Transport and infrastructure in Panama
Our listing of the primary kinds of transport compares the infrastructure of Panama with the average of all countries in America. Overall, the main traffic and transport routes are well developed and in comparatively good condition.In terms of the length of its rail network, Panama ranks 130th in the world with 0.02 meters per inhabitant. In total, the rail network is 77 kilometers long.
The waterways listed refer to inland traffic on rivers and canals. The number of ports includes those located on the total 2,490 km of coastline. In 2019, about 7.36 million freight containers were transported.
› Airports in Panama
Back to overview: Panama
Road traffic
The network of roads and highways has a total length of 15,137 km. For each of the country's 4.38 million inhabitants, this corresponds to 3.45 meters. This puts Panama in 136th place in the global ranking. However, it is also important to note the country's population density, which is very low at around 58 inhabitants per km². Like this, disproportionately long distances generally have to be covered to reach the more remote parts of the country.With an average of 564 traffic fatalities per year (2012 - 2019), road traffic in Panama is considered reasonably safe. This corresponds to around 4.3 accident fatalities per 13.9 inhabitants per year. By comparison, this figure is 12.2 in the USA and 17.1 worldwide.
In Panama, traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road, i.e. people drive in the right-hand lane and overtake on the left. Oncoming traffic comes toward you on the left side. This regulation was enforced on April 15th, 1943. Here you can also find an overview of all countries with left-hand traffic.
Panama | |||
| total | per 1 mio inhabitants | per km² | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roadways | 15,100 km | 3,454.69 km | 200.70 m |
| Railroads | 100 km | 17.57 km | 1.02 m |
| Waterways | 800 km | 182.58 km | 10.61 m |
| Commercial harbors | 7,980 | 1,821.26 | 0.106 |
| Airports | 17 | 3.88 | 0.225 |
Central America | |||
| total | per 1 mio inhabitants | per km² | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roadways | 950,800 km | 4,228.68 km | 349.46 m |
| Railroads | 31,600 km | 140.56 km | 11.62 m |
| Waterways | 9,600 km | 42.66 km | 3.53 m |
| Commercial harbors | 15,672 | 69.70 | 0.006 |
| Airports | 233 | 1.04 | 0.000 |
Data sources used
• Global Health Observatory Data Repository (World Health Organization)• UNCTAD
• Internation Union of Railways (UIC)
• CIA Factbook
• OECD Statistics
• Wikipedia (german)
Largest airports and airlines in Panama
Climate details in Panama
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