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Panama

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Global rank #41 of 77

Explore how minimum wage compares to Big Mac prices in Panama, and how many burgers you can earn with 1 hour of work.

Minimum wage (gross)
PAB 3.02
/ hour
Big Mac price
PAB 4.40
Burgers per hour
0.69
You can buy about 0 burgers in 1 hour
Work time for 1 Big Mac
1h 27m

Panama vs the world

How Panama compares with other countries and regions.

How we calculate burgers per hour

Minimum wage / hour
PAB 3.02
÷
Big Mac price
PAB 4.40
=
Burgers per hour
0.69

Neighbouring ranks

  1. 39Indonesia0.78
  2. 40Latvia0.74
  3. 41Panama0.69
  4. 42Bulgaria0.68
  5. 43Türkiye0.66

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Minimum wage (gross)

Source: La Prensa (Panama) - "Salario minimo 2026 en Panama" / Decreto Ejecutivo No. 13 (31 Dec 2025) · effective Jan 16, 2026

La Prensa (Panama) - "Salario minimo 2026 en Panama" / Decreto Ejecutivo No. 13 (31 Dec 2025)

McDonald's operates in Panama (official site mcdonalds.com.pa; first opened in Panama City in 1971). Panama uses the balboa (PAB), pegged 1:1 to USD, so figures are equivalent in USD. BIG MAC: Single Big Mac (a la carta) reported at B/.4.40 by the aggregator mcdonaldsprices.com (same source lists the McCombo Mediano Big Mac at B/.6.40). This is an aggregator, not McDonald's official, and the data appears to be ~2024-vintage, so confidence on the exact figure is medium-low. Cross-reference: Numbeo lists a "Combo Meal at McDonald's / equivalent fast-food meal" in Panama at ~$8.00 (range $7-9), but that is a full meal, not a single Big Mac, so not directly comparable. Could not extract a single-Big-Mac price from the official mcdonalds.com.pa site or a recent news source. Panama is not included in The Economist's Big Mac Index. MINIMUM WAGE: Panama does NOT have a single uniform national minimum wage; it is set by Decreto Ejecutivo No. 13 (issued 31 Dec 2025, published in Gaceta Oficial 6 Jan 2026, effective 16 Jan 2026) as HOURLY rates differentiated by economic activity, occupation, firm size, and region. Rates range from B/.1.64/hr (small agricultural firm, Region 2) to B/.5.01/hr (international flight cabin crew). I report B/.3.02/hr = the rate for wholesale/retail commerce, large enterprise, Region 1 (main urban districts incl. Panama City) — the most representative rate for an urban formal-sector employer like a McDonald's restaurant. (Supermarkets with 5+ branches: B/.3.09/hr Region 1; commerce large enterprise Region 2: B/.2.48/hr.) Decree fixes only hourly rates; monthly pay = hourly x actual contracted hours, so no statutory monthly figure exists. Rates cover the 2026-2027 period.

Big Mac price: McDonald's Prices (mcdonaldsprices.com) - Panama menu aggregator · Jan 16, 2026

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