How Many Islands Does San Blas Actually Have?

San Blas has around 365 islands by the most repeated count, but the Guna General Congress speaks of more than 400 islands and islets. About 49 to 50 are inhabited communities, home to most of the 32,016 people Panama’s 2023 census counted in the comarca. The rest are small cays, nearly all looked after by a Guna family.

Is it really 365?

365 is the number in guidebooks, brochures and most articles, and it sticks because it is easy to remember: one island for every day of the year. But there is no published official inventory that backs it up island by island, and we have not found one.

The higher figure comes from inside the comarca. In a September 2026 piece in Cultural Survival, Iniquilipi Chiari-Lombardo, deputy secretary of the Guna General Congress, describes a territory with a coastline of about 315 kilometres and more than 400 islands and islets, reaching all the way to the Colombian border.

The gap between 365 and 400 is nobody’s mistake: it depends on what you count as an island. A sandbank with two palm trees, a rocky islet or a cay that almost disappears at high tide makes some lists and not others. The honest answer is several hundred, with the exact number depending on the source.

That is also why other figures, such as 378, circulate online. They are further attempts at the same count, and none of them comes with a published method, so this guide does not adopt any of them as the true number.

The numbers side by side

Figure	Who gives it	What it counts
365	Guidebooks and tourism	Islands, as a round, memorable number
400+	Guna General Congress	Islands and islets, including the smallest
49	Guna General Congress	Communities that make up the comarca
about 50	Smithsonian (STRI)	Inhabited Guna islands
32,016	INEC, 2023 census	People living in the comarca

How many islands are inhabited

Here the sources agree more closely. The Guna General Congress refers to 49 communities, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), quoted by Cultural Survival in June 2026, speaks of around 50 inhabited Guna islands. Some sources give 51 communities because they also count two villages on the mainland, at the eastern end of the comarca.

An inhabited Guna island looks nothing like the postcard. These are small islands covered almost shore to shore by cane-and-thatch houses, with a school, a congress house and a dock, where daily life goes on whether or not a boat of visitors arrives. Each one is run by its own local congress and sagla, as explained in the Guna General Congress explained.

How many people live in Guna Yala

Panama’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) counted 32,016 residents in the comarca in 2023, slightly down from 33,109 in 2010. Occupied homes, on the other hand, rose from 4,997 to 5,224 over the same period. The figures are in table 1 of INEC’s 2023 census.

The sea is part of this story too. According to the Smithsonian, sea level near the islands is now rising at more than three times the rate measured in the 1960s, and its researchers have warned that many of the inhabited islands may have to be abandoned before the end of the century. One community has already moved: in June 2024 most families of Gardi Sugdub, a crowded island off Carti, relocated to a new neighbourhood on the mainland. We look at whether the San Blas islands are sinking in a separate article.

The uninhabited cays: every one has an owner

An uninhabited cay is not a free-for-all. Almost every island without a village has a Guna family that looks after it and harvests its coconuts. That is why you cannot camp wherever you like or pick up whatever is lying on the beach, and why coconuts in San Blas are never simply there for the taking.

The whole comarca is collective Guna territory, and no outsider can buy an island. What you see on the tourist cays — a few cabins, a kitchen, some chairs under the palms — is run by a Guna family, not by a resort chain. If you are staying overnight and want to wade or paddle across to a neighbouring cay, ask your hosts first: it almost certainly belongs to another family.

Why you will only see a handful

Several hundred islands sounds like more than one trip can cover, and it is. A day tour collects you in Panama City from 5:00, drives about 2.5 hours to the port of Carti, and from there the boat takes roughly 20 to 40 minutes depending on the island. On that schedule, two to four stops in the western part of the archipelago, the closest to Carti, is the norm.

The comarca then runs for roughly 300 more kilometres east towards Colombia, and day visitors barely see that stretch. The Cayos Holandeses, further out towards open sea, already mean a longer boat ride.

So you are not choosing between 365 destinations. You are choosing between a small set of well-known cays near Carti, described one by one in our islands guide, and whether you also want to step into an inhabited community, which the VIP Day Tour includes.

Frequently asked questions

How many islands are there in San Blas?

The most quoted figure is 365, but the Guna General Congress speaks of more than 400 islands and islets. The difference comes down to what counts as an island: sandbanks and tiny islets appear in some counts and not in others.

How many San Blas islands are inhabited?

Around 50. The Guna General Congress counts 49 communities and the Smithsonian refers to about 50 inhabited islands; some sources add two more villages on the mainland and arrive at 51.

How many people live in Guna Yala?

Panama’s 2023 census (INEC) recorded 32,016 residents in the comarca, slightly fewer than the 33,109 counted in 2010. Nearly all are Guna, and most live on the inhabited islands.

How many islands do you visit on a day tour?

Usually two to four, all in the western part of the archipelago near the port of Carti. The drive and the boat ride leave no time for more in a single day.