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Paraguay

March 06, 2023

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Paraguay (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 23°S 58°W / 23°S 58°W / -23; -58

Paraguay (/ˈpærəɡwaɪ/; Spanish pronunciation: [paɾaˈɣwaj] (listen)), officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guarani: Tavakuairetã Paraguái), is a country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of 7 million, nearly 3 million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro. Although one of only two landlocked countries in South America (Bolivia is the other), Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Paraná rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway [es].[9]

Republic of Paraguay
Motto: "Paz y justicia" (Spanish)
"Peace and justice"
Anthem: 
Himno Nacional Paraguayo (Spanish)
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 languages[1][2]
Ethnic groups
(2019[3])
Religion
(2018)[4]
Demonym(s)Paraguayan
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic
• President
Mario Abdo Benítez
Hugo Velázquez
LegislatureCongress
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
Chamber of Deputies
Independence from Spain
• Declared
14 May 1811
• Recognized
25 November 1842
24 October 1945
Area
• Total
406,796 km2 (157,065 sq mi) (59th)
• Water (%)
2.6
Population
• 2021 estimate
7,359,000[5] (104th)
• Density
18/km2 (46.6/sq mi) (210th)
GDP (PPP)2022 estimate
• Total
$108.4 billion[6] (94th)
• Per capita
 $14,528[6] (98th)
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
 $41.88 billion[6] (98th)
• Per capita
$5,615[6] (104th)
Gini (2020)43.5[7]
medium
HDI (2021) 0.717[8]
high · 105th
CurrencyGuaraní (PYG)
Time zoneUTC–4 (PYT)
• Summer (DST)
UTC–3 (PYST)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideright
Calling code+595
ISO 3166 codePY
Internet TLD.py
  1. Mixed European and Amerindian.

Spanish conquistadores arrived in 1524, and in 1537 established the city of Asunción, the first capital of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata.[10] During the 17th century, Paraguay was the center of Jesuit missions, where the native Guaraní people were converted to Christianity and introduced to European culture.[11] After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767, Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony, with few urban centers and settlers. Following independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Paraguay was ruled by a series of authoritarian governments characterized by nationalist, isolationist and protectionist policies. This period ended with the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–70), during which the country lost half its prewar population and around 25–33% of its territory to the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. In the 20th century, Paraguay faced another major international conflict—the Chaco War (1932–35) against Bolivia—in which it prevailed. Afterwards, the country came under a succession of military dictators, culminating in the 35-year regime of Alfredo Stroessner, which lasted until his overthrow in 1989 by an internal military coup. This marked the beginning of Paraguay's democratic era, which continues to this day.

Paraguay is a developing country, ranking 105th in the Human Development Index.[12] It is a founding member of Mercosur, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Lima Group. Additionally, the city of Luque, in metropolitan Asuncion, is the seat of the South American Football Confederation.

The majority of Paraguay's seven million people are mestizo, and Guarani culture remains widely influential; more than 90% of the population speak various dialects of the Guarani language alongside Spanish. Despite a history of poverty and political repression, in a 2017 Positive Experience Index based on global polling data, Paraguay ranked as the "world's happiest place".[13][14]

Etymology

From Guarani paraguá "feather crown" and y "water" thus paraguaí "feather crown of waters".[15]

History

Main article: History of Paraguay

Pre-Columbian era

The indigenous Guaraní had been living in eastern Paraguay for at least a millennium before the arrival of the Spanish. Western Paraguay, the Gran Chaco, was inhabited by nomads of whom the Guaycuru peoples were the most prominent. The Paraguay River was roughly the dividing line between the agricultural Guarani people to the east and the nomadic and semi-nomadic people to the west in the Gran Chaco. The Guarcuru nomads were known for their warrior traditions and were not fully pacified until the late 19th century. These indigenous tribes belonged to five distinct language families, which were the bases of their major divisions. Differing language speaking groups were generally competitive over resources and territories. They were further divided into tribes by speaking languages in branches of these families. Today 17 separate ethnolinguistic groups remain.

Colonization

The first Europeans in the area were Spanish explorers in 1516.[16] The Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar de Espinosa founded the settlement of Asunción on 15 August 1537. The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province of Paraguay.

An attempt to create an autonomous Christian Indian nation[17] was undertaken by Jesuit missions and settlements in this part of South America in the eighteenth century. They developed Jesuit reductions to bring Guarani populations together at Spanish missions and protect them from virtual slavery by Spanish settlers and Portuguese slave raiders, the Bandeirantes, in addition to seeking their conversion to Christianity. Catholicism in Paraguay was influenced by the indigenous peoples; the syncretic religion has absorbed native elements. The reducciones flourished in eastern Paraguay for about 150 years, until the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish Crown in 1767. The ruins of two 18th-century Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.[17]

In western Paraguay, Spanish settlement and Christianity were strongly resisted by the nomadic Guaycuru and other nomads from the 16th century onward. Most of these peoples were absorbed into the mestizo population in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Independence and rule of Francia

Main article: Independence of Paraguay
 
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguay's first dictator.

Paraguay overthrew the local Spanish administration on 14 May 1811. Paraguay's first dictator was José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia who ruled Paraguay from 1814 until his death in 1840, with very little outside contact or influence. He intended to create a utopian society based on the French theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Social Contract.[18] Rodríguez de Francia was nicknamed El Supremo.

Rodríguez de Francia established new laws that greatly reduced the powers of the Catholic church (Catholicism was then an established state religion) and the cabinet, forbade colonial citizens from marrying one another and allowed them to marry only blacks, mulattoes or natives, in order to break the power of colonial-era elites and to create a mixed-race or mestizo society.[19] He cut off relations between Paraguay and the rest of South America. Because of Francia's restrictions of freedom, Fulgencio Yegros and several other Independence-era leaders in 1820 planned a coup d’état against Francia, who discovered the plot and had its leaders either executed or imprisoned for life.[20]

Rule of the López family

 
Political map of the region, 1864

After Francia's death in 1840, Paraguay was ruled by various military officers under a new junta, until Carlos Antonio López (allegedly Rodríguez de Francia's nephew) came to power in 1841. López modernized Paraguay and opened it to foreign commerce. He signed a non-aggression pact with Argentina and officially declared independence of Paraguay in 1842. After López's death in 1862, power was transferred to his eldest son, Francisco Solano López.

The regime of the López family was characterized by pervasive and rigid centralism in production and distribution. There was no distinction between the public and the private spheres, and the López family ruled the country as it would a large estate.[21]

The government exerted control on all exports. The export of yerba mate and valuable wood products maintained the balance of trade between Paraguay and the outside world.[22] The Paraguayan government was extremely protectionist, never accepted loans from abroad and levied high tariffs against imported foreign products. This protectionism made the society self-sufficient, and it also avoided the debt suffered by Argentina and Brazil. Slavery existed in Paraguay, although not in great numbers, until 1844, when it was legally abolished in the new constitution.[23]

Francisco Solano López, the son of Carlos Antonio López, replaced his father as the President-Dictator in 1862, and generally continued the political policies of his father. Both wanted to give an international image of Paraguay as "democratic and republican", but in fact, the ruling family had almost total control of all public life in the country, including church and colleges.[24]

Militarily, Carlos Antonio López modernized and expanded industry and the Paraguayan Army and greatly strengthened the strategic defenses of Paraguay by developing the Fortress of Humaitá.[25] The government hired more than 200 foreign technicians, who installed telegraph lines and railroads to aid the expanding steel, textile, paper and ink, naval construction, weapons and gunpowder industries. The Ybycuí foundry, completed in 1850, manufactured cannons, mortars and bullets of all calibers. River warships were built in the shipyards of Asunción. Fortifications were built, especially along the Apa River and in Gran Chaco.[26]: 22  The work was continued by his son Francisco Solano and in terms of socio-economic development, the country was dubbed as "the most advanced Republic in South America", notably by the British judge and politician Sir Robert Phillimore.[27]

According to George Thompson, Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers in the Paraguayan Army prior to and during the war, López's government was comparatively a good one for Paraguay:

Probably in no other country in the world has life and property been so secure as all over Paraguay during his (Antonio Lopez's) reign. Crime was almost unknown, and when committed, immediately detected and punished. The mass of the people was, perhaps, the happiest in existence. They had hardly to do any work to gain a livelihood. Each family had its house or hut in its own ground. They planted, in a few days, enough tobacco, maize and mandioca for their own consumption [...]. Having at every hut a grove of oranges [...] and also a few cows, they were almost throughout the year under little necessity [...]. The higher classes, of course, lived more in the European way...

— George Thompson, C.E.[28]

Paraguayan War (1864–1870)

Main articles: Paraguayan War and Paraguayan War casualties

On 12 October 1864, despite Paraguayan ultimatums, Brazil (allied with the Argentine Government under General Bartolomé Mitre and the rebellious Uruguayan colorados led by Gen. Venancio Flores) invaded the Republic of Uruguay in order to overthrow the government of that time (which was under the rule of the Blanco Party, an ally of López),[29][citation needed] thus starting the Paraguayan War.[30]

The Paraguayans, led by the Marshal of the Republic Francisco Solano López, retaliated by attacking Mato Grosso on 15 December 1864 and later declared war against Argentina on 23 March 1865. The Blanco Government was toppled and replaced by a Colorado Government under General Venancio Flores on 22 February 1865. Afterward, the Argentine Republic, the Empire of Brazil and the Republic of Uruguay signed the Secret Treaty of the Triple Alliance against the Paraguayan Government on 1 May 1865.[31]

The Paraguayans put up a ferocious resistance but ultimately lost in 1870 in the Battle of Cerro Corá, where Marshal Solano López refused to surrender and died in action.[32] The real causes of this war, which remains the bloodiest international conflict in the history of The Americas, are still highly debatable.[33]

 
The Battle of Tuyutí, May 1866

Paraguay lost 25–33% of its territory to Argentina and Brazil, paid an enormous war debt, and sold large amounts of national properties to stabilize its internal budget. The worst consequence of the war was the catastrophic loss of population. At least 50% of the Paraguayans died during the conflict, numbers which took many decades for the country to return to. About the disaster suffered by the Paraguayans at the outcome of the war, William D. Rubinstein wrote:

"The normal estimate is that of a Paraguayan population of somewhere between 450,000 and 900,000, only 220,000 survived the war, of whom only 28,000 were adult males."[34]

During the pillaging of Asunción in 1869, the Imperial Brazilian Army packed up and transported the Paraguayan National Archives to Rio de Janeiro.[35][36] Brazil's records from the war have remained classified.[37] This has made Paraguayan history in the colonial and early national periods difficult to research and study.

20th century

 
Gran Chaco was the site of the Chaco War (1932–35), in which Bolivia lost most of the disputed territory to Paraguay

In 1904 the Liberal revolution against the rule of Colorados broke out. The Liberal rule started a period of great political instability. Between 1904 and 1954 Paraguay had thirty-one presidents, most of whom were removed from office by force.[38] Conflicts between the factions of the ruling Liberal party led to the Paraguayan Civil War of 1922.

The unresolved border conflict with Bolivia over the Chaco region finally erupted in the early 1930s in the Chaco War. After great losses Paraguay defeated Bolivia and established its sovereignty over most of the disputed Chaco region. After the war, military officers used popular dissatisfaction with the Liberal politicians to seize the power for themselves. On 17 February 1936, the February Revolution brought colonel Rafael Franco to power. Between 1940 and 1948, the country was ruled by general Higinio Morínigo. Dissatisfaction with his rule resulted in the Paraguayan civil war of 1947.[39] In its aftermath Alfredo Stroessner, began involvement in a string of plots, which resulted in his military coup d'état of 4 May 1954. In the aftermath of World War II, Paraguay became a hideout for Nazi fugitives accused of war crimes.

