Panama is divided into ten provinces (Spanish: provincias) and four provincial-level indigenous regions (Spanish: comarcas indígenas, often shortened to comarcas). The most recently established province is Panamá Oeste Province on 1 January 2014, and the most recently established indigenous region is Naso Tjër Di Comarca on 4 December 2020.
There are also two indigenous regions within provinces that are considered equivalent to a corregimiento (municipality).
In Panama, a corregimiento is a subdivision of a district, which in turn is a subdivision of a province. It is the smallest administrative division level in the country; which is further subdivided into populated places/centres. As of 2012, Panama is subdivided into a total of 693 corregimientos, since several of these were created in the province of Bocas del Toro and the indigenous region (comarca indígena) of Ngäbe-Buglé.
Gardi Sugdub, also spelled Cartí Sugtupu, is an island in the San Blas Archipelago in the Panamanian comarca indígena of Guna Yala, 400m long and 150m wide. It is the southernmost and largest of four populated Carti Islands (the others are Cartí Tupile in the north, Carti Yandup in the west, and Carti Muladub in the east), and lies 1200 meters off the northern coast of mainland Panama. The island houses a small harbour and a museum, as well as a now-disused schoolhouse. Its indigenous inhabitants are Guna.
Discussions of relocation to a site on the mainland thanks to overpopulation on the island were first raised by Guna elders in 2008. The Panamanian government constructed the new village of Isber Yala between 2015 and 2024, construction being delayed due to funding issues, and following its completion in June 2024, 300 families moved from Gardi Sugdub into the new village.
Bocas del Toro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbokas ðel ˈtoɾo]; meaning "Mouths of the Bull") is a province of Panama. Its area is 4,643.9 square kilometers, comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante (Almirante Bay), Chiriquí Lagoon, and adjacent mainland. The capital is the city of Bocas del Toro (or Bocas Town) on Isla Colón (Colón Island). Other major cities or towns include Almirante and Changuinola. The province has a population of 159,228 as of 2023.
Christopher Columbus and his crew first visited the area in 1502. Bocas del Toro borders the Caribbean Sea to the north, Limón Province of Costa Rica and the Naso Tjër Di Comarca to the west, Chiriquí Province to the south, and Ngöbe-Buglé Comarca to the east. The Río Sixaola forms part of the border with Costa Rica. A newly constructed bridge spans the river between Guabito and Sixaola, Costa Rica. The bridge is a border crossing used by tourists going between destinations in Bocas del Toro and Costa Rica.
Veraguas (Spanish pronunciation: [beˈɾa.ɣwas]) is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers an area of 10,587.6 km² and in 2023 it had a population of 259,791.
Colón (Spanish pronunciation: [koˈlon]) is a province of Panama. The capital is the city of Colón. It covers an area of 4,575.5 km, and the population (in 2023) is 281,956.
Darién (UK: /ˈdɛəriən, ˈdær-/, US: /ˌdɛəriˈɛn, ˌdɑːr-, dɑːrˈjɛn/; Spanish: [daˈɾjen]) is a province in Panama whose capital city is La Palma. With an area of 11,896.5 km (4,593.3 sq mi), it is located at the eastern end of the country and bordered to the north by the province of Panamá and the region of Kuna Yala. To the south, it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Colombia. To the east, it borders Colombia; to the west, it borders the Pacific Ocean and the province of Panama.
The area surrounding the border with Colombia is known as the Darién Gap, a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest. With no roads, it is the missing link of the Pan-American Highway.