Panama is one of those countries where the education system can be surprisingly difficult to judge from the outside. It is a relatively wealthy and modern country by Central American standards, with a major international economy, a huge banking and logistics sector, modern private schools and universities, and a population that places considerable importance on education.
But when you look at what students are actually learning, the picture becomes much more complicated.
Panama has some excellent schools and universities, but its overall educational performance remains well below what you might expect from a country with Panama's economic resources. Compared with its neighbors, Panama sits in an interesting position: it has considerably more economic resources than some Central American countries, but its students do not consistently outperform those countries academically.
The clearest way to understand the situation is to look at international testing, access to education, inequality and the enormous difference between Panama's best schools and its most disadvantaged ones.
Panama Compared With Central America
One of the best international measurements available is the OECD's PISA examination, which tests 15 year old students in mathematics, reading and science.
Panama participated in PISA 2022 alongside countries including Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, as well as larger Latin American countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil and Argentina.
The results were not particularly strong for Panama.
Panama's average scores were 357 in mathematics, 392 in reading and 388 in science.
The numbers become more meaningful when compared with some neighbors.
Costa Rica scored 385 in mathematics, 415 in reading and 411 in science. Colombia scored higher than Panama in all three areas as well.
And the differences become even more striking when Panama is compared with Chile and Uruguay, which were the strongest performers in Latin America and the Caribbean in PISA 2022 mathematics. The Inter American Development Bank placed Panama 74th among the 81 participating education systems in mathematics.
So although Panama is one of the region's wealthier economies, its students are not among Latin America's strongest performers academically.
Costa Rica Is the Most Interesting Comparison
If you want to compare Panama with one country in particular, Costa Rica is probably the most revealing.
The two countries are geographically close and share many characteristics. Both have relatively stable economies, significant tourism industries, strong service sectors and comparatively developed urban areas.
Yet Costa Rica performed substantially better than Panama in PISA 2022.
Costa Rica's 2022 scores were 385 in mathematics, 415 in reading and 411 in science, compared with Panama's 357, 392 and 388.
That does not mean that every Costa Rican school is better than every Panamanian school. Far from it.
It means that when you look at the national populations of 15 year olds participating in PISA, Costa Rica produced higher average results.
Costa Rica has also developed a long standing reputation for investing heavily in education, and education has historically been an important part of its national development strategy.
Colombia Is Also Ahead in the Standardized Results
Colombia is another useful comparison because it is much larger and has enormous regional differences of its own.
In PISA 2022, only about 29% of Colombian students reached Level 2 or higher in mathematics, compared with just 16% in Panama.
Neither figure is particularly impressive by OECD standards, but the difference is significant.
This is one reason it is important not to assume that Panama's stronger economy automatically produces better educational results.
Panama has one of Latin America's highest income levels per person, but the relationship between national wealth and educational achievement is not automatic.
How money is distributed, where schools are located, teacher quality, early childhood education, infrastructure and family circumstances all matter.
Chile and Uruguay Are Another Story
Chile and Uruguay provide an even more interesting comparison.
Both performed substantially better than Panama in PISA 2022. The Inter American Development Bank identified Chile and Uruguay as the region's strongest performers in mathematics, ranking 52nd and 53rd respectively among the 81 participating systems.
This demonstrates something important.
Panama's educational challenge is not simply a Central American problem.
There are Latin American countries with education systems that produce considerably stronger measured academic outcomes.
In other words, Panama has room to improve even when compared with countries that share similar regional and economic challenges.
The Biggest Problem May Be Inequality
One of the most fascinating characteristics of education in Panama is the enormous gap between different groups of students.
A child attending an expensive private school in Panama City can have a completely different educational experience from a child attending a rural public school.
There can be major differences in teachers, facilities, technology, English instruction, extracurricular activities, class sizes and access to specialized programs.
The OECD found that socioeconomic status accounted for 20% of the variation in mathematics performance in Panama in PISA 2022. Students from the top socioeconomic quarter outperformed those from the bottom quarter by 77 points in mathematics.
That is a huge difference.
It means that where a child is born and what economic resources their family has can have a substantial relationship with their academic performance.
Rural Panama Faces Different Problems
The difference between Panama City and rural Panama is particularly important.
Panama has remote communities scattered across mountains, islands, forests and indigenous territories. Providing the same educational opportunities everywhere is difficult.
The World Bank has previously identified substantial educational differences between urban and rural students in Panama. Its analysis found that rural students were more than two years of schooling behind urban students on some measures.
This is one of the hidden stories behind Panama's education system.
When someone says "education in Panama," they might be imagining a modern school in Panama City with computers, air conditioning and bilingual education.
That school exists.
But it is not necessarily representative of the experience of a student living in a remote rural or indigenous community.
Indigenous Students Face Additional Challenges
Panama's geography creates another educational challenge because the country has significant indigenous populations, including the Guna, Ngäbe, Buglé, Emberá and Wounaan.
Some indigenous communities are extremely remote.
Students may face difficulties involving transportation, infrastructure, teacher availability, internet access and language.
This means that improving Panama's education system is not simply a question of building better schools in Panama City.