Stroessner era, 1954–1989

See also: El Stronato and Operation Condor

A series of unstable governments ensued until the establishment in 1954 of the regime of dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who remained in office for more than three decades until 1989. Paraguay was modernized to some extent under Stroessner's regime, although his rule was marked by extensive human rights abuses.[40]

Stroessner and the Colorado party ruled the country from 1954 to 1989. The dictator oversaw an era of economic expansion, but also had a poor human rights and environmental record (see "Political History"). Paraguay actively participated in Operation Condor.[41] Torture and death for political opponents was routine. After his overthrow, the Colorado continued to dominate national politics until 2008.

The splits in the Colorado Party in the 1980s, and the prevailing conditions – Stroessner's advanced age, the character of the regime, the economic downturn, and international isolation – were catalysts for anti-regime demonstrations and statements by the opposition prior to the 1988 general elections.[citation needed]

PLRA leader Domingo Laíno served as the focal point of the opposition in the second half of the 1980s. The government's effort to isolate Laíno by exiling him in 1982 had backfired. On his sixth attempt to re-enter the country in 1986, Laíno returned with three television crews from the U.S., a former United States ambassador to Paraguay, and a group of Uruguayan and Argentine congressmen. Despite the international contingent, the police violently barred Laíno's return.[42]

The Stroessner regime relented in April 1987, and permitted Laíno to return to Asunción. Laíno took the lead in organizing demonstrations and reducing infighting among the opposition party. The opposition was unable to reach agreement on a common strategy regarding the elections, with some parties advocating abstention, and others calling for blank voting. The parties held numerous 'lightning demonstrations' (mítines relámpagos), especially in rural areas. Such demonstrations were gathered and quickly disbanded before the arrival of the police.

In response to the upsurge in opposition activities, Stroessner condemned the Accord for advocating "sabotage of the general elections and disrespect of the law". He used national police and civilian vigilantes of the Colorado Party to break up demonstrations. A number of opposition leaders were imprisoned or otherwise harassed. Hermes Rafael Saguier [es], another key leader of the PLRA, was imprisoned for four months in 1987 on charges of sedition. In early February 1988, police arrested 200 people attending a National Coordinating Committee meeting in Coronel Oviedo. Laíno and several other opposition figures were arrested before dawn on the day of the election, 14 February, and held for twelve hours. The government declared Stroessner's re-election with 89% of the vote.[43]

The opposition attributed the results in part to the virtual Colorado monopoly on the mass media. They noted that 53% of those polled indicated that there was an "uneasiness" in Paraguayan society. 74% believed that the political situation needed changes, including 45% who wanted a substantial or total change. Finally, 31% stated that they planned to abstain from voting in the February elections.[citation needed]

Stroessner's overthrow, post-1989

On 3 February 1989, Stroessner was overthrown in a military coup headed by General Andrés Rodríguez. As president, Rodríguez instituted political, legal, and economic reforms and initiated a rapprochement with the international community. Reflecting the deep hunger of the rural poor for land, hundreds immediately occupied thousands of acres of unused territories belonging to Stroessner and his associates; by mid-1990, 19,000 families occupied 340,000 acres (138,000 ha). At the time, 2.06 million people lived in rural areas, more than half of the 4.1 million total population, and most were landless.[44]

The June 1992 constitution established a democratic system of government and dramatically improved protection of fundamental human rights. In May 1993, Colorado Party candidate Juan Carlos Wasmosy was elected as Paraguay's first civilian president in almost forty years, in what international observers deemed free and fair elections.

With support from the United States, the Organization of American States, and other countries in the region, the Paraguayan people rejected an April 1996 attempt by then Army Chief General Lino Oviedo to oust President Wasmosy.

Oviedo was nominated as the Colorado candidate for president in the 1998 election. However, when the Supreme Court upheld in April his conviction on charges related to the 1996 coup attempt, he was not allowed to run and was detained in jail. His former running mate, Raúl Cubas, became the Colorado Party's candidate, and was elected in May in elections deemed by international observers to be free and fair. One of Cubas' first acts after taking office in August was to commute Oviedo's sentence and release him. In December 1998, Paraguay's Supreme Court declared these actions unconstitutional. In this tense atmosphere, the murder of Vice President and long-time Oviedo rival Luis María Argaña on 23 March 1999, led the Chamber of Deputies to impeach Cubas the next day.[citation needed] On 26 March, eight student anti-government demonstrators were murdered, widely believed to have been carried out by Oviedo supporters. This increased opposition to Cubas, who resigned on 28 March. Senate President Luis González Macchi, a Cubas opponent, was peacefully sworn in as president the same day.

In 2003, Nicanor Duarte was elected as president.

Election of Fernando Lugo

For the 2008 general elections, the Colorado Party was favored in polls. Their candidate was Minister of Education Blanca Ovelar, the first woman to be nominated as a candidate for a major party in Paraguayan history. After sixty years of Colorado rule, voters chose Fernando Lugo, a former Roman Catholic Bishop and not a professional politician in civil government, and a member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, Paraguay's largest opposition party. Lugo was an adherent of liberation theology. Lugo achieved a historic victory in Paraguay's presidential election, defeating the ruling party candidate, and ending 61 years of conservative rule. Lugo won with nearly 41% of the vote, compared to almost 31% for Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado party.[45] Outgoing President Nicanor Duarte Frutos hailed the moment as the first time in the history of the nation that a government had transferred power to opposition forces in a constitutional and peaceful fashion.[citation needed]

Lugo was sworn in on 15 August 2008. The Lugo administration set its two major priorities as the reduction of corruption and economic inequality.[46]

 
Inauguration of former President Horacio Cartes, 15 August 2013

Political instability following Lugo's election and disputes within his cabinet encouraged some renewal of popular support for the Colorado Party. Reports suggested that the businessman Horacio Cartes became the new political figure amid disputes. Despite the US Drug Enforcement Administration's strong accusations against Cartes related to drug trafficking, he continued to amass followers in the political arena.[citation needed]

On 14 January 2011, the Colorado Party convention nominated Horacio Cartes as the presidential candidate for the party. However, the party's constitution did not allow it.[clarification needed] On 21 June 2012, impeachment proceedings against President Lugo began in the country's lower house, which was controlled by his opponents. Lugo was given less than twenty-four hours to prepare for the proceedings and only two hours in which to mount a defense.[47] Impeachment was quickly approved and the resulting trial in Paraguay's Senate, also controlled by the opposition, ended with the removal of Lugo from office and Vice President Federico Franco assuming the duties of president.[48] Lugo's rivals blamed him for the deaths of 17 people – eight police officers and nine farmers – in armed clashes after police were ambushed by armed peasants when enforcing an eviction order against rural trespassers.[49]

Lugo's supporters gathered outside Congress to protest the decision as a "politically motivated coup d'état".[48] Lugo's removal from office on 22 June 2012 is considered by UNASUR and other neighboring countries, especially those currently governed by leftist leaders, as a coup d'état.[50] However, the Organization of American States, which sent a mission to Paraguay to gather information, concluded that the impeachment process was not a coup d'état, as it had been carried out in accordance with the Constitution of Paraguay.[51]

Present day

From August 2013 to 15 August 2018, the President of Paraguay was Horacio Cartes.[52] Since 15 August 2018, the President of Paraguay has been Mario Abdo Benítez. They are both from the conservative Colorado Party.[53] President Mario Abdo enjoys a close relationship with the Brazilian far-right president since 2019, Jair Bolsonaro.[54] In February 2019, President Mario Abdo Benitez was at Bolsonaro's side when Bolsonaro praised Paraguayan military dictator Alfredo Stroessner, calling him "a man of vision."[55]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Paraguay
 
Nacunday National Park, Southern Paraguay.

Paraguay is divided by the Río Paraguay into two well differentiated geographic regions. The eastern region (Región Oriental); and the western region, officially called Western Paraguay (Región Occidental) and also known as the Chaco, which is part of the Gran Chaco. The country lies between latitudes 19° and 28°S, and longitudes 54° and 63°W.

The terrain consists mostly of grassy plains and wooded hills in the eastern region. To the west are mostly low, marshy plains. Paraguay contains six terrestrial ecoregions: Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, Chaco, Cerrado, Humid Chaco, Pantanal, and Paraná flooded savanna.[56] It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.39/10, ranking it 74th globally out of 172 countries.[57] The Guarani Aquifer is an important exorheic basin to the region.[58]

Although Paraguay is landlocked, there are a number of noteworthy lakeside beaches.[59]

Climate

Main article: Climate of Paraguay
 
Paraguay map of Köppen climate classification

The overall climate is tropical to subtropical. Like most lands in the region, Paraguay has only wet and dry periods. Winds play a major role in influencing Paraguay's weather: between October and March, warm winds blow from the Amazon Basin in the north, while the period between May and August brings cold winds from the Andes.

The absence of mountain ranges to provide a natural barrier allows winds to develop speeds as high as 161 km/h (100 mph). This also leads to significant changes in temperature within a short span of time; between April and September, temperatures will sometimes drop below freezing. January is the hottest summer month, with an average daily temperature of 28.9 degrees Celsius (84 degrees F).

Rainfall varies dramatically across the country, with substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, and semi-arid conditions in the far west. The far eastern forest belt receives an average of 170 centimeters (67 inches) of rain annually, while the western Chaco region typically averages no more than 50 cm (20 in) a year. The rains in the west tend to be irregular and evaporate quickly, contributing to the aridity of the area.

Fauna

Wildlife in Paraguay include marsh deer, monkeys, armadillos, anteaters, otters, wild boars, tapirs, jaguars, ocelots, bats, and the coypu.

Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of Paraguay, Human rights in Paraguay, and Foreign relations of Paraguay

Paraguay is a representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system and separation of powers across three branches. Executive power is exercised solely by the President, who is head of state and head of government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the National Congress. The judiciary is vested on tribunals and Courts of Civil Law and a nine-member Supreme Court of Justice, all of them independent of the executive and the legislature.

Military

Main article: Armed Forces of Paraguay
 
Paraguayan marines at Ancon Marine Base

The military of Paraguay consist of an army, navy (including naval aviation and marine corps) and air force. Paraguay's constitution establishes the president of Paraguay as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.[60]

Paraguay has compulsory military service; all 18-year-old males, as well as 17-year-old males in the year of their 18th birthday, are liable for one year of active duty. While the constitution allows for conscientious objection, no enabling legislation has yet been approved.

Paraguay has partnered with Argentina, Brazil, and the United States in regional anti-terrorism and anti-narcotics efforts.[61] In July 2005, U.S. special forces began arriving at Paraguay's Mariscal Estigarribia air base to support joint training and humanitarian operations[62][63] In 2019, Asuncion hosted the first meeting of the Regional Security Mechanism (RSM), which promotes cooperation between Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. in addressing transnational crime and terrorism in the "triple frontier" region.[64]

Administrative Divisions

Main articles: Departments of Paraguay and Districts of Paraguay

Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district (distrito capital).

It is also divided into two regions: The "Occidental Region" or Chaco (Boquerón, Alto Paraguay and Presidente Hayes), and the "Oriental Region" (the other departments and the capital district).

