Panama's economy to contract at least 2% in 2020 hit by coronavirus

  • The Panamanian economy, one of the fastest growing in Latin America, will contract at least 2% in 2020, impacted by the crisis unleashed by the coronavirus.
  • The authority explained that, after more than a decade ranking among the best performing countries in the continent, Panama will have negative growth due to the stoppage of most activities to stop the spread of the virus.
  • Earlier this year, before the health crisis unleashed, the Ministry of Economy and Finance had forecast that GDP would grow around 4.5% - higher than 3% last year - driven by the activities of a huge copper mine, which had to be temporarily closed due to the outbreak.

(Source: Fitch)