Country research
Panama
Prices overall are about 0.45 of United States prices at market exchange rates, and the Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Panama 81st of 163. Expat Insider 2026, a private survey, ranks it 2nd of 31 destinations for Ease of Settling In. Remote workers paid from abroad can apply for a nine-month short-stay visa, renewable once, and people with a lifetime pension of at least B/.1,000 a month can apply for a permanent residence permit. [C1] [S1] [Q1] [K1] [R1]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
74 of 100Strong
Price level 0.451 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Panama. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
0 of 100Weak
Panama City, the main city: 0 comfortable months a year. Mean daily highs are 32.6 to 35.4 °C in every month (WMO World Weather Information Service) and 32.6 to 35.3 °C at Tocumen, 1977 to 2010 (ETESA). Neither source is a 1991 to 2020 table; the result does not change with the period, because no month is at 30 °C or under.
Source: Climate information for Panama City (WMO World Weather Information Service); Caracterización climática para los distritos de Panamá y San Miguelito, según los datos de la estación meteorológica Tocumen. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
42 of 100Mixed
Global Peace Index 2026: 81st of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, A3 map poster with the overall ranking. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
73 of 100Strong
WHO UHC service coverage index 82 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
Unknown
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
85 of 100Strong
Expat Insider 2026 Ease of Settling In: 2nd of 31.
Source: Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In. Checked 15 October 2026.
Lifestyle
78 of 100Strong
Expat Insider 2026 Quality of Life: 6th of 31.
Source: Expat Insider 2026: Quality of Life. Checked 15 October 2026.
Work and career
50 of 100Mixed
Mixed: a residence route for remote workers exists (the short-stay remote worker visa, nine months, renewable once), but fixed broadband is 18.13 per 100 people (2023), under the 30 line.
Source: Decreto Ejecutivo No. 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021, que crea la Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 29290-A, 20 May 2021); Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Panama. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
85 of 100Strong
Strong: Decreto Ejecutivo 320 of 2008 lists a permanent permit for pensioners with a lifetime pension of at least B/.1,000 a month (articles 10 and 200). No age minimum or deposit is stated. Later amendments were not checked.
Source: Decreto Ejecutivo No. 320 de 8 de agosto de 2008, articles 10 and 200 to 203 (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 26104, 13 August 2008). Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
40 of 100Mixed
18.13 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2023, the latest year with a value).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Panama. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
28 of 100Weak
EF EPI 2025 score 491, under the 499 anchor.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Panama fact sheet. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
Unknown
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for NZ passports is being checked
Cities
Cities in Panama.
Each city page shows which figures are its own and which are the country's.
Topics
The detail on Panama.
Guides
Panama, by passport.
Each guide is written for citizens of one country.
For your situation
Panama for different circumstances.
Compare
Side by side with another country.
The same measures for both places, with no ranking.
Questions about Panama.
How do prices in Panama compare with the United States?
Prices overall in Panama are about 0.45 of United States prices at market exchange rates (World Bank, 2025). That is an average, not a budget. One-bedroom adverts in Panama City on 15 October 2026 asked B/.1,125 and B/.1,450 a month; the balboa is used at par with the US dollar.
Can I visit Panama without a visa, and for how long?
US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports need no visa for a tourist visit. The US State Department and Canada say up to 180 days; Smartraveller says 90 days on arrival for Australians; Panama's embassy page lists three months for New Zealanders, but we found no current Migración page confirming it.
What does Panama's remote worker visa need?
Income from abroad (to be safe, more than US$37,000 a year). The employer letter must show monthly income; to be safe, more than US$3,100. It lasts nine months, renewable once, and you accept no local work. Payment B/.250, card B/.50.
What routes to long-term residence does Panama have?
The US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are all on the friendly-nations list: two years provisional, based on a Panamanian job, or property or a three-year deposit (to be safe, more than US$210,000). A lifetime pension (more than US$1,100 a month) is another route.
How safe is Panama, and what is healthcare like?
The Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Panama 81st of 163. Canada says take normal security precautions, with high-crime areas named in Panama City, San Miguelito and Colón Province. WHO's service index is 82 of 100 (2023). Canada says good care is in Panama City private hospitals; public care is limited elsewhere.
Was Panama affected by the October 2026 earthquake?
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck central Panama on 9 October 2026. Canada names Veraguas, Coclé, Los Santos and Herrera as worst affected, with transport, power, water, telecoms and medical services disrupted there; it does not name Panamá province. Western Panama is an active seismic zone. Check current advice.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Panama, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 45.08 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026 (data.worldbank.org pages were not used; the API was).
