The colombians in Panama represent the largest group of foreigners in the country.  According to CEPAL over ten thousand Colombians in Panama were censured in the year 2000 and it was projected at that time the total would triple by this year  which would make the total more than the large Chinese population in Panama.

The movement of colombians in Panama occurs as an escape from the violence and political instability registered in their country.  Currently there is no exact real figure of the amount of colombians in Panama , since in addition to the colombians in Panama that enter legally, there exists a percentage that enters illegally.  The Tapon of the Darien represents one of the most used ways for the illegal entry of colombians in Panama , as well some coasts.

In the last years the number of colombians in Panama has increased, bringing with them negative and positive impacts.  The illegal entry of colombians in Panama motivated the political sectors to propose a better migratory control, such as demanding of a visa at the time of entry.  A great number of illegal colombians in Panama have resided in points such as Jacque, the Tuira and Obaldia Port, regions close to the Colombo Panamanian border, where their families are established.

The other percentage is parallel and the majority which are the professionals and colombians in Panama who are businessmen that arrive to invest in our country.  From the year 2,000 some 35 thousand visas have been approved to investors who are colombian in Panama.

Official figures point out that 20% of the Panamanian economy is linked to businesses belonging to colombians in Panama .  The sectors where there is the most incursion of colombians in Panama are: tourism, hospitality, construction and entertainment activities like nightclubs and bars.  Real estate projects in exclusive sectors like Costa del Este, Paitilla, Albrook and Clayton are developed by colombians in Panama .

The migration of Colombians to Panama is of such magnitude that they are already forming organisms and associations like the Chamber of Colombians in Panama , the Colombo-Panamanian Ladies, Foundation of the Friends of New Grenada and others.

According to the last census done in 2000 colombians in Panama represent 25.7% of the 82 thousand 97 immigrants.  With regards to the statistics of the government of Alvaro Uribe, they point out that the colombians in Panama that immigrated in the first 5 years of this century increased a 236.2%.

In addition to this, the General census of the South American country 2005 revealed that, the colombians in Panama chose this country as a destination, placing it in sixth place of preference.  During the later years a significant number of colombians have been involved in criminal acts, like drug busts, assaults, homicides and prostitution which has placed the security authorities in a state of alert.  The harmony of the colombians in Panama and in this region will depend in part on the profile of the immigrant and on the economic benefits that they both receive.