Panama, formally the Republic of Panama (Spanish: Repblica de Panamá), is a transcontinental republic in Central and South America, bordered to the west by Costa Rica, to the southeast by Colombia, to the north by the Caribbean Sea, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean. Its capital and biggest city, Panama City, is home to roughly half of the country's 4 million inhabitants.
Before the arrival of Spanish colonists in the 16th century, Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes. In 1821, it declared independence from Spain and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia, a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Following the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada merged to become the Republic of Colombia. With the support of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, enabling the United States Army Corps of Engineers to finish the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1914. The Torrijos–Carter Treaties of 1977 stipulated that the canal would be transferred from the United States to Panama by December 31, 1999. The surrounding land was restored for the first time in 1979.
Although business, finance, and tourism are important and rising industries, revenue from canal tolls remains a large percentage of Panama's GDP. It is considered to have a high-income economy. Panama was rated 57th in the world in terms of Human Development Index in 2019. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index, Panama has the seventh-most competitive economy in Latin America in 2018. Panama's jungles, which cover over 40% of its geographical area, are home to a multitude of tropical flora and animals, some of which are found nowhere else on the planet. Panama is a founding member of the United Nations as well as the OAS, LAIA, G77, WHO, and NAM, among others.