These are the departments, with their capitals, population, area and the number of districts:

ISO 3166-2:PY Department Capital Population (2021 estimate)[65] Area (km2) Districts
ASU Distrito Capital Asunción 524,559 117 1
1 Concepción Concepción 261,976 18,057 14
2 San Pedro San Pedro 463,126 20,007 23
3 Cordillera Caacupé 323,273 4,953 20
4 Guairá Villarrica 247,747 3,991 18
5 Caaguazú Coronel Oviedo 609,803 11,479 22
6 Caazapá Caazapá 205,031 9,503 11
7 Itapúa Encarnación 622,565 16,536 30
8 Misiones San Juan Bautista 168,130 9,568 10
9 Paraguarí Paraguarí 278,957 8,710 18
10 Alto Paraná Ciudad del Este 854,943 14,898 22
11 Central Areguá 2,210,109 2,665 19
12 Ñeembucú Pilar 93,287 12,155 16
13 Amambay Pedro Juan Caballero 204,169 12,935 6
14 Canindeyú Salto del Guairá 254,978 14,677 16
15 Presidente Hayes Villa Hayes 129,951 72,917 10
16 Alto Paraguay Fuerte Olimpo 18,330 82,394 4
17 Boquerón Filadelfia 71,836 91,676 4
– Paraguay Asunción 7,359,000 406,796 273

Economy

Main article: Economy of Paraguay
 
A proportional representation of Paraguay exports, 2019

For many years, the country's image was associated with the illicit trade in electronic products, weapons and drugs. However, this scenario began to change in the 2000s, with the rise of legalized businesses such as the production of soy, maize, beef, among others. Data from the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) showed that, in 2006, exports related to the triangulation trade (China-Paraguay-Brazil), treated by Brazil – in most cases – as smuggling and embezzlement, represented 22% of the country's GDP. In 2016, this percentage dropped to 12%. With higher tax collections through legalized employment, the country has been able to improve its infrastructure, which was precarious. Paraguay has an economic development policy based on exports and dependence on the Brazilian market prevails. The triangulation trade has in its essence the export of products originating in China, with Brazil as its main destination. The energy exported is essentially the hydroelectric surplus generated by the Itaipu Power Plant, for which Brazil is the main buyer. And maquilas, whose main investors are Brazilians, also have a large consumer market in Brazil for their products. Therefore, in these three pillars of Paraguay's development strategy, there is the outstanding characteristic of re-exports. In the case of agricultural commodities, it is the export of products originating in Paraguay.[66]

In the 2010s, the economy, largely directed towards soybean production, grew by an average of 4%. The economic growth did not, however, reduce poverty, which in 2018, according to official figures, reached more than 26% of the population. According to The New York Times, Paraguay is "one of the Latin American countries where the gap between rich and poor has widened the most in recent years." In the countryside, 85% of agricultural land is owned by 2.6% of the owners. In addition, people of indigenous descent have been expelled to make way for soybean companies.[67][68]

The soybean export market is largely dominated by multinationals (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge Limited, etc.) and therefore benefits few Paraguayans. Export companies and landowners pay little tax. For example, a study by ECLAC (a UN agency) released in 2018 indicates that Paraguay is one of the countries where companies participate the least in the state budget.[69]

Pesticides and other chemicals are used heavily in soybean fields. The country's environmental standards are not met by companies and agrochemicals contaminate the environment. In 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a ruling urging Paraguay to undertake an investigation into the massive fumigation of agrochemicals and the poisoning of the population. However, the situation is not improving: "The high level of political corruption, the extreme fragility of institutions, the high level of social vulnerability, the omnipotence of economic interests in political decisions, as well as the location [of the country] in the geographic heart of the Southern Cone and its abundance of natural resources, make Paraguay an attractive target for imperial geopolitical interests," says sociologist Tomás Palau.[70] Academic José Luis Insfrán also notes that the country's politicians "are subsidized by big business; they are the ones who implement the policies.

In 2005, the International Monetary Fund stated that fewer than 10% of workers in Paraguay participate in the pension system, 95% of which is administered by two institutions. Both are financed on a pay as you go system by worker contributions; the first, Instituto de Previsión Social [es] is for private sector employees, and the caja fiscal for public employees (including university professors, teachers, judicial employees, army officers and police officers) and veterans of the Chaco War (or their descendants).[71]

 
As one of the most important resort towns in Paraguay, San Bernardino, which was founded by German settlers in the 19th century, has one of the highest purchasing power parities in the country.

The market economy is distinguished by a large informal sector, featuring re-export of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries, as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Nonetheless, over the last 10 years the Paraguayan economy diversified dramatically, with the energy, auto parts and clothing industries leading the way.[72]

Paraguay's most important urban areas are located along the Argentina-Paraguay border: Asunción, Alberdi, Encarnación, Pilar and Ciudad del Este, the latter being the third most important free commercial zone in the world, only trailing behind Miami and Hong Kong.[73][74] A large percentage of the population, especially in rural areas, derives its living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. The economy grew rapidly between 2003 and 2013 as growing world demand for commodities combined with high prices and favorable weather to support Paraguay's commodity-based export expansion.

In 2012, Paraguay's government introduced the MERCOSUR (FOCEM) system in order to stimulate the economy and job growth through a partnership with both Brazil and Argentina.[75][needs update]

Agriculture

Paraguay is the sixth-largest soybean producer in the world,[76] the second-largest producer of stevia and the ninth-largest exporter of beef.[77][78]

In 2018, in addition to soy, the country had a large production of maize and sugar cane, where it positioned itself as the 21st largest producer in the world; other important cultures of the country are cassava, rice, wheat, orange, yerba mate, and sorghum. In livestock, Paraguay produced, in 2020, 481 thousand tons of beef, being the 26th largest producer in the world.[79]

The culture of soy was brought by Brazilians to the country: in 2019, almost 70% of soy and rice producers in Paraguay were people from Brazil, or descendants of Brazilians (the so-called brasiguaios). The first Brazilian producers began to arrive in the country in the 1980s. Before that, there was a lot of undisturbed land in the country.[80][81][82][83][84][85][86]

More than 80% of the cultivable land is owned by 2.6% of landowners. Nearly 8 million hectares were illegally granted, in violation of the agrarian law, to regime supporters during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989), and the state has done nothing since to identify the beneficiaries of this illicit enrichment. These owners include generals, businessmen and politicians, former presidents of the Republic, Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, and even the ruling Colorado Party. More than 130 peasant leaders have been assassinated since the fall of Stroessner in 1989.[87]

The methods of appropriating land in Paraguay are numerous. Economist Luis Rojas says that the most common method is to buy land from small producers: "The peasant is offered a sum of money he has never seen in his life. He imagines it's a fortune, leaves for the city, spends it all in three or four months and makes the misery belts grow, because there is no work." Oxfam estimates that 900,000 people have been evicted from the countryside in the last ten years, which represents nearly one-seventh of the population. This crowd of landless peasants is swelling the poverty belts around Asunción, the capital.[87]

Industry and manufacturing

The World Bank lists the top producing countries each year, based on the total value of production. By the 2019 list, Paraguay had the 79th most valuable industry in the world ($6.9 billion).[88] The country was the seventh largest producer of soybean oil in the world in 2018.[89]

The mineral industry of Paraguay produces about 25% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employs about 31% of the labor force. Production of cement, iron ore, and steel occurs commonly throughout Paraguay's industrial sector. The growth of the industry was further fueled by the maquila industry, with large industrial complexes located in the eastern part of the country. Paraguay put in place many incentives aimed to attract industries to the country. One of them is the so-called "Maquila law" by which companies can relocate to Paraguay, enjoying minimal tax rates.[90]

In the pharmaceutical industry, Paraguayan companies now[when?] meet 70% of domestic consumption and have begun to export drugs. Paraguay is quickly[quantify] supplanting foreign suppliers in meeting the country's drug needs.[91] Strong growth also is evident in the production of edible oils, garments, organic sugar, meat processing, and steel.[92]

In 2003, manufacturing comprised 13.6% of the GDP and it employed about 11% of the working population in 2000. Paraguay's primary manufacturing focus is on food and beverages. Wood products, paper products, hides and furs, and non-metallic mineral products also contribute to manufacturing totals. Steady growth in the manufacturing GDP during the 1990s (1.2% annually) laid the foundation for 2002 and 2003, when the annual growth rate rose to 2.5%.[93] Paraguay was ranked 88th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 95th in 2019.[94][95][96][97]

Social issues of the indigenous

Literacy rates have been extremely low among Paraguay's indigenous population, who had a literacy rate of 7.1% compared to the 51% rate of the general population as of the 2002 census.[98]

Only 2.5% of Paraguay's indigenous population had access to clean drinking water and only 9.5% had electricity as of 2002.[98]

Infrastructure

Transport

 
National roads of Paraguay.

According to official data from the M.O.P.C (Ministry of Public Works and Communications of Paraguay), in 2019, there were a total of 78,850 km (48,995 mi) of roads, of which 10,372 km (6,445 mi) were paved. [99][100] One of the most important recent investments in the country's history is the construction of the Bioceanic Corridor, which will cross the north of Paraguay in a horizontal line, connecting Brazil to Argentina, reaching both the ports of northern Chile, as to Brazilian ports. The work will open a new route for exports of products to Asia, and will enable the development of an isolated region of Paraguay, the Chaco. In February 2022, Paraguay inaugurated 275 km of the road (about half of the route), connecting Carmelo Peralta (Alto Paraguay), on the border with Brazil, to Loma Plata (Boquerón), in the center of the country. [101] Paraguay has also been implementing the country's first double highway: 149 km of the Route 2, which connects the capital Asunción to Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil (the highway that also connects with Port of Paranaguá). In January 2022, there were almost 100 km duplicated.[102]

River transport is important due to the Paraná-Paraguay system, which covers a 1,600 km navigable network, and which concentrates most commercial maritime traffic to the port of Buenos Aires. Asunción is the main port of Paraguay.[103][104]

Asunción airport is an important stopover for international airlines and Ciudad del Este airport, is an important international air cargo hub.[105]

Energy

All of Paraguay's electricity is generated by hydropower, making it one of the cleanest in the world. Paraguay has an installed electrical production capacity of 8,110 MW, producing 63 billion kWh/year in 2016; with domestic consumption of just 15 billion kWh, the excess production is sold to Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, making Paraguay the world's largest exporter of electric power.[106] This production is from two large hydroelectric power projects along its borders, including the Itaipu Dam, the world's second largest generating station.

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Paraguay and Immigration to Paraguay
See also: List of most common surnames in Paraguay
 
Paraguay population density (people per km2)

Paraguay's population is distributed unevenly through the country, with the vast majority of people living in the eastern region near the capital and largest city, Asunción, which accounts for 10% of the country's population. The Gran Chaco region, which includes the Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes Department, and accounts for about 60% of the territory, is home to less than 2% of the population. About 56% of Paraguayans live in urban areas, making Paraguay one of the least urbanized nations in South America.

For most of its history, Paraguay has been a recipient of immigrants, owing to its low population density, especially after the demographic collapse caused by the Paraguayan War. Immigrants include Italians, Germans, Spanish, English, Russians, Koreans, Chinese, Arabs, Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Brazilians, Argentines, Americans, Bolivians, Venezuelans, Mexicans, Chileans, Taiwanese and Uruguayans. [107][108] Along with German Argentines, German Paraguayans are one of the most prominent and growing German communities in South America, with some 25,000 German-speaking Mennonites living in the Paraguayan Chaco.[109][110] German settlers founded several towns, such as Hohenau, Filadelfia, Neuland, Obligado and Nueva Germania. Several websites that promote German immigration to Paraguay claim that 5–7% of the population is of German ancestry,[dubious – discuss] including 150,000 people of German-Brazilian descent.[better source needed][111][112][113][114][115] Similarly, from the 1920-30s, Paraguay received waves of Slavic people who settled in Asunción and Southern Paraguay (Itapúa, Misiones and Ñeembucú), especially in the towns of Fram, Coronel Bogado, Encarnación, San Juan del Paraná, San Ignacio and Pilar[116][117] Paraguay has also been a haven for communities persecuted for the religious faith, like the Bruderhof who were forced to leave England in 1941 because of their pacifist beliefs.[118][119] Many of these communities have retained their languages and culture, particularly the Brazilians, who represent the largest and most prominent immigrant group, at around 400,000.[120] Many Brazilian Paraguayans are of German, Italian and Polish descent.[121] There are an estimated 63,000 Afro-Paraguayans, comprising 1% of the population.[122][unreliable source?]

