Panama is a country in Central America bordered by Costa Rica and Colombia.
Panama is an isthmus that connects North and South America and is also considered a Caribbean nation. Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Panama in 1513. Its strategic geographical location has made it a center of commerce and transportation since Spanish colonial times. After its independence from Spain in 1821, Panama became a department of Colombia until 1903 when the United States began building the Panama Canal and created the Panama Canal Zone, a major navigation hub. The official language is Spanish.
Panama is divided into ten provinces and five indigenous regions.
Provinces
1. Bocas del Toro
2. Chiriquí
3. Coclé
4. Colón
5. Darién
6. Herrera
7. Los Santos
8. Panama
9. West Panama
10. Veraguas
Indigenous Regions
1. Emberá, see also Darién Province
2. Guna Yala, see also Panama and Colón
3. Ngäbe-Buglé, created in 1997 from parts of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, and Veraguas
4. Madugandí (within Panama province)
5. Wargandí (within Darién province)
