There are an estimated 8,000 people of Indian origin in Panama. They are employed in the shipping industry while others are mainly engaged in commerce. A majority are Hindu with a substantial Muslim and Sikh minority and they maintain

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

Gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

s and mosques in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

and Colón. Panama's Indian community originates from Punjab, Gujarat and Sindh (now a part of Pakistan). The first significant immigration was during the US phase of the building of the Panama Canal and were primarily from the Caribbean (islands and British Guiana, now Guyana) under British rule. Many of the founders of the Colon Free Zone were Indians. Since then, the Indian community has grown with a slow but steady stream of immigrants. Panamanians of Indian descent speak their native languages which could include Punjabi,

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

and Sindhi. Spanish is also used in the community between speakers of two languages that are not mutually intelligible.

Notable people

Mehr Eliezer Mehr Eliezer (born 16 January 1997) is a Panamanian model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Señorita Panamá 2019. She represented Panama at Miss Universe 2019. Born in New Delhi, she was raised in Panama and the Philippin ...

- Winner of

Señorita Panamá 2019 Señorita Panamá 2019 was the 53rd Señorita Panamá pageant. It selected the national representatives to the Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Grand International competitions. This was the fourth edition of the renewed Señorita Panam ...

(she represented

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Miss Universe 2019 Miss Universe 2019 was the 68th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Stage 1 of the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on 8 December 2019. At the end of the event, Catriona Gray of the Philippines crowned Zozibini Tunzi of So ...

). She was born in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and raised in

Ciudad de Panamá Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

References

* Panama#Demographics

External links

Indian Associations in Panama

India-Panama Relations

{{Ethnic Groups in Panama Asian Panamanian

Ethnic groups in Panama Indian Latin American

Notable people

See also

References

External links