 
A gathering in Caacupé

There is no official data on the ethnic composition of the Paraguayan population, as the Department of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses of Paraguay does not ask about race and ethnicity in census surveys, although it does inquire about the indigenous population.[123] According to the census of 2002, indigenous people made up 1.7% of Paraguay's total population.[124]

Traditionally, the majority of the Paraguayan population is considered mixed (mestizo in Spanish). HLA-DRB1 polymorphism studies have shown genetic distances between Paraguayans and Spanish populations were closer than between Paraguayans and Guaranis, suggesting the predominance of Spanish genetics among Paraguayans.[125] According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[126][127], Paraguay has a population of 6,703,799, of which 95% are Mestizo or white and 5% are labelled as "other", which includes members of 17 distinct ethnolinguistic indigenous groups, many of which are poorly documented.

 
 
Largest cities or towns in Paraguay
(2021 estimate by INE)[128]
Rank Name Department Pop. Rank Name Department Pop.
 
Asunción
 
Ciudad del Este 		1 Asunción Capital District 521,101 11 Caaguazú Caaguazú 127,328  
Luque
 
San Lorenzo
2 Ciudad del Este Alto Paraná 306,679 12 Coronel Oviedo Caaguazú 125,893
3 Luque Central 286,053 13 Pedro Juan Caballero Amambay 123,784
4 San Lorenzo Central 260,171 14 Itauguá Central 115,140
5 Capiatá Central 245,013 15 Mariano Roque Alonso Central 107,800
6 Lambaré Central 185,524 16 Presidente Franco Alto Paraná 107,687
7 Fernando de la Mora Central 183,390 17 Minga Guazú Alto Paraná 93,969
8 Limpio Central 155,465 18 Concepción Concepción 88,559
9 Ñemby Central 148,579 19 Itá Central 83,610
10 Encarnación Itapúa 138,592 20 Villa Elisa Central 82,491
 
Main Catholic Chapel in Concepción, Paraguay

Religion

Main article: Religion in Paraguay

Christianity, particularly Catholicism, is the dominant religion in Paraguay.[129] According to the 2002 census, 89.9% of the population was Catholic, 6.2% was Evangelical Protestant, 1.1% identified with other Christian sects, and 0.6% practiced indigenous religions. A U.S. State Department report on Religious Freedom names Catholicism, evangelical Protestantism, mainline Protestantism, Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform), Mormonism, and the Baháʼí Faith as prominent religious groups. It also mentions a large Muslim community in Alto Paraná (as a result of Middle-Eastern immigration, especially from Lebanon) and a prominent Mennonite community in Boquerón.[130]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Paraguay

Paraguay is a bilingual nation. Both Spanish and Guaraní are official languages. The Guaraní language is a remarkable trace of the indigenous Guaraní culture that has endured in Paraguay. Guaraní claims its place as one of the last surviving and thriving of South American indigenous national languages. In 2015, Spanish was spoken by about 87% of the population, while Guaraní is spoken by more than 90%, or slightly more than 5.8 million speakers. 52% of rural Paraguayans are bilingual in Guaraní. While Guaraní is still widely spoken, Spanish is generally given a preferential treatment in government, business, media and education as one of South America's lingua francas.[131][132][133][134]

There are approximately 19 other indigenous languages spoken in Paraguay, many of which are threatened by extinction. Languages such as Guana, Ayoreo and Ishir (Chamacoco) are considered endangered.[135]

Education

Main article: Education in Paraguay
See also: List of universities in Paraguay and List of high schools in Paraguay

Literacy was about 93.6% and 87.7% of Paraguayans finish the fifth grade according to UNESCO's last Educational Development Index 2008. Literacy does not differ much by gender.[136] A more recent study[137] reveals that attendance at primary school by children between 6 and 12 years old is about 98%. Primary education is free and mandatory and takes nine years. Secondary education takes three years.[136] Main universities in Paraguay include:

The net primary enrollment rate was at 88% in 2005.[136] Public expenditure on education was about 4.3% of GDP in the early 2000s.[136]

Health

Main article: Health in Paraguay
 
Development of life expectancy

Average life expectancy in Paraguay is rather high given its poverty: as of 2006, it was 75 years,[141] equivalent to far wealthier Argentina, and the eighth highest in the Americas according to World Health Organization. Public expenditure on health is 2.6% of GDP, while private health expenditure is 5.1%.[136] Infant mortality was 20 per 1,000 births in 2005.[136] Maternal mortality was 150 per 100,000 live births in 2000.[136] The World Bank has helped the Paraguayan government reduce the country's maternal and infant mortality. The Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Project aimed to contribute to reducing mortality by increasing the use of selected life-saving services included in the country's Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Program (MCBI) by women of child-bearing age, and children under age six in selected areas. To this end, the project also targeted improving the quality and efficiency of the health service network within certain areas, in addition to increasing the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare's (MSPandBS) management.[142]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Paraguay
See also: Music of Paraguay and Cinema of Paraguay

Paraguay's cultural heritage can be traced to the extensive intermarriage between the original male Spanish settlers and indigenous Guaraní women. Their culture is highly influenced by various European countries, including Spain. Therefore, the Paraguayan culture is a fusion of two cultures and traditions; one European, the other, Southern Guaraní. Although this is common throughout the country, it is more visible around the towns of Atyrá, Tobatí and Altos. More than 93% of Paraguayans are mestizos, making Paraguay one of the most homogeneous countries in Latin America. A characteristic of this cultural fusion is the extensive bilingualism present to this day: more than 80% of Paraguayans speak both Spanish and the indigenous language, Guaraní. Jopara, a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish, is also widely spoken.[citation needed]

 
Ovecha Ragué Festival

This cultural fusion is expressed in arts such as embroidery (ao po'í) and lace making (ñandutí). The music of Paraguay, which consists of lilting polkas, bouncy galopas, and languid guaranias is played on the native harp. Paraguay's culinary heritage is also deeply influenced by this cultural fusion. Several popular dishes contain manioc, a local staple crop similar to the yuca also known as Cassava root found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as other indigenous ingredients. A popular dish is sopa paraguaya, similar to a thick corn bread. Another notable food is chipa, a bagel-like bread made from cornmeal, manioc, and cheese. Many other dishes consist of different kinds of cheeses, onions, bell peppers, cottage cheese, cornmeal, milk, seasonings, butter, eggs and fresh corn kernels.

The 1950s and 1960s were the time of the birth of a new generation of Paraguayan novelists and poets such as José Ricardo Mazó, Roque Vallejos, and Nobel Prize nominee Augusto Roa Bastos. Several Paraguayan films have been made.

Inside the family, conservative values predominate. In lower classes, godparents have a special relationship to the family, since usually, they are chosen because of their favourable social position, in order to provide extra security for the children. Particular respect is owed them, in return for which the family can expect protection and patronage.[143]

The most popular instruments in Paraguayan music are the harp and the guitar. The native genres are the Paraguayan polka and the guarania, characterised by a slow song that was developed by José Asunción Flores around the 1920s.[144][145]

Sport

Main article: Sport in Paraguay

Sport in Paraguay is an important part of the country's national culture. Football is the most popular sport, the main national team is the Paraguay national football team. Basketball is also very popular.[146] Other sports such as volleyball, handball, futsal, swimming and tennis are also popular.[146] Additional Paraguayan sports and pastimes include rugby union, chess, motorsport, golf and rowing.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The reverse side of the National Seal of Paraguay:
     
  2. ^ The reverse side of the Flag of Paraguay:
     

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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paraguay.
 
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Paraguay

Government

  • National Department of Tourism (in Spanish)
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General information

News media

  • (in Spanish)
  • ABC Color (in Spanish)
  • Última Hora (in Spanish)
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  • Ñanduti (in Spanish)
  • Paraguayan Pymes News (in Spanish)

Trade

  • World Bank Summary Trade Statistics Paraguay

Travel

  • Paraguay.com: Tradition, Culture, Maps, Tourism
  •   Paraguay travel guide from Wikivoyage
  • (in Spanish)

