Focus on Panama.

Below is a map of Panama, one of the countries featured in the February World Newsmap of the Month. The map has a legend showing the symbols for national capitals, provincial capitals, and other cities.

Facts About Panama

AREA: 30,200 sq. mi.

POPULATION: 2,778,526

POPULATION DENSITY: 92 people per square mile

AGE DISTRIBUTION: younger than 15, 31.5 percent; 65 or older, 5.8 percent

CAPITAL: Panama City

COMMUNICATIONS: television sets, 13 per every 1,000 persons; radios, 5.1 per every 1,000 persons; telephones, 365,700 main lines

LIFE EXPECTANCY: 71.91, male; 77.51, female

TRANSPORTATION: railroad, 220 miles of tracks; motor vehicles, 144,000 passenger cars in use; commercial vehicles, 82,800

LITERACY: 91 percent

Source: The World Almanac, 2000

Skills in Action:

Complete the sentences below by placing an A, B, or C in each blank.

-- 1. Colon is a (A) national capital, (B) provincial capital, (C) small town.

-- 2. The Gulf of Panama lies in the (A) Pacific Ocean, (B) Caribbean Sea, (C) Atlantic Ocean.

-- 3. Panama City lies near the (A) border with Costa Rica, (B) border with Colombia, (C) Panama Canal.

-- 4. The two provincial capitals that lie closest to each other are (A) La Palma and David, (B) Las Tablas and Chitre, (C) Panama City and Colon.

-- 5. A plane flying in a straight line from Panama City to La Palma would fly a little more than (A) 100 miles, (B) 150 miles, (C) 200 miles.

-- 6. The portion of Panama's population between the ages of 15 and 64 is (A) 31.5 percent, (B) 80 percent, (C) 62.7 percent.

-- 7. For every 10,000 people in Panama, there are about (A) 130 televisions, (B) 13 televisions, (C) 1,000 televisions.

-- 8. In Panama, a baby girl can expect to live (A) 5.6 more years than a baby boy, (B) 8.5 fewer years than a baby boy, (C) until age 71.9.

-- 9. If the population were distributed evenly in Panama, 5 square miles would contain approximately (A) 920 people, (B) 460 people, (C) 4,600 people.

-- 10. The portion of Panama's population that is illiterate is about (A) 20 percent, (B) 15 percent, (C) 9 percent.

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