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This study aims to evaluate the socioeconomic and financial status of the Mariato District, Veraguas Province, Republic of Panama, during the 2023–2025 period. A survey was administered to a sample of 417 residents from Mariato’s total population of 5,567, achieving a 4.9 % margin of error and a 95% confidence level across the district’s townships (*corregimientos*): Llano de Catival, Tebario, Arenas, El Cacao, and Quebro.
The findings reveal a predominantly rural and informal economy: 43% of respondents derived their income from primary-sector activities (livestock, fishing, and agriculture); 32 % reported being unemployed; 60% earned less than $200 per month; and 50 % of net household income was allocated to food expenses. Access to basic services remains highly unequal: 91 % relied on gravity-fed water systems, while only 9% had access to treated potable water (the only group with adequate water pressure provided by mechanical pumps), and only 40 % had access to proper sanitation. Regarding financial behavior, 90% of respondents did not save, only 10% had received financial education, and 54 % self-assessed their financial knowledge as poor.
The study concludes that Mariato urgently requires targeted public policies focused on basic infrastructure, formal job creation, financial literacy, and expanded access to healthcare services.
