Panama

Panama was the first Spanish colony on the Pacific and served as a base for the conquest of the Inca territory. From its border with Costa Rica, in the west, to its border with Colombia, in the east, this Central American country is no more than 770 kilometers long. Its population is approximately 4 million.

The country is renowned as the site of the Panama Canal, which cuts through the midsection of the Isthmus of Panama, a narrow portion of land that connects Central and South America. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans; it was built by the United States, inaugurated in 1914, and managed by the U.S. government until 1999. Due to its strategic location, it is considered one of the ...