The Panama Department was one of the Departments of Colombia, created under the 1886 constitution. Its predecessor was Panama State of the Republic of New Granada (1855–1858), the Granadine Confederation (1858–1863) and United States of Colombia (1863–1886). In 1903, it achieved independence as the modern state of Panama with the concession of the Panama Canal Zone to the United States.
A previous incarnation of the Panama Department, also known as the Isthmus Department, was part of Gran Colombia from 1824 to 1831.