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Panama City, Panama

Panama City
City
Ciudad de Panamá
Top to bottom, left to right: Panama Canal, Skyline, Bridge of the Americas, The bovedas, Casco Viejo of Panama and Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama.
Top to bottom, left to right: Panama Canal, Skyline, Bridge of the Americas, The bovedas, Casco Viejo of Panama and Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama.
Flag of Panama City
Flag
Coat of arms of Panama City
Coat of arms
Panama City is located in Panama
Panama City
Panama City
Coordinates: Country 8°59′N 79°31′W / 8.983°N 79.517°W / 8.983; -79.517
District Panamá
Foundation August 15, 1519
Founded by Pedro Arias de Ávila
Government
 • President Juan Carlos Varela
 • Mayor José Isabel Blandón Figueroa
Area
 • City 275 km2 (106 sq mi)
 • Metro 2,560.8 km2 (988.7 sq mi)
Elevation 2 m (7 ft)
Population (2010)
 • City 880,691
 • Density 5,750/km2 (7,656/sq mi)
 • Urban 430,299
 
Area code(s) (+507) 2
HDI (2007) 0.780 – high
Website mupa.gob.pa

Panama City (Spanish: Ciudad de Panamá; pronounced: [sjuˈða(ð) ðe panaˈma]) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has an urban population of 430,299, and its population totals 880,691 when rural areas are included. The city is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of Panama. The city is the political and administrative center of the country, as well as a hub for international banking and commerce. It is considered a "gamma+" world city, one of three Central American cities listed in this category.

Panama's , the largest and busiest airport in Central America, offers daily flights to major international destinations. Panama was chosen as the 2003 American Capital of Culture jointly with Curitiba, Brazil. It is among the top five places for retirement in the world, according to International Living magazine.

The city of Panama was founded on August 15, 1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila. The city was the starting point for expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru. It was a stopover point on one of the most important trade routes in the history of the American continent, leading to the fairs of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo, through which passed most of the gold and silver that Spain took from the Americas.

On January 28, 1671, the original city (see Panamá Viejo) was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked and set fire to it. The city was formally reestablished two years later on January 21, 1673, in a peninsula located 8 km (5 miles) from the original settlement. The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins and is now a popular tourist attraction known as Panama Viejo.


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