March 06, 2023
paraguay, this, article, about, country, other, uses, disambiguation, coordinates, spanish, pronunciation, paɾaˈɣwaj, listen, officially, republic, spanish, república, guarani, tavakuairetã, paraguái, country, south, america, bordered, argentina, south, southw. This article is about the country For other uses see Paraguay disambiguation Coordinates 23 S 58 W 23 S 58 W 23 58 Paraguay ˈ p aer e ɡ w aɪ Spanish pronunciation paɾaˈɣwaj listen officially the Republic of Paraguay Spanish Republica del Paraguay Guarani Tavakuaireta Paraguai is a country in South America It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest Brazil to the east and northeast and Bolivia to the northwest It has a population of 7 million nearly 3 million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asuncion and its surrounding metro Although one of only two landlocked countries in South America Bolivia is the other Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Parana rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean through the Parana Paraguay Waterway es 9 Republic of ParaguayRepublica del Paraguay Spanish Tavakuaireta Paraguai Guarani Flag nb 2 Seal nb 1 Motto Paz y justicia Spanish Peace and justice Anthem Himno Nacional Paraguayo Spanish source source track track track track track track track track Location of Paraguay dark green in South America grey Capitaland largest cityAsuncion25 16 S 57 40 W 25 267 S 57 667 W 25 267 57 667Official languages 1 2 SpanishGuaraniEthnic groups 2019 3 95 Mestizo mixed White and Indigenous 5 Other including Indigenous Religion 2018 4 96 1 Christianity 88 3 Roman Catholic 7 8 Other Christian2 6 No religion0 4 Other0 8 UnknownDemonym s ParaguayanGovernmentUnitary presidential republic PresidentMario Abdo Benitez Vice PresidentHugo VelazquezLegislatureCongress Upper houseSenate Lower houseChamber of DeputiesIndependence from Spain Declared14 May 1811 Recognized25 November 1842 Admitted to the United Nations24 October 1945Area Total406 796 km2 157 065 sq mi 59th Water 2 6Population 2021 estimate7 359 000 5 104th Density18 km2 46 6 sq mi 210th GDP PPP 2022 estimate Total 108 4 billion 6 94th Per capita 14 528 6 98th GDP nominal 2022 estimate Total 41 88 billion 6 98th Per capita 5 615 6 104th Gini 2020 43 5 7 mediumHDI 2021 0 717 8 high 105thCurrencyGuarani PYG Time zoneUTC 4 PYT Summer DST UTC 3 PYST Date formatdd mm yyyyDriving siderightCalling code 595ISO 3166 codePYInternet TLD pyMixed European and Amerindian Spanish conquistadores arrived in 1524 and in 1537 established the city of Asuncion the first capital of the Governorate of the Rio de la Plata 10 During the 17th century Paraguay was the center of Jesuit missions where the native Guarani people were converted to Christianity and introduced to European culture 11 After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767 Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony with few urban centers and settlers Following independence from Spain in the early 19th century Paraguay was ruled by a series of authoritarian governments characterized by nationalist isolationist and protectionist policies This period ended with the disastrous Paraguayan War 1864 70 during which the country lost half its prewar population and around 25 33 of its territory to the Triple Alliance of Argentina Brazil and Uruguay In the 20th century Paraguay faced another major international conflict the Chaco War 1932 35 against Bolivia in which it prevailed Afterwards the country came under a succession of military dictators culminating in the 35 year regime of Alfredo Stroessner which lasted until his overthrow in 1989 by an internal military coup This marked the beginning of Paraguay s democratic era which continues to this day Paraguay is a developing country ranking 105th in the Human Development Index 12 It is a founding member of Mercosur the United Nations the Organization of American States the Non Aligned Movement and the Lima Group Additionally the city of Luque in metropolitan Asuncion is the seat of the South American Football Confederation The majority of Paraguay s seven million people are mestizo and Guarani culture remains widely influential more than 90 of the population speak various dialects of the Guarani language alongside Spanish Despite a history of poverty and political repression in a 2017 Positive Experience Index based on global polling data Paraguay ranked as the world s happiest place 13 14 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Pre Columbian era 2 2 Colonization 2 3 Independence and rule of Francia 2 4 Rule of the Lopez family 2 5 Paraguayan War 1864 1870 2 6 20th century 2 7 Stroessner era 1954 1989 2 8 Stroessner s overthrow post 1989 2 9 Election of Fernando Lugo 2 10 Present day 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 3 2 Fauna 4 Government and politics 4 1 Military 4 2 Administrative Divisions 5 Economy 5 1 Agriculture 5 2 Industry and manufacturing 5 2 1 Social issues of the indigenous 6 Infrastructure 6 1 Transport 6 2 Energy 7 Demographics 7 1 Religion 7 2 Languages 7 3 Education 7 4 Health 8 Culture 8 1 Sport 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External linksEtymology EditFrom Guarani paragua feather crown and y water thus paraguai feather crown of waters 15 History EditMain article History of Paraguay Pre Columbian era Edit The indigenous Guarani had been living in eastern Paraguay for at least a millennium before the arrival of the Spanish Western Paraguay the Gran Chaco was inhabited by nomads of whom the Guaycuru peoples were the most prominent The Paraguay River was roughly the dividing line between the agricultural Guarani people to the east and the nomadic and semi nomadic people to the west in the Gran Chaco The Guarcuru nomads were known for their warrior traditions and were not fully pacified until the late 19th century These indigenous tribes belonged to five distinct language families which were the bases of their major divisions Differing language speaking groups were generally competitive over resources and territories They were further divided into tribes by speaking languages in branches of these families Today 17 separate ethnolinguistic groups remain Colonization Edit The first Europeans in the area were Spanish explorers in 1516 16 The Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar de Espinosa founded the settlement of Asuncion on 15 August 1537 The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province of Paraguay An attempt to create an autonomous Christian Indian nation 17 was undertaken by Jesuit missions and settlements in this part of South America in the eighteenth century They developed Jesuit reductions to bring Guarani populations together at Spanish missions and protect them from virtual slavery by Spanish settlers and Portuguese slave raiders the Bandeirantes in addition to seeking their conversion to Christianity Catholicism in Paraguay was influenced by the indigenous peoples the syncretic religion has absorbed native elements The reducciones flourished in eastern Paraguay for about 150 years until the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish Crown in 1767 The ruins of two 18th century Jesuit Missions of La Santisima Trinidad de Parana and Jesus de Tavarangue have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO 17 In western Paraguay Spanish settlement and Christianity were strongly resisted by the nomadic Guaycuru and other nomads from the 16th century onward Most of these peoples were absorbed into the mestizo population in the 18th and 19th centuries Independence and rule of Francia Edit Main article Independence of Paraguay Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia Paraguay s first dictator Paraguay overthrew the local Spanish administration on 14 May 1811 Paraguay s first dictator was Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia who ruled Paraguay from 1814 until his death in 1840 with very little outside contact or influence He intended to create a utopian society based on the French theorist Jean Jacques Rousseau s Social Contract 18 Rodriguez de Francia was nicknamed El Supremo Rodriguez de Francia established new laws that greatly reduced the powers of the Catholic church Catholicism was then an established state religion and the cabinet forbade colonial citizens from marrying one another and allowed them to marry only blacks mulattoes or natives in order to break the power of colonial era elites and to create a mixed race or mestizo society 19 He cut off relations between Paraguay and the rest of South America Because of Francia s restrictions of freedom Fulgencio Yegros and several other Independence era leaders in 1820 planned a coup d etat against Francia who discovered the plot and had its leaders either executed or imprisoned for life 20 Rule of the Lopez family Edit Political map of the region 1864 After Francia s death in 1840 Paraguay was ruled by various military officers under a new junta until Carlos Antonio Lopez allegedly Rodriguez de Francia s nephew came to power in 1841 Lopez modernized Paraguay and opened it to foreign commerce He signed a non aggression pact with Argentina and officially declared independence of Paraguay in 1842 After Lopez s death in 1862 power was transferred to his eldest son Francisco Solano Lopez The regime of the Lopez family was characterized by pervasive and rigid centralism in production and distribution There was no distinction between the public and the private spheres and the Lopez family ruled the country as it would a large estate 21 The government exerted control on all exports The export of yerba mate and valuable wood products maintained the balance of trade between Paraguay and the outside world 22 The Paraguayan government was extremely protectionist never accepted loans from abroad and levied high tariffs against imported foreign products This protectionism made the society self sufficient and it also avoided the debt suffered by Argentina and Brazil Slavery existed in Paraguay although not in great numbers until 1844 when it was legally abolished in the new constitution 23 Francisco Solano Lopez the son of Carlos Antonio Lopez replaced his father as the President Dictator in 1862 and generally continued the political policies of his father Both wanted to give an international image of Paraguay as democratic and republican but in fact the ruling family had almost total control of all public life in the country including church and colleges 24 Militarily Carlos Antonio Lopez modernized and expanded industry and the Paraguayan Army and greatly strengthened the strategic defenses of Paraguay by developing the Fortress of Humaita 25 The government hired more than 200 foreign technicians who installed telegraph lines and railroads to aid the expanding steel textile paper and ink naval construction weapons and gunpowder industries The Ybycui foundry completed in 1850 manufactured cannons mortars and bullets of all calibers River warships were built in the shipyards of Asuncion Fortifications were built especially along the Apa River and in Gran Chaco 26 22 The work was continued by his son Francisco Solano and in terms of socio economic development the country was dubbed as the most advanced Republic in South America notably by the British judge and politician Sir Robert Phillimore 27 According to George Thompson Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers in the Paraguayan Army prior to and during the war Lopez s government was comparatively a good one for Paraguay Probably in no other country in the world has life and property been so secure as all over Paraguay during his Antonio Lopez s reign Crime was almost unknown and when committed immediately detected and punished The mass of the people was perhaps the happiest in existence They had hardly to do any work to gain a livelihood Each family had its house or hut in its own ground They planted in a few days enough tobacco maize and mandioca for their own consumption Having at every hut a grove of oranges and also a few cows they were almost throughout the year under little necessity The higher classes of course lived more in the European way George Thompson C E 28 Paraguayan War 1864 1870 Edit Main articles Paraguayan War and Paraguayan War casualties Francisco Solano Lopez On 12 October 1864 despite Paraguayan ultimatums Brazil allied with the Argentine Government under General Bartolome Mitre and the rebellious Uruguayan colorados led by Gen Venancio Flores invaded the Republic of Uruguay in order to overthrow the government of that time which was under the rule of the Blanco Party an ally of Lopez 29 citation needed thus starting the Paraguayan War 30 The Paraguayans led by the Marshal of the Republic Francisco Solano Lopez retaliated by attacking Mato Grosso on 15 December 1864 and later declared war against Argentina on 23 March 1865 The Blanco Government was toppled and replaced by a Colorado Government under General Venancio Flores on 22 February 1865 Afterward the Argentine Republic the Empire of Brazil and the Republic of Uruguay signed the Secret Treaty of the Triple Alliance against the Paraguayan Government on 1 May 1865 31 The Paraguayans put up a ferocious resistance but ultimately lost in 1870 in the Battle of Cerro Cora where Marshal Solano Lopez refused to surrender and died in action 32 The real causes of this war which remains the bloodiest international conflict in the history of The Americas are still highly debatable 33 The Battle of Tuyuti May 1866 Paraguay lost 25 33 of its territory to Argentina and Brazil paid an enormous war debt and sold large amounts of national properties to stabilize its internal budget The worst consequence of the war was the catastrophic loss of population At least 50 of the Paraguayans died during the conflict numbers which took many decades for the country to return to About the disaster suffered by the Paraguayans at the outcome of the war William D Rubinstein wrote The normal estimate is that of a Paraguayan population of somewhere between 450 000 and 900 000 only 220 000 survived the war of whom only 28 000 were adult males 34 During the pillaging of Asuncion in 1869 the Imperial Brazilian Army packed up and transported the Paraguayan National Archives to Rio de Janeiro 35 36 Brazil s records from the war have remained classified 37 This has made Paraguayan history in the colonial and early national periods difficult to research and study 20th century Edit Gran Chaco was the site of the Chaco War 1932 35 in which Bolivia lost most of the disputed territory to Paraguay In 1904 the Liberal revolution against the rule of Colorados broke out The Liberal rule started a period of great political instability Between 1904 and 1954 Paraguay had thirty one presidents most of whom were removed from office by force 38 Conflicts between the factions of the ruling Liberal party led to the Paraguayan Civil War of 1922 The unresolved border conflict with Bolivia over the Chaco region finally erupted in the early 1930s in the Chaco War After