World Sites & Apps
North America · #118 · 2025–2026

Panama: internet and everyday apps

Panama has about 3.4 million people online — a penetration rate of 75.6% and rank #118 worldwide. This page walks through the local digital scene, the app categories people lean on, and 16 apps worth knowing.

Internet users 3.4 million Penetration 75.6% World rank #118 Updated 2026-11-12
Language EspañolEnglish
TL;DR
  • Panama has roughly 3.4 million internet users (3,400,000 people) — about 75.6% of the population and rank #118 globally.
  • The apps people open most: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube. They cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, Food, Tools, Travel and more.
  • The one to know first: WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

Panama in numbers

2025–2026
Internet users
3.4 million3,400,000 · #118
Penetration
75.6%#130
Population
4.5 million4,500,000 · #129
GDP
$87B#80
GDP growth
+2.7%#131
GDP per person
$19,222#79
Land area
75.4k km²#117
Capital
Panama City
Region
North America
Official languages
Spanish

How Panama goes online

Panama City combines two habits: WhatsApp to talk, Yappy to pay. Yappy covers a taxi, a lunch, the building maintenance fee, and hardly anyone carries cash for small things any more. Instagram carries the social life; Facebook is used less. The banks have decent apps and the connection is steady, which you notice when you travel elsewhere in the region and everything takes twice as long. Small shops put a code on the counter, so payment goes through without a card machine.

Around 75.6%. With a population of about 4.5 million and 3.4 million online, roughly 1.1 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

All 16 apps below are grouped by category.

What people actually use

16 Most-used apps

Messaging

1 Most-used apps →
WhatsApp Messaging · Meta · 2009

Social

2 Most-used apps →
Instagram Social · Meta · 2010 Facebook Social · Meta · 2004

Video

2 Most-used apps →
YouTube Video · Google · 2005 TikTok Video · ByteDance · 2016

Shopping

2 Most-used apps →
Mercado Libre Shopping · Mercado Libre · 1999 Amazon Shopping · Amazon.com, Inc. · 1994

Payments

2 Most-used apps →
Mercado Pago Payments · Mercado Libre · 2003 Yappy Payments · Banco General · 2019

Mobility

2 Most-used apps →
Uber Mobility · Uber Technologies · 2009 inDrive Mobility · inDrive · 2012

Food

2 Most-used apps →
Rappi Food · Rappi · 2015 PedidosYa Food · Delivery Hero · 2009

Tools

2 Most-used apps →
Google Tools · Google · 1998 Gmail Tools · Google · 2004

Travel

1 Most-used apps →
Copa Airlines Travel · Copa Holdings · 2010

Websites people in Panama actually use

11

The 11 sites locals open most often — news, shopping, search, banking and government services. Every link goes to the official site.

News2Banking2Government2Transport2Shopping1Education1Health1
La PrensaNewsprensa.comPanama City daily covering politics, business and crime. La Estrella de PanamáNewslaestrella.com.paThe country’s oldest daily. YappyBankingyappy.com.paMobile wallet from Banco General, used to split bills and pay shops. Banco Nacional de PanamáBankingbanconal.com.paThe country’s largest state-owned bank. Panama TramitaGovernmentpanamatramita.gob.paGovernment portal for permits, certificates and official paperwork online. DGI PanamaGovernmentdgi.gob.paTaxes and filing. Copa AirlinesTransportcopaair.comPanama's flag carrier, selling flights through its Hub of the Americas at Tocumen airport. Panama Canal AuthorityTransportpancanal.comTransits, tolls and canal statistics. Mercado Libre PanamaShoppingmercadolibre.com.paMarketplace for electronics, furniture and cars, often paid through Yappy. University of PanamaEducationup.ac.paThe largest public university. Social Security FundHealthcss.gob.paSocial security and its paperwork.

2808 websites →

Frequently asked questions

6 Q&A
How many people in Panama are online?

About 3.4 million (3,400,000 people). That works out to roughly 75.6% of the population, which puts Panama at #118 in the world for total internet users. Figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026, which draws on ITU and national statistics.

Which apps do people in Panama use most?

Mostly WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube — they cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, Food, Tools, Travel. The full list, grouped by category, is further down this page.

What is the leading Messaging app in Panama?

WhatsApp dominate this space. The best-known is WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

How high is internet penetration in Panama?

Around 75.6%. With a population of about 4.5 million and 3.4 million online, roughly 1.1 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

Where do these app facts come from?

Usage figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026 (Kepios, based on ITU and national statistics); app details come from each product’s official site. Updated 2026-11-12.

Which websites are most popular in Panama?

The everyday ones are La Prensa, Mercado Libre Panama, Yappy, plus the other 11 sites listed above. They cover news, shopping, search, banking and official paperwork, and every link points to the official site.

Sources

Updated 2026-11-12
Cite this pageWorld Sites & Apps. “Panama: internet and everyday apps”. 2026. https://abcvv.com/c/pa-en.html