and by many in business and professional fields. More than half the population lives in the Panama City–Colón metropolitan corridor.
The overwhelming majority of Panamanians are Roman Catholic, accounting for almost 80% of the population. Although the Constitution recognizes Catholicism as the religion of the great majority, Panama has no official religion.