great losses Paraguay defeated Bolivia and established its sovereignty over most of the disputed Chaco region After the war military officers used popular dissatisfaction with the Liberal politicians to seize the power for themselves On 17 February 1936 the February Revolution brought colonel Rafael Franco to power Between 1940 and 1948 the country was ruled by general Higinio Morinigo Dissatisfaction with his rule resulted in the Paraguayan civil war of 1947 39 In its aftermath Alfredo Stroessner began involvement in a string of plots which resulted in his military coup d etat of 4 May 1954 In the aftermath of World War II Paraguay became a hideout for Nazi fugitives accused of war crimes Stroessner era 1954 1989 Edit See also El Stronato and Operation Condor A series of unstable governments ensued until the establishment in 1954 of the regime of dictator Alfredo Stroessner who remained in office for more than three decades until 1989 Paraguay was modernized to some extent under Stroessner s regime although his rule was marked by extensive human rights abuses 40 Stroessner and the Colorado party ruled the country from 1954 to 1989 The dictator oversaw an era of economic expansion but also had a poor human rights and environmental record see Political History Paraguay actively participated in Operation Condor 41 Torture and death for political opponents was routine After his overthrow the Colorado continued to dominate national politics until 2008 The splits in the Colorado Party in the 1980s and the prevailing conditions Stroessner s advanced age the character of the regime the economic downturn and international isolation were catalysts for anti regime demonstrations and statements by the opposition prior to the 1988 general elections citation needed PLRA leader Domingo Laino served as the focal point of the opposition in the second half of the 1980s The government s effort to isolate Laino by exiling him in 1982 had backfired On his sixth attempt to re enter the country in 1986 Laino returned with three television crews from the U S a former United States ambassador to Paraguay and a group of Uruguayan and Argentine congressmen Despite the international contingent the police violently barred Laino s return 42 The Stroessner regime relented in April 1987 and permitted Laino to return to Asuncion Laino took the lead in organizing demonstrations and reducing infighting among the opposition party The opposition was unable to reach agreement on a common strategy regarding the elections with some parties advocating abstention and others calling for blank voting The parties held numerous lightning demonstrations mitines relampagos especially in rural areas Such demonstrations were gathered and quickly disbanded before the arrival of the police In response to the upsurge in opposition activities Stroessner condemned the Accord for advocating sabotage of the general elections and disrespect of the law He used national police and civilian vigilantes of the Colorado Party to break up demonstrations A number of opposition leaders were imprisoned or otherwise harassed Hermes Rafael Saguier es another key leader of the PLRA was imprisoned for four months in 1987 on charges of sedition In early February 1988 police arrested 200 people attending a National Coordinating Committee meeting in Coronel Oviedo Laino and several other opposition figures were arrested before dawn on the day of the election 14 February and held for twelve hours The government declared Stroessner s re election with 89 of the vote 43 The opposition attributed the results in part to the virtual Colorado monopoly on the mass media They noted that 53 of those polled indicated that there was an uneasiness in Paraguayan society 74 believed that the political situation needed changes including 45 who wanted a substantial or total change Finally 31 stated that they planned to abstain from voting in the February elections citation needed Stroessner s overthrow post 1989 Edit On 3 February 1989 Stroessner was overthrown in a military coup headed by General Andres Rodriguez As president Rodriguez instituted political legal and economic reforms and initiated a rapprochement with the international community Reflecting the deep hunger of the rural poor for land hundreds immediately occupied thousands of acres of unused territories belonging to Stroessner and his associates by mid 1990 19 000 families occupied 340 000 acres 138 000 ha At the time 2 06 million people lived in rural areas more than half of the 4 1 million total population and most were landless 44 The June 1992 constitution established a democratic system of government and dramatically improved protection of fundamental human rights In May 1993 Colorado Party candidate Juan Carlos Wasmosy was elected as Paraguay s first civilian president in almost forty years in what international observers deemed free and fair elections With support from the United States the Organization of American States and other countries in the region the Paraguayan people rejected an April 1996 attempt by then Army Chief General Lino Oviedo to oust President Wasmosy Oviedo was nominated as the Colorado candidate for president in the 1998 election However when the Supreme Court upheld in April his conviction on charges related to the 1996 coup attempt he was not allowed to run and was detained in jail His former running mate Raul Cubas became the Colorado Party s candidate and was elected in May in elections deemed by international observers to be free and fair One of Cubas first acts after taking office in August was to commute Oviedo s sentence and release him In December 1998 Paraguay s Supreme Court declared these actions unconstitutional In this tense atmosphere the murder of Vice President and long time Oviedo rival Luis Maria Argana on 23 March 1999 led the Chamber of Deputies to impeach Cubas the next day citation needed On 26 March eight student anti government demonstrators were murdered widely believed to have been carried out by Oviedo supporters This increased opposition to Cubas who resigned on 28 March Senate President Luis Gonzalez Macchi a Cubas opponent was peacefully sworn in as president the same day In 2003 Nicanor Duarte was elected as president Election of Fernando Lugo Edit For the 2008 general elections the Colorado Party was favored in polls Their candidate was Minister of Education Blanca Ovelar the first woman to be nominated as a candidate for a major party in Paraguayan history After sixty years of Colorado rule voters chose Fernando Lugo a former Roman Catholic Bishop and not a professional politician in civil government and a member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party Paraguay s largest opposition party Lugo was an adherent of liberation theology Lugo achieved a historic victory in Paraguay s presidential election defeating the ruling party candidate and ending 61 years of conservative rule Lugo won with nearly 41 of the vote compared to almost 31 for Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado party 45 Outgoing President Nicanor Duarte Frutos hailed the moment as the first time in the history of the nation that a government had transferred power to opposition forces in a constitutional and peaceful fashion citation needed Lugo was sworn in on 15 August 2008 The Lugo administration set its two major priorities as the reduction of corruption and economic inequality 46 Inauguration of former President Horacio Cartes 15 August 2013 Political instability following Lugo s election and disputes within his cabinet encouraged some renewal of popular support for the Colorado Party Reports suggested that the businessman Horacio Cartes became the new political figure amid disputes Despite the US Drug Enforcement Administration s strong accusations against Cartes related to drug trafficking he continued to amass followers in the political arena citation needed On 14 January 2011 the Colorado Party convention nominated Horacio Cartes as the presidential candidate for the party However the party s constitution did not allow it clarification needed On 21 June 2012 impeachment proceedings against President Lugo began in the country s lower house which was controlled by his opponents Lugo was given less than twenty four hours to prepare for the proceedings and only two hours in which to mount a defense 47 Impeachment was quickly approved and the resulting trial in Paraguay s Senate also controlled by the opposition ended with the removal of Lugo from office and Vice President Federico Franco assuming the duties of president 48 Lugo s rivals blamed him for the deaths of 17 people eight police officers and nine farmers in armed clashes after police were ambushed by armed peasants when enforcing an eviction order against rural trespassers 49 Lugo s supporters gathered outside Congress to protest the decision as a politically motivated coup d etat 48 Lugo s removal from office on 22 June 2012 is considered by UNASUR and other neighboring countries especially those currently governed by leftist leaders as a coup d etat 50 However the Organization of American States which sent a mission to Paraguay to gather information concluded that the impeachment process was not a coup d etat as it had been carried out in accordance with the Constitution of Paraguay 51 Present day Edit From August 2013 to 15 August 2018 the President of Paraguay was Horacio Cartes 52 Since 15 August 2018 the President of Paraguay has been Mario Abdo Benitez They are both from the conservative Colorado Party 53 President Mario Abdo enjoys a close relationship with the Brazilian far right president since 2019 Jair Bolsonaro 54 In February 2019 President Mario Abdo Benitez was at Bolsonaro s side when Bolsonaro praised Paraguayan military dictator Alfredo Stroessner calling him a man of vision 55 Geography EditMain article Geography of Paraguay Nacunday National Park Southern Paraguay Paraguay is divided by the Rio Paraguay into two well differentiated geographic regions The eastern region Region Oriental and the western region officially called Western Paraguay Region Occidental and also known as the Chaco which is part of the Gran Chaco The country lies between latitudes 19 and 28 S and longitudes 54 and 63 W The terrain consists mostly of grassy plains and wooded hills in the eastern region To the west are mostly low marshy plains Paraguay contains six terrestrial ecoregions Alto Parana Atlantic forests Chaco Cerrado Humid Chaco Pantanal and Parana flooded savanna 56 It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6 39 10 ranking it 74th globally out of 172 countries 57 The Guarani Aquifer is an important exorheic basin to the region 58 Although Paraguay is landlocked there are a number of noteworthy lakeside beaches 59 Climate Edit Main article Climate of Paraguay Paraguay map of Koppen climate classification The overall climate is tropical to subtropical Like most lands in the region Paraguay has only wet and dry periods Winds play a major role in influencing Paraguay s weather between October and March warm winds blow from the Amazon Basin in the north while the period between May and August brings cold winds from the Andes The absence of mountain ranges to provide a natural barrier allows winds to develop speeds as high as 161 km h 100 mph This also leads to significant changes in temperature within a short span of time between April and September temperatures will sometimes drop below freezing January is the hottest summer month with an average daily temperature of 28 9 degrees Celsius 84 degrees F Rainfall varies dramatically across the country with substantial rainfall in the eastern portions and semi arid conditions in the far west The far eastern forest belt receives an average of 170 centimeters 67 inches of rain annually while the western Chaco region typically averages no more than 50 cm 20 in a year The rains in the west tend to be irregular and evaporate quickly contributing to the aridity of the area Fauna Edit Wildlife in Paraguay include marsh deer monkeys armadillos anteaters otters wild boars tapirs jaguars ocelots bats and the coypu Government and politics EditMain articles Politics of Paraguay Human rights in Paraguay and Foreign relations of Paraguay Paraguay is a representative democratic republic with a multi party system and separation of powers across three branches Executive power is exercised solely by the President who is head of state and head of government Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the National Congress The judiciary is vested on tribunals and Courts of Civil Law and a nine member Supreme Court of Justice all of them independent of the executive and the legislature Military Edit Main article Armed Forces of Paraguay Paraguayan marines at Ancon Marine Base The military of Paraguay consist of an army navy including naval aviation and marine corps and air force Paraguay s constitution establishes the president of Paraguay as commander in chief of the armed forces 60 Paraguay has compulsory military service all 18 year old males as well as 17 year old males in the year of their 18th birthday are liable for one year of active duty While the constitution allows for conscientious objection no enabling legislation has yet been approved Paraguay has partnered with Argentina Brazil and the United States in regional anti terrorism and anti narcotics efforts 61 In July 2005 U S special forces began arriving at Paraguay s Mariscal Estigarribia air base to support joint training and humanitarian operations 62 63 In 2019 Asuncion hosted the first meeting of the Regional Security Mechanism RSM which promotes cooperation between Paraguay Argentina Brazil and the U S in addressing transnational crime and terrorism in the triple frontier region 64 Administrative Divisions Edit Main articles Departments of Paraguay and Districts of Paraguay Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district distrito capital It is also divided into two regions The Occidental Region or Chaco Boqueron Alto Paraguay and Presidente Hayes and the Oriental Region the other departments and the capital district These are the departments with their capitals population area and the number of districts Alto Paraguay Boqueron Presidente Hayes Amambay Concepcion San Pedro Distrito Capital Guaira Caazapa AltoParana Caaguazu Canindeyu Itapua Paraguari Misiones Neembucu Cordillera Central Brazil Bolivia Argentina ISO 3166 2 PY Department Capital Population 2021 estimate 65 Area km2 DistrictsASU Distrito Capital Asuncion 524 559 117 11 Concepcion Concepcion 261 976 18 057 142 San Pedro San Pedro 463 126 20 007 233 Cordillera Caacupe 323 273 4 953 204 Guaira Villarrica 247 747 3 991 185 Caaguazu Coronel Oviedo 609 803 11 479 226 Caazapa Caazapa 205 031 9 503 117 Itapua Encarnacion 622 565 16 536 308 Misiones San Juan Bautista 168 130 9 568 109 Paraguari Paraguari 278 957 8 710 1810 Alto Parana Ciudad del Este 854 943 14 898 2211 Central Aregua 2 210 109 2 665 1912 Neembucu Pilar 93 287 12 155 1613 Amambay Pedro Juan Caballero 204 