Market Research Companies in Panama

Key figures for researchers

Population

4,064,780 (2023 census)¹

Largest provinces

Panamá 1,439,575, Panamá Oeste 653,665, Chiriquí 471,071 (2023 census)¹

Urban / rural

2,675,550 urban, 1,389,230 rural (2023 census)²

Age structure

25.4% under 15, 9.8% aged 65 and over; median age 30 (2023 census)³

Indigenous / Afro-descendant

17.2% indigenous, 31.7% Afro-descendant (2023 census)³

Born abroad

249,476 people, 6.1% of the population (2023 census)⁴

Homes with internet

70% (2023 census, against 20% in 2010)⁵

Internet users

72.8 per 100 people (2024)⁶

Mobile subscriptions

157 per 100 people (2023)⁷

GDP per capita

about US$19,790 (2025)⁸

Research guide

Research landscape

Panama is a mid-sized research market, and Panama City is the main business centre. Local agencies typically offer consumer, social and opinion research, fieldwork and online panels, and Panama is often covered as part of multi-country Central American studies. The global reference for professional standards is the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on market, opinion and social research and data analytics, released on 8 December 2016.

Political and electoral polls follow specific rules. Under Article 293 of the Electoral Code, anyone who intends to publish polls on political or electoral preferences must first register with the Tribunal Electoral and renew the registration every year; under Article 295, the technical sheet (ficha técnica) must be published with the results. Fines for unregistered publication range from US$25,000 to US$50,000. Studies on other topics are outside these rules.

Languages and fieldwork

Under Article 7 of the Constitution, Spanish is the official language of the Republic, and indigenous languages are to be studied, preserved and promoted. Spanish is the fieldwork language for almost all studies. In the 2023 census, 17.2% of people identified as indigenous and 31.7% as Afro-descendant, and 6.1% were born abroad.

The census tables list ten provinces and three indigenous comarcas. Panamá (1,439,575 people) and Panamá Oeste (653,665) together hold about half the population, followed by Chiriquí (471,071), where David is the main city, and Colón (281,956). The largest comarca is Ngäbe Buglé (212,084), ahead of Kuna Yala (32,016) and Emberá (12,358). Panamá Oeste only became a separate province in 2013, so check that older quotas or sample frames use the current provinces.

Which methods work

Connectivity is good in cities: there were 72.8 internet users per 100 people in 2024 and 157 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2023, and 70% of homes had internet in the 2023 census, against 20% in 2010. Online and mobile surveys work for most urban targets in and around Panama City and Colón, and questionnaires must work well on a phone.

The rural population is still large: 1,389,230 people lived in rural areas in 2023, against 2,675,550 in urban areas. Face-to-face (household, intercept or central location) or telephone interviews are used for rural, older and lower-income targets and for the comarcas, where travel takes time. Focus groups and in-depth interviews are mostly held in Panama City.

Timing

Carnival is the main holiday period of the first quarter: in 2027, Carnival Monday and Tuesday fall on 8 and 9 February, followed by Ash Wednesday on 10 February, and Good Friday falls on 26 March. November is the month of patriotic holidays: 3, 4, 5, 10 and 28 November (with 29 November 2027 as a day off), followed by Mother’s Day on 8 December and Christmas. Avoid starting fieldwork in these weeks. Other national holidays include 1 January, 9 January and 1 May.

The school year runs from March to December: in 2026, classes started on 2 March, with recesses from 1 to 5 June and from 7 to 11 September, and classes end on 11 December. Families are harder to reach from mid-December to February. For the rainy season, the meteorological institute (IMHPA) expected the rains of 2026 to start between 26 April and 5 June depending on the region, while the Caribbean side (Bocas del Toro, Colón, Guna Yala) gets frequent rain for much of the year. Heavy rain can slow rural fieldwork, so allow extra time.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by Law 81 of 26 March 2019 on personal data protection, in force since 29 March 2021 and regulated by Executive Decree 285 of 28 May 2021. It is supervised by the National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (ANTAI), through its Directorate of Personal Data Protection. Consent must be voluntary, informed, unequivocal and demonstrable (electronic records are valid), and sensitive data such as health requires explicit consent. Data subjects have rights of access, rectification, cancellation, opposition and portability.

Under Article 37 of the Decree, security breaches must be notified to the authority and to the people affected within 72 hours of discovery. Transfers abroad are allowed with the data subject’s consent or to recipients with equivalent or higher standards. Serious offences are fined from US$1,000 to US$10,000, and very serious ones can lead to the closure or suspension of the database. Ask your agency how consent is recorded and where the data is hosted.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, provinces and cities, urban/rural split, method and deadline.
• Agree on quotas by province, area, age and gender, and on whether the sample goes beyond Panama City, Panamá Oeste and Colón.
• Ask which panels or fieldwork teams will be used, and how supervision, back-checks and fraud checks are done.
• Check compliance with Law 81 of 2019: documented consent, breach procedures, retention and any transfer outside Panama.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.