Health · Latin America & Caribbean · High income
Panama: health in numbers
Life expectancy is 79.8 yrs (2024), 55th of 217 in the world and 7th of 42 in Latin America & Caribbean. Life expectancy, women is 82.7 yrs (2024), 53rd of 217 in the world and 7th of 42 in Latin America & Caribbean. Life expectancy, men is 76.9 yrs (2024), 57th of 217 in the world and 7th of 42 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Life expectancy
PanamaLatin America & CaribbeanHigh incomeWorld
Life expectancy, women
PanamaLatin America & CaribbeanHigh incomeWorld
18 indicators
Health: Panama in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Latin America & Caribbean; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancyLife expectancy at birth, years | 79.8 yrs2024 | 55/217 | 7/42 | 73.4 yrs | 76.4 yrs | 76.3 yrs | +3.1%since 2014 | 75.8 yrs | 80.4 yrs | 73.5 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, womenLife expectancy at birth, women, years | 82.7 yrs2024 | 53/217 | 7/42 | 76.7 yrs | 79.9 yrs | 79.8 yrs | +2.5%since 2014 | 78.7 yrs | 83.2 yrs | 76.0 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, menLife expectancy at birth, men, years | 76.9 yrs2024 | 57/217 | 7/42 | 70.4 yrs | 73.0 yrs | 73.1 yrs | +3.7%since 2014 | 72.9 yrs | 77.8 yrs | 71.1 yrs | |
| Infant mortalityInfant mortality, per 1,000 live births | 12.02024 | 103/196 | 18/35 | 20.5 | 14.9 | 12.2 | −13%since 2014 | 13.3 | 4.2 | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortalityUnder-5 mortality, per 1,000 live births | 15.32024 | 97/196 | 15/35 | 25.7 | 18.7 | 15.5 | −12%since 2014 | 15.4 | 5.1 | 37.4 | |
| Neonatal mortalityNeonatal mortality, per 1,000 live births | 5.32024 | 123/196 | 28/35 | 12.5 | 8.3 | 7.6 | −27%since 2014 | 8.3 | 2.8 | 17.2 | |
| Maternal mortalityMaternal mortality, per 100,000 live births | 372023 | 106/194 | 25/34 | 64 | 56 | 74 | −29%since 2013 | 77 | 10 | 197 | |
| Measles vaccinationMeasles immunisation, % of children 12–23 months | 93%2024 | 81/193 | 14/33 | 97% | 97% | 80% | +3.0 ppsince 2014 | 86% | 94% | 84% | |
| HIV prevalenceHIV prevalence, % of people 15–49 | 1.1%2024 | 36/153 | 8/29 | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.1% | +0.1 ppsince 2014 | 0.6% | — | 0.7% | |
| TuberculosisTuberculosis incidence, per 100,000 people | 632024 | 81/208 | 8/40 | 71 | 62 | 34 | +21%since 2014 | 51 | 12 | 131 | |
| Health spendingCurrent health expenditure, % of GDP | 8.3%2023 | 56/193 | 8/33 | 7.0% | 7.2% | 10.2% | +1.8 ppsince 2013 | 7.9% | 12.5% | 10.1% | |
| Out-of-pocket spendingOut-of-pocket health spending, % of health expenditure | 40.5%2023 | 57/193 | 9/33 | 30.7% | 31.4% | 39.6% | +8.2 ppsince 2013 | 29.7% | 13.4% | 17.3% | |
| PhysiciansPhysicians per 1,000 people | 1.622022 | 92/180 | 17/29 | 1.252001 | 1.41 | 1.63 | +1.4%since 2012 | 2.57 | 3.78 | 1.86 | |
| Hospital bedsHospital beds per 1,000 people | 1.92023 | 107/182 | 16/33 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | −8.5%since 2013 | 2.0 | 5.2 | 3.3 | |
| Basic waterBasic drinking water, % of population | 95.3%2024 | 124/206 | 26/35 | 89.6% | 92.0% | 94.4% | +2.6 ppsince 2014 | 97.6% | 99.2% | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitationBasic sanitation, % of population | 89.1%2024 | 121/203 | 25/34 | 62.6% | 73.0% | 84.3% | +11.6 ppsince 2014 | 90.3% | 98.3% | 82.2% | |
| Tobacco useTobacco use, % of adults | 4.8%2024 | 164/166 | 22/22 | 13.3% | 8.7% | 5.7% | −3.9 ppsince 2010 | 13.6% | 20.2% | 20.3% | |
| Road deathsRoad traffic deaths, per 100,000 people | 13.92019 | 101/186 | 22/32 | 15.4 | 13.2 | 13.92019 | +2.2%since 2009 | 17.3 | 8.7 | 16.7 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Life expectancy+3.1%79.8 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, women+2.5%82.7 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, men+3.7%76.9 yrs in 2024
- Infant mortality−13%12.0 in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- HIV prevalence+0.1 pp1.1% in 2024
- Tuberculosis+21%63 in 2024
- Out-of-pocket spending+8.2 pp40.5% in 2023
- Hospital beds−8.5%1.9 in 2023
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Panama and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Panama. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Panama | United States | Colombia | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 79.8 yrs2024 | 78.9 yrs2024 | 77.9 yrs2024 | 81.0 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, women | 82.7 yrs2024 | 81.4 yrs2024 | 80.6 yrs2024 | 83.6 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, men | 76.9 yrs2024 | 76.5 yrs2024 | 75.2 yrs2024 | 78.4 yrs2024 |
| Infant mortality | 12.02024 | 5.52024 | 10.52024 | 9.12024 |
| Under-5 mortality | 15.32024 | 6.52024 | 11.52024 | 10.42024 |
| Neonatal mortality | 5.32024 | 3.72024 | 6.32024 | 7.32024 |
| Maternal mortality | 372023 | 172023 | 592023 | 242023 |
| Measles vaccination | 93%2024 | 92%2024 | 93%2024 | 93%2024 |
| HIV prevalence | 1.1%2024 | — | 0.6%2024 | 0.6%2024 |