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, A3 map poster with the overall ranking, Institute for Economics and Peace (Vision of Humanity). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama ranks 81st of 163 countries (score 1.976), down 6 places. Read from the poster; the full report PDF was not opened.
- [Q1] Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama ranks 2nd of 31 countries in the Ease of Settling In Index.
- [K1] Decreto Ejecutivo No. 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021, que crea la Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 29290-A, 20 May 2021), República de Panamá, Ministerio de Seguridad Pública (published in the Gaceta Oficial). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 1: a short-stay (non-resident) visa for foreign remote workers with foreign-source income of at least B/.36,000 a year; nine months, renewable once for the same period; carnet B/.50. Article 2: B/.250 payment, insurance, a letter showing at least B/.3,000 a month, a sworn statement of no local job or service. The Gaceta is a scan; the text was read by OCR. The Servicio Nacional de Migración requirements sheet (migracion.gob.pa) could not be opened (the address returned a page-not-found). Later changes were not checked.
- [R1] Decreto Ejecutivo No. 320 de 8 de agosto de 2008, articles 10 and 200 to 203 (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 26104, 13 August 2008), República de Panamá, Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia (published in the Gaceta Oficial). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 10 lists the permanent permit for jubilado o pensionado. Article 200: a lifetime pension of at least B/.1,000 a month (B/.750 with a property worth more than B/.100,000). Article 201: certification letters and B/.250 per dependent. No age minimum is stated. This is the 2008 text; amendments (for example Decreto Ejecutivo 26 of 2009) were not checked.
- [G1] Welcome to Panamá: beaches, attractions and things to do, Visit Panamá (tourismpanama.com), the country's tourism site. Checked 15 October 2026. Caribbean and Pacific beaches, over 2,900 km of coastline, Volcán Barú in a photo caption.
- [G2] Geography of Panama, Wikipedia (secondary). Checked 15 October 2026. Volcán Barú, the highest peak, at 3,475 m; interior mostly steep, rugged mountains; coastline of about 2,988 km. Used for the mountains setting only.
- [G3] Cuadro 3. Población en la República, según provincia, comarca indígena y distrito: censos de 2000, 2010 y 2023, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo (INEC), Contraloría General de la República. Checked 15 October 2026. Census 2023, districts: Panamá 1,086,990; Boquete 23,562; Chame 28,535; David 156,498. The table's national total is 4,064,780 (the count of people enumerated; the 4,202,572 announced in the press adds persons taken from administrative registers).
- [G4] Rural population (% of total population), World Bank, World Development Indicators. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 33.8% of the population is rural (national definitions), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [W1] Climate information for Panama City (WMO World Weather Information Service), World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (data supplied by Panama's national meteorological service). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama City station (9.05 N, 79.37 W). Monthly mean daily highs 32.6 to 35.4 °C (October lowest, April highest); rainfall 10.1 mm (February) to 330.7 mm (October). The service marks the rainfall record as 1971 to 2000 and gives no period for temperatures. These are not 1991 to 2020 normals; no month has a mean daily high of 30 °C or less, so there are 0 comfortable months.
- [W2] Caracterización climática para los distritos de Panamá y San Miguelito, según los datos de la estación meteorológica Tocumen, Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica S.A. (ETESA), Gerencia de Hidrometeorología, Centro del Clima de Panamá (published on the site of the Instituto de Meteorología e Hidrología de Panamá, IMHPA). Checked 15 October 2026. Tocumen station, period 1977 to 2010 (not 1991 to 2020). Average daily maximum 32.6 °C (October) to 35.3 °C (April) in every month; rain 10.0 mm (February) to 329.6 mm (October), 1,917.4 mm a year. No month has a mean daily high of 30 °C or less. IMHPA's own climate pages (imhpa.gob.pa) show current data only, no 1991 to 2020 normals table was found.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Panama: 82 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO GHO API (indicator UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.
- [Q2] Expat Insider 2026: Quality of Life, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama ranks 6th of 31 countries in the Quality of Life Index.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Panama, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2023: 18.13 per 100 people (2024 and 2025 have no value), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Panama fact sheet, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 491, global rank 70 (global average 488). The live country page (ef.com/wwen/epi/regions/latin-america/panama/) shows the same score and rank on 15 October 2026.