Panama

Living Standards and Access to Education Show Increasing Improvement

The Panamanian population is becoming increasingly urban, although there is a substantial rural population. Most Panamanians live in nuclear families, although extended families are also common. There is an effective public school system. Female school attendance rates stand at 98 percent at the primary level, 67 percent at the secondary level, and 56 percent at the tertiary level. The literacy rates for women and men are almost equal, at 93 percent and 94 percent respectively. There is a good state system of social security and public healthcare, and most have access to safe drinking water. Healthcare is becoming increasingly privatized. Life expectancy is age 68 for women and age 64 for men.

Many women work outside the home in a variety of professions. About 52 percent of women participate in the labor force. Women constitute 43 percent of the paid nonagricultural workforce and 52 percent of professional and technical workers. Government and education are primary employers of professional women, although women can be found in top-level positions in most professions. Many women also work in agriculture and service. Subsistence agriculture is dominant among rural families. A gender gap still exists in terms of average estimated earned income in U.S. dollars, which stands at $7,728 for women and $12,481 for men, and unemployment rates, which stand at 9.3 percent for women and 5.3 percent for men. Women enjoy public equality with men, and public social interactions are not segregated by gender. Women have the right to vote. Women hold 9 percent of parliamentary seats and 23 percent of ministerial positions. There has been a female head of state for five of the last 50 years. Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other international organizations operate in Panama.