Population figures
Total country population
4,527,961
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
2,595
Asylum-seekers:
5,610
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
57,549
Other
Statelessness persons
739
Host community
6,000
Others of concern to UNHCR
37,776
Country context
Panama, situated in Central America, is a key transit and destination country for individuals fleeing crises across Latin America and beyond. Bordered by Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the southeast, Panama connects the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea via the Panama Canal, making it a strategic corridor for migratory movements. Its geography ranges from dense rainforests and mountainous regions to coastal plains, including the Darién jungle, a remote and dangerous area with significant human mobility. Refugees and asylum-seekers in Panama come from a variety of backgrounds, including Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Cuba, and more distant countries. Most reside in urban and peri-urban areas—primarily Panama City, Panama Oeste, Colon, and David, living in private accommodation or temporary reception centres.
Panama is a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, incorporated into domestic law through Law No. 5 of 26 October 1977. This law provides the legal foundation for refugee status determination and the principle of non-refoulement. Executive Decree No. 5 of 2018 further regulates this framework, introducing a gender-sensitive interpretation of persecution as a legitimate ground for asylum and establishing a six-month deadline for submitting asylum claims. Asylum applications are filed with the National Office for the Attention of Refugees (ONPAR), while refugee status decisions are made by the National Commission for the Protection of Refugees (CONARE), which includes representatives from various State institutions.
...In addition, Decree Law No. 3 of 22 February 2008 established the National Immigration Service and set out comprehensive entry, stay, and removal provisions for all non-nationals—among them refugees and asylum-seekers—while preserving the protections conferred under the 1977 refugee statute.
Panama is also party to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The country has taken concrete steps to address statelessness, including establishing a statelessness determination procedure regulated by Executive Decree No. 10 of January 5, 2019. In 2021, Panama recognized its first stateless individual. As of December 2024, 14 individuals have been recognized as stateless. Ongoing efforts to prevent and reduce statelessness focus particularly on Indigenous populations, such as the Ngäbe, who work seasonally across Panama and Costa Rica. Collaborative initiatives aim to ensure birth registration and nationality documentation to prevent statelessness in these and other communities.
Under Executive Decree No. 20 of May 2019, Panama authorized work permits for asylum-seekers admitted to the procedure while awaiting a decision from CONARE. This was reaffirmed and expanded by Executive Decree No. 6 of April 2023, which extended eligibility to victims of human trafficking, stateless persons, and others under humanitarian protection.
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