|RConstitution:|N An approximately 15 km wide zone around the Panama Canal through Panama. The zone has been under US administration since 1903 and sovereignty will be handed over to Panama January 1, 2000.
|RNature and climate:|N Look at the text about Panama.
|RPeople:|N Of the labour force employed by the Canal Commission about 1200 are US citizens and 6300 Panamanians.
|REconomy:|N The Canal is 58 km long from Cristobal by the Atlantic Ocean to Balboa by the Pacific Ocean. The canal is 152 metres wide and 13,5 metres deep.
|RHistory:|N The first canal project was started 1825 and ended 1826 without success.
The building of the canal started in 1881 and was led by the French Ferdinand de Lessesps, who previously had built the Suez Canal. But in Panama he faced unexpected topographical and climatic difficulties and in 1888 the project was bankrupt and work stopped.
In 1904 the USA bought the French rights and continued the works under G.W. Goethals and in 1914 the canal was ready for traffic.
It has been enlarged several times since then.
According to an agreement between Panama and the USA in 1979 the sovereignty over the canal zone will be handed over to Panama on January 1, 2000.
