Updates the finding of Aug 23, 2026
Panama recorded in 2025 its highest public debt since its series began in 1990, at 65.6%
According to ECLAC central government data as a percentage of GDP, no value in the 36-year series exceeds 65.6%. The figure represents a 3.5 percentage point increase compared to 62.1% in 2024.
Current verified finding
Panama recorded in 2025 its highest public debt since its series began in 1990: 65.6%.
Evidence
Panama: public debt 1990–2025
The finding preserves the reviewed data even when the source publishes an update.
Snapshot technical details
Query fingerprint: sigev_ff82579558365 · The text, result, and records remain fixed to this review.
How we calculated it
We query series public_debt_pct_gdp of dataset cepal-economia-anual (CEPALSTAT) for Panama from 1990 to 2025 in VerDat's normalised layer and check that no year in the series matches or exceeds the 2025 value. We require at least 15 years of series and a gap of at least 10 years. The chart reproduces the query; the values are re-verified automatically every day.
36 rows match the query; 36 results remain in the summary.
What it means and what it does not
The series comes from an ECLAC harmonised dataset rather than the national methodology, meaning it may differ from official domestic figures. The indicator reflects where debt stands relative to the country's own past but does not explain the underlying causes. Additionally, revisions to earlier years could shift the date of the record.
Growth, inflation, debt and tax revenue are percentages; FDI is US dollars — filter to one indicator_key before aggregating.
Verification
Records within the query
Records preserved in the editorial snapshot, using the same filters and partition as the chart.
| Period | Value | Year | Country | Indicator | Indicator group | Month | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65.6 | 2025 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2024 | 62.09 | 2024 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2023 | 56.42 | 2023 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2022 | 58.02 | 2022 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2021 | 60.05 | 2021 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2020 | 64.74 | 2020 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2019 | 44.5 | 2019 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2018 | 39.3 | 2018 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2017 | 37.3 | 2017 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2016 | 37 | 2016 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2015 | 37.1 | 2015 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |
| 2014 | 36.2 | 2014 | panama | Deuda pública del gobierno central, % del PIB | deuda | Not applicable (annual) | annual |