Paraguay

sovereign state in South America

Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay), is a small country in South America. It is landlocked, meaning that it is not next to the ocean. It is bordered to the North and East by Brazil, the West by Bolivia, and the South and Southeast by Argentina. The main languages are Spanish and Guaraní. Paraguay's population is about 6 million. The ethnic makeup of the population is the following: Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) 80%, European 20%, unmixed Amerindian 1-3%, Asian 1-4%.

Republic of Paraguay
Coat of arms of Paraguay
Coat of arms
Motto: "Paz y justicia" (Spanish)
"Peace and justice"
Anthem: 
Paraguayos, República o Muerte  (Spanish)
Paraguayans, Republic or Death
Location of  Paraguay  (dark green) in South America  (grey)
Location of  Paraguay  (dark green)

in South America  (grey)

Capital
and largest city
Asunción
25°16′S 57°40′W / 25.267°S 57.667°W / -25.267; -57.667
Official language[1][2]
Ethnic groups
(2016[3])
Demonym(s)Paraguayan
GovernmentUnitary presidential constitutional republic
• President
Mario Abdo Benítez
Hugo Velázquez Moreno
LegislatureCongress
Senate
Chamber of Deputies
Independence from Spain
• Declared
14 May 1811
• Recognized
25 November 1842
Area
• Total
406,752 km2 (157,048 sq mi) (59th)
• Water (%)
2.3
Population
• 2021 estimate
6,703,799[4][5] (104th)
• Density
17.2/km2 (44.5/sq mi) (204th)
GDP (PPP)2017 estimate
• Total
$68.005 billion[6] (100th)
• Per capita
$9,779[6] (107th)
GDP (nominal)2017 estimate
• Total
$28.743 billion[6] (99th)
• Per capita
$4,133[6] (109th)
Gini (2015)Positive decrease 48[7]
high
HDI (2015)Steady 0.693[8]
medium · 110th
CurrencyGuaraní (PYG)
Time zoneUTC–4 (PYT)
• Summer (DST)
UTC–3 (PYST)
Driving sideright
Calling code+595
ISO 3166 codePY
Internet TLD.py
  1. Mixed European and Amerindian.

Over (20%) of the population lives below the poverty line.

Paraguay has two official languages, Spanish and Guaraní. Guaraní is recognized as a national language.

The capital city is Asuncion. Asuncion was founded in 1537 by a Spaniard named Juan de Salazar. Paraguay was a colony of Spain, but became independent in 1811.

From 1865-1870 Paraguay lost land and most of its male population in the War of the Triple Alliance against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. It gained land in the Chaco War against Bolivia in the 1930s.

Paraguay's main religion is Roman Catholicism.

The weather is humid in the east and dry in the west.

Government and politics change

Administrative subdivisions change

Paraguay has 17 departments and one capital district (Distrito Capital). The departments are formed by districts.

The departments are grouped in two geographic regions, separated by the Paraguay river:

  • Occidental (Western) region or Chaco, to the north of the Paraguay river (departments: Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes)
  • Oriental (Eastern) region, to the south of the Paraguay river (departments: Alto Paraná, Amambay, Caaguazú, Caazapá, Canindeyú, Central, Concepción, Cordillera, Guairá, Itapúa, Misiones, Paraguarí, San Pedro and Ñeembucú; the capital district is part of this region)
Departments of Paraguay
No. Department Capital Population
(2002)
Area
(km²)
Districts
1 Concepción Concepción 179,450 18,051 8
2 San Pedro San Pedro 318,698 20,002 20
3 Cordillera Caacupé 233,854 4,948 20
4 Guairá Villarrica 178,650 3,846 18
5 Caaguazú Coronel Oviedo 435,357 11,474 21
6 Caazapá Caazapá 139,517 9,496 10
7 Itapúa Encarnación 453,692 16,525 30
8 Misiones San Juan Bautista 101,783 9,556 10
9 Paraguarí Paraguarí 221,932 8,705 17
10 Alto Paraná Ciudad del Este 558,672 14,895 21
11 Central Areguá 1,362,893 2,465 19
12 Ñeembucú Pilar 76,348 12,147 16
13 Amambay Pedro Juan Caballero 114,917 12,933 4
14 Canindeyú Salto del Guairá 140.137 14.667 12
15 Presidente Hayes Villa Hayes 82,493 72,907 8
16 Alto Paraguay Fuerte Olimpo 11,587 82,349 4
17 Boquerón Filadelfia 41,106 91,669 3
18 Distrito Capital Asunción 512,112 117 6

References change

  1. "Paraguay – Constitution, Article 140 About Languages". International Constitutional Law Project. Retrieved 3 December 2007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) (see translator's note)
  2. "8 LIZCANO" (PDF). Convergencia.uaemex.mx. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  3. Central Intelligence Agency (2016). "Paraguay". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  4. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Paraguay. International Monetary Fund
  7. "Gini Index". World Bank. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  8. "2016 Human Development Report" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2017.

Notes