How many Americans, Canadians, and other expats live in Boquete, Panama?

Estimates for the number of Americans and Canadians living in Boquete varies - some say about 1,500 full time in the Boquete, Volcan, David area...many more come on a part-time basis.

Dianne Heidke - The Boquete Handbook

Estimates for the number of Americans and Canadians living in Boquete varies - some say about 1,500 full time in the Boquete, Volcan, David area...many more come on a part-time basis.

Dianne Heidke - The Boquete Handbook

First of all you have to define "expat" as many foreigners in Panama come here from South America (mainly Colombia) and are indistinguishable from the Panamanians to the Gringo eye.

 

I am asked this question all the time because I run the News.Boquete email distribution system which delivers local news and events to the English speaking population in Boquete. I was even asked the question by the U.S. Warden for Boquete. The answer is that nobody knows....

First of all you have to define "expat" as many foreigners in Panama come here from South America (mainly Colombia) and are indistinguishable from the Panamanians to the Gringo eye.

 

I am asked this question all the time because I run the News.Boquete email distribution system which delivers local news and events to the English speaking population in Boquete. I was even asked the question by the U.S. Warden for Boquete. The answer is that nobody knows. There are nearly 1500 subscribers to the News.Boquete email list but many people don't subscribe, husband-wife teams often have only one subscription, and a few folks not living (yet) in Boquete also subscribe. If I had to guess, I would say there are 2,500 - 3,000 English speaking expats living in the district of Boquete which includes the greater Boquete area and even the city of Caldera.

 

I thought I remembered a question on the 2010 census asking in what country was your mother on the day you were born. That statistic would tell us something but so far the Panama government hasn't published the totals.

Expats comprise 15 percent of the population in Boquete. Valle Escondido is full of expats. The big houses in the mountains seen from the town are owned by expats. 
 
English is spoken a lot by expats in Boquete. 
 
Within Boquete, expats participate in the life of the town and have an expat culture, where there are even enough expats to have a market of their own on Tuesdays. Retired expat ladies make honey, bake bread, do arts and crafts and sell these...

Expats comprise 15 percent of the population in Boquete. Valle Escondido is full of expats. The big houses in the mountains seen from the town are owned by expats. 
 
English is spoken a lot by expats in Boquete. 
 
Within Boquete, expats participate in the life of the town and have an expat culture, where there are even enough expats to have a market of their own on Tuesdays. Retired expat ladies make honey, bake bread, do arts and crafts and sell these products in the Tuesday market. 
 
Most expats help the local community and do volunteer work for the community. Expats are involved with the community and not separated from the locals.

 

(Guests at Alto Boquete Condominios, Boquete, Panama, pictured.)

According to Panama Immigration, 60,000 Foreigners claim English as their mother tongue (this is based on Pensionado and Cedula information). There is not a separate break-out for Boquete.

 

(Caldera River, Boquete, Panama, pictured.)

According to Panama Immigration, 60,000 Foreigners claim English as their mother tongue (this is based on Pensionado and Cedula information). There is not a separate break-out for Boquete.

 

(Caldera River, Boquete, Panama, pictured.)