People & Culture
Ethnically, the majority of the population is mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian) or a mix of Indian, European, Chinese, and West Indian. All sorts of immigrants have also added to this diverse cultural mix due to Panama's unique location and history as a crossroad of the world. The indigenous population of Panama comprises approximately 8 percent of the population and is composed of 7 distinct groups which are the Kuna, Embera, Waounan, Ngobe, Bugle, Nassau, and Terribe people.
The majority of the population lives in urban areas, with more than half the population living in the Panama City-Colón metropolitan corridor. Approximately 85% of the Panamanians are Roman-Catholics, the rest Protestants or followers of a natural religion like the indigenous tribes. National holiday is November 3rd, in memory of the independence from Colombia in 1903.
Each of the 9 Panama Provinces has a rich and varied folklore and cultural traditions which are expressed through its music, dances, the cultural dress, and cuisine. As in other Latin-American countries, dances and music are an important part of Panama’s culture. Due to the proximity to Colombia and to the Caribbean immigrants there is, in addition to the classical Latin-American dances, a big variety of others. The well-known Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Cumbia can be heard as often as the Colombian Tipico and Vallenato, the Haitano, Jamaican Reggae, the in Panama evolved Reggaeton and, not to forget, the numerous folk dances of the indigenous tribes such as the Kuna.
The influence of the US in Panama can easily be seen in the popular sports. Basketball and Baseball are two of the sports that please the entire Panamanian population. Various Panamanian Baseball players made it into a professional US baseball team – the most famous among them the Hitter Rod Carew and the Pitcher Mariano Rivera. Other common sports in Panama are football (soccer), boxing, horse racing, cycling and tennis. Thanks to the extended coastlines Panama is also a paradise for surfers, deep sea and sport fishermen as well as for divers.
