{"id":12943,"date":"2026-04-29T09:10:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=12943"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T15:58:12","slug":"panama-gdp-to-grow-4-percent-in-2026-eclac-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/business-economy\/panama-gdp-to-grow-4-percent-in-2026-eclac-report-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama GDP to Grow 4 Percent in 2026 ECLAC Report Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panama stands among the fastest-growing economies in Central America<\/a> this year. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)<\/a> released new projections on Monday showing Panama’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)<\/a> will expand by 4 percent in 2026.<\/p>\n

That rate exceeds the 3.7 percent estimate from December 2025. The regional body, known as La Cepal<\/a> in Spanish, calculates the average growth for all of Latin America and the Caribbean at just 2.2 percent. Only seven of 33 countries in the region will see accelerating growth this year. The other 24 face a slowdown.<\/p>\n

Panama Outpaces Regional Average Despite Global Risks<\/h2>\n

Nicaragua leads Central America with a projected 4.5 percent growth rate. Panama ties with Guatemala and the Dominican Republic at 4 percent each. Costa Rica follows at 3.9 percent, Honduras at 3.8 percent, and El Salvador at 3.3 percent.<\/p>\n

The overall Central American average sits at 2.2 percent. That figure drops because of sharp contractions in Cuba at negative 6.5 percent and Haiti at negative 1.4 percent. Remove those two economies and the regional average jumps to 3.9 percent. That represents a slight increase from 3.8 percent in 2025.<\/p>\n

South America will grow 2.4 percent this year. The Caribbean leads all subregions at 5.6 percent.<\/p>\n

Geopolitical Tensions Threaten Economic Outlook<\/h2>\n

ECLAC warns that global conditions have turned more restrictive. Rising geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflict in the Middle East have increased uncertainty. Financial markets and commodity prices have become more volatile.<\/p>\n

The average oil price during the first three weeks of April sat 74 percent above December 2025 levels. That surge is generating inflationary pressures worldwide. Production and transportation costs keep rising.<\/p>\n

\n

“This result is influenced by the contractions expected in Cuba and Haiti. If we exclude these two economies, the average would be 3.9 percent in 2026, representing a slight increase from the 3.8 percent observed in 2025.” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Global food prices have also climbed. Major trading partners for the region, including the Euro Zone, China, and India, are seeing slower growth. International trade volume will expand only 2.7 percent this year. That is down sharply from 4.7 percent in 2025, according to World Trade Organization projections.<\/p>\n

Inflation and Employment Face Headwinds<\/h2>\n

Private consumption will lose momentum in 2026. Banks are showing more caution. Investment growth will moderate. Employment expansion will slow to about 1.1 percent, down from 1.5 percent last year.<\/p>\n

Inflation across the region will exceed 3 percent during 2026. That compares with 2.4 percent in 2025. The price increases hit hardest in South America.<\/p>\n

\n

“This situation is especially relevant in the economies of South America, where persistent pressures remain associated with exchange rate volatility and the impact of rising costs for imported inputs and transportation.” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Panama Canal<\/a> remains a critical engine for the national economy. Shipping traffic and toll revenues directly influence GDP performance. Any disruption to global trade routes could affect Panama more than its neighbors.<\/p>\n

ECLAC projects that Latin America will complete four consecutive years with growth rates near 2.3 percent. That pattern shows a structural inability to achieve higher expansion. Panama’s 4 percent forecast breaks that trend. The country’s logistics sector and service-based economy provide advantages over commodity-dependent nations.<\/p>\n

The projections carry significant weight for investors watching Latin America<\/a>. Panama offers the highest growth potential in Central America alongside Nicaragua. Both countries benefit from different economic drivers. Panama relies on its canal, financial services, and logistics hub. Nicaragua depends more on agriculture and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Policy makers in Panama City will watch global developments closely. The ECLAC report makes clear that external factors, not domestic conditions, pose the biggest risks. Oil prices, trade tensions, and geopolitical conflicts sit outside any single country’s control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panama stands among the fastest-growing economies in Central America this year. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) released new projections on Monday showing Panama’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will expand by 4 percent in 2026. That rate exceeds the 3.7 percent estimate from December 2025. The regional body, known as La<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[632,1123,69,3996],"class_list":{"0":"post-12943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business-economy","8":"tag-central-america-growth","9":"tag-eclac","10":"tag-panama-economy","11":"tag-panama-gdp-2026"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12944,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12943\/revisions\/12944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}