The country has to deliver education across mountains, islands, forests and remote communities.
That is considerably more complicated.
Panama's Learning Poverty Problem
Another useful measurement is "learning poverty," a World Bank indicator referring broadly to children who are unable to read and understand a simple age appropriate text by the end of primary school, adjusted for children who are out of school.
The World Bank's latest available estimate for Panama in its 2024 brief was that 79% of children at late primary age were not proficient in reading, after accounting for children who were out of school. The World Bank estimated this was 26 percentage points worse than the Latin America and Caribbean average.
That number is startling.
It also needs context. This indicator is based on the latest available underlying data before COVID related school closures rather than a direct 2026 measurement, so it should not be interpreted as a current classroom measurement. But it demonstrates the scale of Panama's longstanding foundational learning problem.
COVID Made the Problem Worse
Panama, like much of Latin America, experienced significant disruption during the pandemic.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, children experienced some of the longest periods of school closures anywhere in the world. The World Bank estimated that students in the region lost roughly two thirds of their in person school days during the pandemic period.
Panama's PISA 2022 results also came with an important warning.
The OECD noted that Panama's PISA participation was affected by teacher strikes, road blockades and student absenteeism. Student response rates were considerably lower than in 2018, and the OECD said it could not rule out some bias in the 2022 results.
So PISA 2022 gives us valuable information, but it should not be treated as a perfectly precise measurement of every Panamanian student's ability.
English Is an Important Difference
One area where Panama has an enormous potential advantage is English.
Because Panama's economy is so international, English is extremely valuable.
The Canal, aviation, tourism, banking, logistics, multinational companies and international commerce all create demand for English speakers.
Many private schools therefore place a strong emphasis on bilingual education.
This creates another divide, however.
A wealthy family can potentially pay for a private bilingual school where children receive extensive English instruction from an early age.
A student in a poorly funded public school may have a very different experience.
The result is that English ability can become another educational advantage connected to family income.
Private Schools Can Be Very Different
This is perhaps the most important point for anyone comparing Panama's educational system.
There isn't really one "Panamanian school system" in terms of the experience a child receives.
There are excellent private schools.
There are ordinary private schools.
There are highly selective schools.
There are international schools.
And there are public schools facing significant resource constraints.
This produces a huge spread in educational quality.
A family with money can potentially create an educational pathway involving private bilingual schooling, extracurricular activities, international exposure and eventually a private university.
Another family may depend almost entirely on the public system.
Those two students technically live in the same country, but their educational experiences can be worlds apart.
Universities Are a Different Story
Panama's higher education system is more diverse than its primary and secondary education system might suggest.
The country has a large public university sector as well as numerous private universities.
Private institutions include universities such as USMA, Universidad Interamericana de Panamá, Universidad Latina and Universidad del Istmo, alongside many smaller specialized institutions.
Some private universities have invested heavily in medicine, dentistry, business, technology and professional education.
This creates opportunities for students who want more flexible schedules or specialized programs.
But again, university quality varies considerably, and students need to look at accreditation, program recognition, faculty, facilities and actual career outcomes rather than simply assuming that private means better.
Panama Is Not an Educational Failure
It would be unfair to look at PISA and conclude that Panama has a "bad" education system.
There are excellent teachers.
There are excellent schools.
There are highly educated Panamanians working in medicine, engineering, banking, aviation, logistics, science, technology and international business.
Panama also has a large number of young people who succeed academically despite difficult circumstances.
The problem is more accurately described as uneven educational quality.
The country produces some very capable graduates while leaving too many children without strong foundational skills.
That is a very different problem from having no good education at all.
The Strange Relationship Between Panama's Wealth and Its Schools
This may be the most interesting part of the entire comparison.
Panama has transformed itself into one of the most important economies in Central America.
It has skyscrapers, international banks, the Canal, one of the region's major aviation hubs, enormous logistics operations and a thriving services sector.
Yet its students' average PISA results remain below those of several neighboring countries.
That suggests that economic development has moved faster than educational development in some parts of the country.
Panama has built an impressive modern economy.
Now it faces the challenge of ensuring that its education system produces the human capital needed to sustain that economy.
So How Does Panama Compare With Its Neighbors?
The simplest way to describe it is this:
Costa Rica generally performs better academically in international assessments. Colombia also performs better than Panama in PISA 2022. Chile and Uruguay are substantially stronger performers within Latin America. Panama performs better than some countries in the region, but it remains well below the OECD average.
At the same time, Panama has considerable economic resources and a sophisticated private education sector.
Its biggest challenge isn't necessarily access to schools.
It is quality, consistency and equality.
A child growing up in an affluent part of Panama City can have access to an education that looks remarkably international. A child growing up in a remote rural or indigenous community can face a completely different set of opportunities.
That contrast explains a lot about Panama itself.
It is a country where gleaming skyscrapers can stand only a few hours from communities with extremely limited infrastructure.
The education system reflects that same contrast.
Panama has the money, international connections and human talent to build a very strong education system. The challenge is making sure those advantages reach far beyond the country's wealthiest neighborhoods and become available to children across the entire country.