Latin America & Caribbean
A life that begins in Panama
One in every 1,849 babies in the world is born here: about 72,531 a year, 0.14 a minute.
- Population
- 4,571,189
- Births a year
- 72,531
- Life expectancy
- 79.8
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 15.3
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
82.7
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
76.9
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
12
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
15.3
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
37
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
1.1
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
5
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
4.7
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
13.9
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
11.7
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
2.11
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
26
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
86
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
77
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
54
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
5.6
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$37,516
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
50
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
3.1
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
8.4
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
16
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
55
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
40
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
66
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
96
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
95
World: 91
Internet users (%)
73
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
6.55
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.01
World: 0.34
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 60.3 → 2026: 79.1 → 2050: 84.1
World
1960: 94 → 2026: 14 → 2050: 9
World
1960: 5.8 → 2026: 2.1 → 2050: 1.9
World
1960: 41 → 2026: 67 → 2050: 78
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Panama comes up about once in every 1,849 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in Latin America & Caribbean
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.