Panama Province
Panama City's 70+ international banks and canal authority generate $90B GDP while the capital's millionaire concentration contrasts with 90%+ poverty in comarcas.
Panama Province contains Panama City, the capital concentrating financial services, government, canal administration, and the formal sector employment that peripheral provinces lack. The dollarized banking sector—over 70 international banks serving as regional financial hub—generates prosperity that drives the $90 billion GDP while 1,400 of the country's 3,300 dollar millionaires reside here.
The Panama Canal Authority headquarters the infrastructure that generates 6% of GDP through tolls and related services, the 2016 expansion strengthening the hub function that geography created. The canal corridor between Panama City and Colón captures the high-productivity activities that create the stark contrast with rural and indigenous provinces where poverty rates exceed 40-90%.
Metro expansion, real estate development, and infrastructure investment continue transforming the capital, the construction sector attracting investment that creates employment while reshaping urban geography. The October 2023 removal from financial grey lists and March 2024 removal from EU high-risk designations confirmed regulatory improvements that protect the banking sector's international function. Whether Panama City's prosperity diffuses—or whether the capital remains an enclave within a country of stark inequality—defines national development trajectory.