169 12 935 614 Canindeyu Salto del Guaira 254 978 14 677 1615 Presidente Hayes Villa Hayes 129 951 72 917 1016 Alto Paraguay Fuerte Olimpo 18 330 82 394 417 Boqueron Filadelfia 71 836 91 676 4 Paraguay Asuncion 7 359 000 406 796 273Economy EditMain article Economy of Paraguay A proportional representation of Paraguay exports 2019 For many years the country s image was associated with the illicit trade in electronic products weapons and drugs However this scenario began to change in the 2000s with the rise of legalized businesses such as the production of soy maize beef among others Data from the Central Bank of Paraguay BCP showed that in 2006 exports related to the triangulation trade China Paraguay Brazil treated by Brazil in most cases as smuggling and embezzlement represented 22 of the country s GDP In 2016 this percentage dropped to 12 With higher tax collections through legalized employment the country has been able to improve its infrastructure which was precarious Paraguay has an economic development policy based on exports and dependence on the Brazilian market prevails The triangulation trade has in its essence the export of products originating in China with Brazil as its main destination The energy exported is essentially the hydroelectric surplus generated by the Itaipu Power Plant for which Brazil is the main buyer And maquilas whose main investors are Brazilians also have a large consumer market in Brazil for their products Therefore in these three pillars of Paraguay s development strategy there is the outstanding characteristic of re exports In the case of agricultural commodities it is the export of products originating in Paraguay 66 In the 2010s the economy largely directed towards soybean production grew by an average of 4 The economic growth did not however reduce poverty which in 2018 according to official figures reached more than 26 of the population According to The New York Times Paraguay is one of the Latin American countries where the gap between rich and poor has widened the most in recent years In the countryside 85 of agricultural land is owned by 2 6 of the owners In addition people of indigenous descent have been expelled to make way for soybean companies 67 68 The soybean export market is largely dominated by multinationals Cargill Archer Daniels Midland Bunge Limited etc and therefore benefits few Paraguayans Export companies and landowners pay little tax For example a study by ECLAC a UN agency released in 2018 indicates that Paraguay is one of the countries where companies participate the least in the state budget 69 Pesticides and other chemicals are used heavily in soybean fields The country s environmental standards are not met by companies and agrochemicals contaminate the environment In 2019 the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a ruling urging Paraguay to undertake an investigation into the massive fumigation of agrochemicals and the poisoning of the population However the situation is not improving The high level of political corruption the extreme fragility of institutions the high level of social vulnerability the omnipotence of economic interests in political decisions as well as the location of the country in the geographic heart of the Southern Cone and its abundance of natural resources make Paraguay an attractive target for imperial geopolitical interests says sociologist Tomas Palau 70 Academic Jose Luis Insfran also notes that the country s politicians are subsidized by big business they are the ones who implement the policies In 2005 the International Monetary Fund stated that fewer than 10 of workers in Paraguay participate in the pension system 95 of which is administered by two institutions Both are financed on a pay as you go system by worker contributions the first Instituto de Prevision Social es is for private sector employees and the caja fiscal for public employees including university professors teachers judicial employees army officers and police officers and veterans of the Chaco War or their descendants 71 As one of the most important resort towns in Paraguay San Bernardino which was founded by German settlers in the 19th century has one of the highest purchasing power parities in the country The market economy is distinguished by a large informal sector featuring re export of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors Nonetheless over the last 10 years the Paraguayan economy diversified dramatically with the energy auto parts and clothing industries leading the way 72 Paraguay s most important urban areas are located along the Argentina Paraguay border Asuncion Alberdi Encarnacion Pilar and Ciudad del Este the latter being the third most important free commercial zone in the world only trailing behind Miami and Hong Kong 73 74 A large percentage of the population especially in rural areas derives its living from agricultural activity often on a subsistence basis Because of the importance of the informal sector accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain The economy grew rapidly between 2003 and 2013 as growing world demand for commodities combined with high prices and favorable weather to support Paraguay s commodity based export expansion In 2012 Paraguay s government introduced the MERCOSUR FOCEM system in order to stimulate the economy and job growth through a partnership with both Brazil and Argentina 75 needs update Agriculture Edit Paraguay is the sixth largest soybean producer in the world 76 the second largest producer of stevia and the ninth largest exporter of beef 77 78 In 2018 in addition to soy the country had a large production of maize and sugar cane where it positioned itself as the 21st largest producer in the world other important cultures of the country are cassava rice wheat orange yerba mate and sorghum In livestock Paraguay produced in 2020 481 thousand tons of beef being the 26th largest producer in the world 79 The culture of soy was brought by Brazilians to the country in 2019 almost 70 of soy and rice producers in Paraguay were people from Brazil or descendants of Brazilians the so called brasiguaios The first Brazilian producers began to arrive in the country in the 1980s Before that there was a lot of undisturbed land in the country 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 More than 80 of the cultivable land is owned by 2 6 of landowners Nearly 8 million hectares were illegally granted in violation of the agrarian law to regime supporters during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner 1954 1989 and the state has done nothing since to identify the beneficiaries of this illicit enrichment These owners include generals businessmen and politicians former presidents of the Republic Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle and even the ruling Colorado Party More than 130 peasant leaders have been assassinated since the fall of Stroessner in 1989 87 The methods of appropriating land in Paraguay are numerous Economist Luis Rojas says that the most common method is to buy land from small producers The peasant is offered a sum of money he has never seen in his life He imagines it s a fortune leaves for the city spends it all in three or four months and makes the misery belts grow because there is no work Oxfam estimates that 900 000 people have been evicted from the countryside in the last ten years which represents nearly one seventh of the population This crowd of landless peasants is swelling the poverty belts around Asuncion the capital 87 Industry and manufacturing Edit The World Bank lists the top producing countries each year based on the total value of production By the 2019 list Paraguay had the 79th most valuable industry in the world 6 9 billion 88 The country was the seventh largest producer of soybean oil in the world in 2018 89 The mineral industry of Paraguay produces about 25 of the country s gross domestic product GDP and employs about 31 of the labor force Production of cement iron ore and steel occurs commonly throughout Paraguay s industrial sector The growth of the industry was further fueled by the maquila industry with large industrial complexes located in the eastern part of the country Paraguay put in place many incentives aimed to attract industries to the country One of them is the so called Maquila law by which companies can relocate to Paraguay enjoying minimal tax rates 90 In the pharmaceutical industry Paraguayan companies now when meet 70 of domestic consumption and have begun to export drugs Paraguay is quickly quantify supplanting foreign suppliers in meeting the country s drug needs 91 Strong growth also is evident in the production of edible oils garments organic sugar meat processing and steel 92 In 2003 manufacturing comprised 13 6 of the GDP and it employed about 11 of the working population in 2000 Paraguay s primary manufacturing focus is on food and beverages Wood products paper products hides and furs and non metallic mineral products also contribute to manufacturing totals Steady growth in the manufacturing GDP during the 1990s 1 2 annually laid the foundation for 2002 and 2003 when the annual growth rate rose to 2 5 93 Paraguay was ranked 88th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021 up from 95th in 2019 94 95 96 97 Social issues of the indigenous Edit Literacy rates have been extremely low among Paraguay s indigenous population who had a literacy rate of 7 1 compared to the 51 rate of the general population as of the 2002 census 98 Only 2 5 of Paraguay s indigenous population had access to clean drinking water and only 9 5 had electricity as of 2002 update 98 Infrastructure EditTransport Edit National roads of Paraguay According to official data from the M O P C Ministry of Public Works and Communications of Paraguay in 2019 there were a total of 78 850 km 48 995 mi of roads of which 10 372 km 6 445 mi were paved 99 100 One of the most important recent investments in the country s history is the construction of the Bioceanic Corridor which will cross the north of Paraguay in a horizontal line connecting Brazil to Argentina reaching both the ports of northern Chile as to Brazilian ports The work will open a new route for exports of products to Asia and will enable the development of an isolated region of Paraguay the Chaco In February 2022 Paraguay inaugurated 275 km of the road about half of the route connecting Carmelo Peralta Alto Paraguay on the border with Brazil to Loma Plata Boqueron in the center of the country 101 Paraguay has also been implementing the country s first double highway 149 km of the Route 2 which connects the capital Asuncion to Ciudad del Este on the border with Brazil the highway that also connects with Port of Paranagua In January 2022 there were almost 100 km duplicated 102 River transport is important due to the Parana Paraguay system which covers a 1 600 km navigable network and which concentrates most commercial maritime traffic to the port of Buenos Aires Asuncion is the main port of Paraguay 103 104 Asuncion airport is an important stopover for international airlines and Ciudad del Este airport is an important international air cargo hub 105 Energy Edit All of Paraguay s electricity is generated by hydropower making it one of the cleanest in the world Paraguay has an installed electrical production capacity of 8 110 MW producing 63 billion kWh year in 2016 with domestic consumption of just 15 billion kWh the excess production is sold to Brazil Argentina and Uruguay making Paraguay the world s largest exporter of electric power 106 This production is from two large hydroelectric power projects along its borders including the Itaipu Dam the world s second largest generating station Demographics EditMain articles Demographics of Paraguay and Immigration to Paraguay See also List of most common surnames in Paraguay This section has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Paraguay news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message This section possibly contains inappropriate or misinterpreted citations that do not verify the text Please help improve this article by checking for citation inaccuracies April 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Paraguay population density people per km2 Paraguay s population is distributed unevenly through the country with the vast majority of people living in the eastern region near the capital and largest city Asuncion which accounts for 10 of the country s population The Gran Chaco region which includes the Alto Paraguay Boqueron and Presidente Hayes Department and accounts for about 60 of the territory is home to less than 2 of the population About 56 of Paraguayans live in urban areas making Paraguay one of the least urbanized nations in South America For most of its history Paraguay has been a recipient of immigrants owing to its low population density especially after the demographic collapse caused by the Paraguayan War Immigrants include Italians Germans Spanish English Russians Koreans Chinese Arabs Ukrainians Poles Jews Brazilians Argentines Americans Bolivians Venezuelans Mexicans Chileans Taiwanese and Uruguayans 107 108 Along with German Argentines German Paraguayans are one of the most prominent and growing German communities in South America with some 25 000 German speaking Mennonites living in the Paraguayan Chaco 109 110 German settlers founded several towns such as Hohenau Filadelfia Neuland Obligado and Nueva Germania Several websites that promote German immigration to Paraguay claim that 5 7 of the population is of German ancestry dubious discuss including 150 000 people of German Brazilian descent better source needed 111 112 113 114 115 Similarly from the 1920 30s Paraguay received waves of Slavic people who settled in Asuncion and Southern Paraguay Itapua Misiones and Neembucu especially in the towns of Fram Coronel Bogado Encarnacion San Juan del Parana San Ignacio and Pilar 116 117 Paraguay has also been a haven for communities persecuted for the religious faith like the Bruderhof who were forced to leave England in 1941 because of their pacifist beliefs 118 119 Many of these communities have retained their languages and culture particularly the Brazilians who represent the largest and most prominent immigrant group at around 400 000 120 Many Brazilian Paraguayans are of German Italian and Polish descent 121 There are an estimated 63 000 Afro Paraguayans comprising 1 of the population 122 unreliable source A gathering in Caacupe There is no official data on the ethnic composition of the Paraguayan population as the Department of Statistics Surveys and Censuses of Paraguay does not ask about race and ethnicity in census surveys although it does inquire about the indigenous population 123 According to the census of 2002 indigenous people made up 1 7 of Paraguay s total population 124 Traditionally the majority of the Paraguayan population is considered mixed mestizo in Spanish HLA DRB1 polymorphism studies have shown genetic distances between Paraguayans and Spanish populations were closer