Is Panama a typical Latin American country? What’s the Ethnic makeup?
Panama is not typical at all. Don’t expect to see mainly the typical mestizo ( descendants of a combination of Spanish and Indian) population like in the rest of Latin America. There is a saying that Panama was “born globalized.” The population of 2.8 million people has diverse origins: Spanish descendants, blacks ( brought in from the Caribbean to build the Canal, indigenous cultures, important immigrant populations from North America, Europe, China, India and the Middle East. There are seven living Indian cultures each with their own language: Kunas in the San Blas Islands on the Caribbean; Embera and Wounaanin the province of Darien; Ngobe Bugle in the provinces of Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro & Veraguas; and Teribes & Bokotas in Bocas del Toro province.
