ALLIANCE MINISTRIES IN Panama
Missionaries in Panama
Panama
- Population: 3.4 Million
- Religion: 15% Protestant
- Known For: Canal, birds, banking, sancocho
- LAM presence since: 1951
Latin America Mission has a large presence in Panama in camping outreach ministries. LAM first began operating there in 1951 with a large-scale English-language evangelism campaign, initiating various other projects there over the years.
Panama is the southernmost point of Central America, situated on a narrow isthmus that made it an ideal location for the Panama Canal, which was built between 1904 and 1914 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and has since been turned over to full Panamanian control. Spanish and English are both commonly spoken in Panama. The nation's growing economy is based on maritime commerce, banking and tourism, though about 30 percent of the population sill lives in poverty.
Roman Catholicism is still the predominant religion in Panama, while the nation's Protestant population has grown to about 15 percent of the total. Its people are a mix of Spanish, Indian and African descent — sancocho, a multi-ingredient soup that is Panama's national dish, is often used as a metaphor for the country's racial diversity.
