The ecological diversity in Panama is equal to or greater than Costa Rica's with river rafting and rainforests on the mainland and marine reserves on the Pacific and Caribbean, only a short distance away. (Parks and reserves constitute 29% of the total land mass.)
The Panama Canal and the long standing involvement of the United States, (Panama has the highest per capita US investment in all of Latin America is one reason why Panama's infrastructure is far and away the best in Central America. Highways, airports and shipping centers are extensive and well maintained.
The Panamanian currency is the US dollar, which is of tremendous importance in attracting foreign investment. (Panama does mint coins which are identical in size and weight with US coins and of the same value.)
The government is stable and the business climate is optimistic. British Cable and Wireless recently won the bid for controlling interest of INTEL, the government phone company, with a bid of $625 million. Cable and Wireless subsequently announced that they would invest an additional $572 million over the next five years to expand and modernize the existing system.
More than $800 million of foreign investment has been made in the new Canal Zone Industrial Center.
Panama is an international banking and finance center that has no restrictions on the movement of money in or out of the country. It is also legal and very simple to form truly anonymous corporations.
The Tourism Master Plan includes incentives to encourage investment in Panama which include no income or capital gains taxes for twenty years and the importation of a wide variety of goods duty free (when they are related to a tourist business).
There is a large indigenous peoples influence in Panama which contributes greatly to the charm of the country. (The Kuna Indians of the San Blas Archipelago for example.)
There are no real estate taxes for twenty years on any new construction. This should help increase the number of homes to be constructed on the subdivided property. Panama is an Indian word meaning "place of many fish".
In Panama, the sun rises over the PacificOcean.
To travel the canal from Atlantic to Pacific you travel east.
Panama's highest mountain is Volcan Baru and from its summit you can see the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
Panama has 500 rivers and 1600 islands.
Panama has approximately 900 species of birds.
Panama has the highest per-capita income, the largest foreign investment and the most highly developed economic infrastructure in Central America.
The U.S. military has intervened in some form in Panama 18 times since 1850.
Large portions of the Darien rainforest in southern Panama remain unexplored.
Sir Francis Drake was buried at sea in a lead coffin near Portobello.
