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  THE COUNTRYLocated between North and South America, and between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Panama is of immense strategic importance. This has made it a target for intervention by the US, which in 1989 invaded Panama to depose a former ally, Manuel Noriega, and until 1999 controlled the Panama Canal. Panama has the largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere outside the Amazon Basin and its jungle is home to numerous species of tropical plants, animals and birds. However, it is for the Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, that the country is famous. Every year hundreds of thousands of people travel through it and it generates a proportion of Panama's GDP. Panama has considered widening the canal to allow it to accommodate larger vessels. The scheme would need to be approved by the country's voters. By the turn of the millennium international banking, manufacturing and shipping provided more jobs and tax revenue than the canal. The economy also benefits from the commerce generated by the Colon free trade zone, the second largest in the world. Panama faces the challenge of shaking off its reputation as a major transshipment point for US-bound drugs and illegal immigrants, and as a haven for money laundering. It also needs to address social inequality. A few elite families of European descent control most of the country's wealth and power, while about 40% of the population live below the poverty line. The country’s population is 3.2 million and the capital is Panama City. |