Panama vs Puerto Rico (US)

Panama and Puerto Rico (US) compared on 9 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Panama has about 1.4 times as many people as Puerto Rico (US): 4.6 million against 3.2 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Puerto Rico (US) ($40,620) is about 2.1 times as high as in Panama ($19,790) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Panama (4.4%) than in Puerto Rico (US) (0.3%), a difference of 4.1 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Panama (8.4%) than in Puerto Rico (US) (6%), a difference of 2.4 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Puerto Rico (US) can expect to live 2.1 years longer than one born in Panama: 81.9 years against 79.8 years in 2024.
• The population of Puerto Rico (US) is older: half of its people are over 45.3 years, against 29.6 years in Panama in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Puerto Rico (US) (87.3% in 2022) than in Panama (72.8% in 2024), a difference of 14.5 percentage points.
• CO2 emissions per person in Puerto Rico (US) (4.8 tonnes) are 78% higher than in Panama (2.7 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Panama (62.2%) than in Puerto Rico (US) (49.7%), a difference of 12.5 percentage points in 2024.