Panama's economy relies heavily on their well developed services sector, which accounts for over three-quarters of the country's Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. This services sector includes operating the Panama Canal, banking, insurance, container ports, logistics, flagship registry, and tourism, among others. This services sector also includes the Colon Free Trade Zone, which is a large entity located near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal; this free port is dedicated to the re-exportation of a wide variety of merchandise to Latin America and the Caribbean. Other than the services sector, Panama's transportation and logistics services sectors, along with infrastructure development projects, have boosted economic growth. However, due to excessive government spending and public works projects, public debt surpassed $37 billion in the year 2016. Despite economic growth, and partially due to the amount of debt in the country, Panama has the second worst income distribution in Latin America. Approximately one-fourth of the population lives in poverty. However, from the year 2006 to the year 2012, poverty was reduced by 10 percent.
In the year 2015, Panama's GDP per capita was $23,700, which had increased to $25,400 in the year 2017. Gross Domestic Product per capita is a measure of a country's economic output that accounts for its total number of people. It divides the country's GDP by its total population. That makes it a good measurement of a country's standard of living, and it also describes how much a country's citizens benefit from the country's economy. With a GDP per capita of $25,400 in the year 2017, Panama is ranked 80th out of the 195 countries in the world.
When considering Panama's total GDP of 61.84 billion United States Dollars (USD), it again becomes clear as to how important the country's service sector is. Of this 61.84 billion USD, the services sector makes up 80% of this, or 49.472 billion USD. Panama's industry sector makes up 15.7% of the GDP, or 9.70888 billion USD, and the agricultural sector makes up 2.4% of the GDP, or 1.48416 billion USD.
When considering Panama's total GDP of 61.84 billion United States Dollars (USD), it again becomes clear as to how important the country's service sector is. Of this 61.84 billion USD, the services sector makes up 80% of this, or 49.472 billion USD. Panama's industry sector makes up 15.7% of the GDP, or 9.70888 billion USD, and the agricultural sector makes up 2.4% of the GDP, or 1.48416 billion USD.