Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama
Panama: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income was 23.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama, 1979–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
Panama recorded 23.2% for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in 2024.
That represents a change of up 5.5% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama peaked at 30.2% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 21.4%, in 2021.
Panama ranks 2nd of 130 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 23.7% | — |
| 1989 | 30.2% | +27.4% |
| 1991 | 28.7% | -5.0% |
| 1995 | 28.3% | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 26.8% | -5.3% |
| 1998 | 26.8% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 26.0% | -3.0% |
| 2000 | 26.5% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 27.6% | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 26.5% | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 25.6% | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 25.9% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 25.2% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 25.5% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 25.0% | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 23.3% | -6.8% |
| 2009 | 23.2% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 23.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 22.8% | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 23.0% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 23.9% | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 23.1% | -3.3% |
| 2015 | 22.6% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 22.9% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 23.5% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 22.3% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 22.8% | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 21.4% | -6.1% |
| 2023 | 22.0% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 23.2% | +5.5% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 23.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.7%, 2.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Panama's 23.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 17.8%, 1.3× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +27.4% | 23.7% | 30.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 23.7% | 23.7% | 23.7% | 1 |
| 1980s | 30.2% | 30.2% | 30.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 27.3% | 26.0% | 28.7% | 5 |
| 2000s | 25.4% | 23.2% | 27.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.0% | 22.3% | 23.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.2% | 21.4% | 23.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More infrastructure data for Panama
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 6.98 million (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 156.59 per 100 people (2023)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 774,060 (2023)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 17.36 per 100 people (2023)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.1736 units per person (2023)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -8.18 % change on previous year (2023)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 774,060 (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.57 units per person (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama?
- Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama was 23.2% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 30.2% in 1989.
- What is the lowest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.4% in 2021.
- How does Panama rank for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income?
- Panama ranks 2nd out of 130 countries with data for 2024.
- Is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Panama data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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