Panama City

Panama City is the capital of Panama. More than one million people live there.

It lies by the sea, close to a famous canal for ships.

Panama City is the capital of Panama and its biggest city. At the 2023 census, 1,132,969 people lived in its urban area, which also takes in places such as San Miguelito and Tocumen.

It lies on the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama, beside the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal. Universalis calls it the country's most important metropolis and an international center for finance and banking.

National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC, via City Population): the urban area of Ciudad de Panamá (including Ancón, Las Cumbres, Las Mañanitas, San Miguelito and Tocumen) had 912,489 people in 2000, 1,057,244 in 2010 and 1,132,969 at the census of 8 January 2023, first among Panama's urban places; Panamá Province had 1,439,575.

Universalis (Lucile Médina-Nicolas): capital of Panama and the country's most important metropolis, with more than a million people; it has also become an international financial and banking center.

Look at all the tall towers! Birds fly in a long line across the sky.

At the front is the green sea, and on the left are houses with red roofs.

This photo shows Panama City from across the bay on 19 March 2025. Dozens of glass and concrete skyscrapers rise behind a road that runs on pillars over the water. On the left, low houses with red roofs stand by the water, toward the old quarter, Casco Viejo. One tower in the middle twists as it rises, green hills stand in the distance, and a long line of birds crosses the cloudy sky.

Casco Viejo, the historic center, was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997, Universalis says.

Commons: 'Panama City Skyline', 19 March 2025, own work by Dr. Thomas Liptak (uploader of the same name), CC BY-SA 4.0; camera location 8.91141 N, 79.52003 W, about 4.86 km SSE of Wikidata's point for Casco Viejo, looking north-northwest across the bay.

Universalis: the historic center (Casco Viejo), left off-center by the city's growth to the east, has gained from the handover of the Canal Zone and from its inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997.

Many people in Panama City work in banks and offices in the tall towers. The city also has a museum about nature.

Panama City has become an international center for banking and finance, Universalis says. Along the coast to the east stand the banks of Bella Vista and the tall apartment towers of Punta Paitilla.

The Biomuseo, a museum, opened on 2 October 2014, Wikidata says. About 8 kilometers northeast of Casco Viejo lies Panamá Viejo, an archaeological site.

Universalis: the city has become an international financial and banking center; the coast to the east holds the bank district of Bella Vista and the upscale residential towers of Punta Paitilla; the State leads the building of public facilities and the privatization of land in the former Canal Zone.

Wikidata: Biomuseo (museum, opened 2014-10-02) 2.53 km SSW of Casco Viejo; Panamá Viejo (archaeological site) 8.15 km NE.