Panama's Economy Grew 4.33% in 2025

Panama's Monthly Index of Economic Activity (IMAE) accumulated a growth of 4.33% in 2025, with a year-on-year rate in December of 4.03%, driven by sectors such as transportation, commerce, and finance, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) released this Friday. Panama's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.7% in 2024, boosted by commerce and domestic consumption. The IMAE is a production indicator that allows approximating the country's economic growth path, which, according to official forecasts, will register an expansion of around 4% of GDP in 2025. On the other hand, commercial activity in the Colón Free Zone showed negative variations due to the lower value of goods re-exports, banana cultivation for export, and the export of fish and fish fillets and other chilled and frozen marine products. According to official statistics, the transportation, storage, and communications sector was one of the drivers of the year-on-year indicator due to the performance of the Panama Canal in terms of toll revenues and net tons transported by ships, although air transport and the movement of TEU containers through the national port system also contributed. Industrial production showed positive results due to the increase in the sacrifice of swine and cattle, and the production of alcoholic beverages such as beer, similar to the agricultural sector, due to the cultivation of pineapple for export, among others. Commercial activity showed a positive performance in both local retail and wholesale trade; financial intermediation maintained an upward trajectory reflected in deposits, credits, insurance activity, and construction was boosted by the execution of civil works and a greater demand for basic related inputs such as pre-mixed concrete and gray cement. Hotel and restaurant services continued their dynamism from previous months due to the entry of tourists into the country by air and through cruises, an influx that produced higher hotel occupancy and consumption in gastronomic establishments. The year-on-year expansion in December of 4.03% is lower than the 6% reported in the same month of the previous year, specifies the INEC, an entity of the General Comptroller's Office of Panama.