than between Paraguayans and Guaranis suggesting the predominance of Spanish genetics among Paraguayans 125 According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects 126 127 Paraguay has a population of 6 703 799 of which 95 are Mestizo or white and 5 are labelled as other which includes members of 17 distinct ethnolinguistic indigenous groups many of which are poorly documented Largest cities or towns in Paraguay 2021 estimate by INE 128 Rank Name Department Pop Rank Name Department Pop Asuncion Ciudad del Este 1 Asuncion Capital District 521 101 11 Caaguazu Caaguazu 127 328 Luque San Lorenzo2 Ciudad del Este Alto Parana 306 679 12 Coronel Oviedo Caaguazu 125 8933 Luque Central 286 053 13 Pedro Juan Caballero Amambay 123 7844 San Lorenzo Central 260 171 14 Itaugua Central 115 1405 Capiata Central 245 013 15 Mariano Roque Alonso Central 107 8006 Lambare Central 185 524 16 Presidente Franco Alto Parana 107 6877 Fernando de la Mora Central 183 390 17 Minga Guazu Alto Parana 93 9698 Limpio Central 155 465 18 Concepcion Concepcion 88 5599 Nemby Central 148 579 19 Ita Central 83 61010 Encarnacion Itapua 138 592 20 Villa Elisa Central 82 491 Main Catholic Chapel in Concepcion Paraguay Religion Edit Main article Religion in Paraguay Christianity particularly Catholicism is the dominant religion in Paraguay 129 According to the 2002 census 89 9 of the population was Catholic 6 2 was Evangelical Protestant 1 1 identified with other Christian sects and 0 6 practiced indigenous religions A U S State Department report on Religious Freedom names Catholicism evangelical Protestantism mainline Protestantism Judaism Orthodox Conservative and Reform Mormonism and the Bahaʼi Faith as prominent religious groups It also mentions a large Muslim community in Alto Parana as a result of Middle Eastern immigration especially from Lebanon and a prominent Mennonite community in Boqueron 130 Languages Edit Main article Languages of Paraguay Paraguay is a bilingual nation Both Spanish and Guarani are official languages The Guarani language is a remarkable trace of the indigenous Guarani culture that has endured in Paraguay Guarani claims its place as one of the last surviving and thriving of South American indigenous national languages In 2015 Spanish was spoken by about 87 of the population while Guarani is spoken by more than 90 or slightly more than 5 8 million speakers 52 of rural Paraguayans are bilingual in Guarani While Guarani is still widely spoken Spanish is generally given a preferential treatment in government business media and education as one of South America s lingua francas 131 132 133 134 There are approximately 19 other indigenous languages spoken in Paraguay many of which are threatened by extinction Languages such as Guana Ayoreo and Ishir Chamacoco are considered endangered 135 Education Edit Main article Education in Paraguay See also List of universities in Paraguay and List of high schools in Paraguay Literacy was about 93 6 and 87 7 of Paraguayans finish the fifth grade according to UNESCO s last Educational Development Index 2008 Literacy does not differ much by gender 136 A more recent study 137 reveals that attendance at primary school by children between 6 and 12 years old is about 98 Primary education is free and mandatory and takes nine years Secondary education takes three years 136 Main universities in Paraguay include National University of Asuncion public and founded in 1889 138 Autonomous University of Asuncion private and founded in 1979 139 Universidad Catolica Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion private and run by the church 140 Universidad Americana private Universidad del Pacifico private and founded in 1991 The net primary enrollment rate was at 88 in 2005 136 Public expenditure on education was about 4 3 of GDP in the early 2000s 136 Health Edit Main article Health in Paraguay Development of life expectancy Average life expectancy in Paraguay is rather high given its poverty as of 2006 update it was 75 years 141 equivalent to far wealthier Argentina and the eighth highest in the Americas according to World Health Organization Public expenditure on health is 2 6 of GDP while private health expenditure is 5 1 136 Infant mortality was 20 per 1 000 births in 2005 136 Maternal mortality was 150 per 100 000 live births in 2000 136 The World Bank has helped the Paraguayan government reduce the country s maternal and infant mortality The Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Project aimed to contribute to reducing mortality by increasing the use of selected life saving services included in the country s Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Program MCBI by women of child bearing age and children under age six in selected areas To this end the project also targeted improving the quality and efficiency of the health service network within certain areas in addition to increasing the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare s MSPandBS management 142 Culture EditMain article Culture of Paraguay See also Music of Paraguay and Cinema of Paraguay Paraguay s cultural heritage can be traced to the extensive intermarriage between the original male Spanish settlers and indigenous Guarani women Their culture is highly influenced by various European countries including Spain Therefore the Paraguayan culture is a fusion of two cultures and traditions one European the other Southern Guarani Although this is common throughout the country it is more visible around the towns of Atyra Tobati and Altos More than 93 of Paraguayans are mestizos making Paraguay one of the most homogeneous countries in Latin America A characteristic of this cultural fusion is the extensive bilingualism present to this day more than 80 of Paraguayans speak both Spanish and the indigenous language Guarani Jopara a mixture of Guarani and Spanish is also widely spoken citation needed Ovecha Rague Festival This cultural fusion is expressed in arts such as embroidery ao po i and lace making nanduti The music of Paraguay which consists of lilting polkas bouncy galopas and languid guaranias is played on the native harp Paraguay s culinary heritage is also deeply influenced by this cultural fusion Several popular dishes contain manioc a local staple crop similar to the yuca also known as Cassava root found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico as well as other indigenous ingredients A popular dish is sopa paraguaya similar to a thick corn bread Another notable food is chipa a bagel like bread made from cornmeal manioc and cheese Many other dishes consist of different kinds of cheeses onions bell peppers cottage cheese cornmeal milk seasonings butter eggs and fresh corn kernels The 1950s and 1960s were the time of the birth of a new generation of Paraguayan novelists and poets such as Jose Ricardo Mazo Roque Vallejos and Nobel Prize nominee Augusto Roa Bastos Several Paraguayan films have been made Inside the family conservative values predominate In lower classes godparents have a special relationship to the family since usually they are chosen because of their favourable social position in order to provide extra security for the children Particular respect is owed them in return for which the family can expect protection and patronage 143 The most popular instruments in Paraguayan music are the harp and the guitar The native genres are the Paraguayan polka and the guarania characterised by a slow song that was developed by Jose Asuncion Flores around the 1920s 144 145 Sport Edit Main article Sport in Paraguay Estadio Defensores del Chaco Sport in Paraguay is an important part of the country s national culture Football is the most popular sport the main national team is the Paraguay national football team Basketball is also very popular 146 Other sports such as volleyball handball futsal swimming and tennis are also popular 146 Additional Paraguayan sports and pastimes include rugby union chess motorsport golf and rowing See also Edit Paraguay portal Latin America portalBibliography of Paraguay Index of Paraguay related articles Outline of ParaguayNotes Edit The reverse side of the National Seal of Paraguay The reverse side of the Flag of Paraguay References Edit Paraguay Constitution Article 140 About Languages International Constitutional Law Project Archived from the original on 14 August 2012 Retrieved 3 December 2007 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help see translator s note Archived 1 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine 8 LIZCANO PDF Convergencia uaemex mx Archived from the original PDF on 15 January 2013 Retrieved 5 October 2012 Central Intelligence Agency 2016 Paraguay The World Factbook Langley Virginia Central Intelligence Agency Archived from the original on 31 December 2018 Retrieved 1 January 2017 Religion affiliation in Paraguay as of 2018 Based on Latinobarometro Archived 21 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine Survey period 15 June to 2 August 2018 1 200 respondents Paraguay Proyeccion de la Poblacion Nacional Areas Urbana y Rural por Sexo y Edad 2000 2025 www ine gov py Archived PDF from the original on 13 November 2015 Retrieved 7 May 2021 a b c d World Economic Outlook Database October 2022 IMF org International Monetary Fund October 2022 Retrieved 11 October 2022 Gini Index World Bank Archived from the original on 6 July 2022 Retrieved 6 July 2022 Human Development Report 2021 2022 PDF United Nations Development Programme 8 September 2022 Retrieved 8 September 2022 Parana Paraguay Waterway PDF in Spanish Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 20 October 2015 Paraguay como Asuncion se convirtio en madre de mas de 70 ciudades de Sudamerica hace 480 anos BBC News Mundo BBC Archived from the original on 18 September 2018 Caraman Philip 1976 The lost paradise the Jesuit Republic in South America New York Seabury Press World Economic Outlook Database April 2019 IMF org International Monetary Fund Archived from the original on 10 October 2020 Retrieved 29 September 2019 World s Happiest Country Would You Believe Paraguay NBC News 21 May 2014 Archived from the original on 14 September 2018 Retrieved 19 September 2018 Global Misery Worst Since Records Began Poll Finds Newsweek 14 September 2018 Archived from the original on 19 September 2018 Retrieved 19 September 2018 Antonio Ruiz de Montoya 1876 Paragua Vocabulario y tesoro de la lengua Guarani o mas bien Tupi vol 2 p 263 Sacks Richard S Early explorers and conquistadors In Hanratty amp Meditz a b Paraguariae Provinciae Soc Jesu cum Adiacentibg Novissima Descriptio A Current Description of the Province of the Society of Jesus in Paraguay with Neighboring Areas World Digital Library in Latin 1732 War of The Triple Alliance Archived 7 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine War of the Pacific Retrieved 14 November 2010 Romero Simon In Paraguay Indigenous Language With Unique Staying Power The New York Times Archived from the original on 30 September 2015 Retrieved 5 October 2015 Paraguay Colonial period Encyclopedia Britannica Archived from the original on 25 December 2020 Retrieved 5 January 2021 Carlos Antonio Lopez Archived 16 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Library of Congress Country Studies December 1988 URL accessed 30 December 2005 Stearns Peter N ed Encyclopedia of World History 6th ed The Houghton Mifflin Company Bartleby com Page 630 Cunninghame Graham 1933 p 39 40 sfn error no target CITEREFCunninghame Graham1933 help Cunninghame Graham 1933 p 41 42 sfn error no target CITEREFCunninghame Graham1933 help Robert Cowley The Reader s Encyclopedia to Military History New York New York Houston Mifflin 1996 Page 479 Hooker T D 2008 The Paraguayan War Nottingham Foundry Books ISBN 1901543153 Robert Phillimore 1860 A Statement of the Facts of the Controversy Between the Governments of Great Britain and Paraguay page 2 William Moore Printing Washington D C USA Thompson 1869 p 10 sfn error no target CITEREFThompson1869 help The Blanco Party of Uruguay hardline right wing and reactionary at those days was in the Uruguayan Government during the outbreak of the war and were allies of the Paraguayan Government See the classic book of the Blanco Leader Luis Alberto de Herrera 1927 El Drama del 65 La Culpa Mitrista pp 11 33 Bareiro y Ramos Editors Montevideo Uruguay Sir Richard Francis Burton Letters from the Battlefields of Paraguay p 76 Tinsley Brothers Editors London 1870 Burton as a witness of the conflict marks this date 12 16 October 1864 as the real beginning of the war He writes and it s the most logic account considering the facts The Brazilian Army invades the Banda Oriental despite the protestations of President Lopez who declared that such invasion would be held a casus belli Pomer Leon 2008 La Guerra del Paraguay Estado Politica y Negocios in Spanish pp 240 241 Buenos Aires Editorial Colihue Hooker T D 2008 The Paraguayan War Nottingham Foundry Books pp 105 108 ISBN 1901543153 The classical view asserts that Francisco Solano Lopez s expansionist and hegemonic views are the main reason for the outbreak of the conflict The traditional Paraguayan view held by the lopistas supporters of Solano Lopez in Paraguay and elsewhere holds that Paraguay acted in self defense and for the protection of the equilibrium of the Plate Basin This view is usually contested by the anti lopistas known in Paraguay as legionarios who favored the Triple Alliance Revisionist views from right and left national populists put a great emphasis on the influence of the British Empire a view that a majority of historians reject Rubinsein W D 2004 Genocide a 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original on 10 October 2012 Retrieved 5 October 2012 Universidad Autonoma de Asuncion Educacion Superior en Paraguay UAA Archived from the original on 26 September 2012 Retrieved 5 October 2012 Campus de Asuncion Universidad Catolica Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion Uca edu py 25 September 2012 Archived from the original on 30 November 2012 Retrieved 5 October 2012 WHO Paraguay Who int 1 October 2012 Archived from the original on 17 October 2012 Retrieved 5 October 2012 Paraguay Mother amp Child Basic Health Insurance Archived 17 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine The World Bank Paraguay Ritual Kinship countrystudies us Archived from the original on 3 November 2016 Retrieved 30 January 2018 Cuna del arpa y la guitarra Locales ABC Color Jose Asuncion Flores y la guarania Articulos ABC Color a b Behnke Alison 2010 Paraguay in Pictures VGS Visual Geography Series pp 56 57 ISBN 978 1 57505 962 4 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paraguay Wikinews has news related to Paraguay Government Chief of State and Cabinet Members National Department of Tourism in Spanish Ministry of Finance with economic and government information also available in English in Spanish General information Paraguay from the Encyclopaedia Britannica Paraguay The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency Paraguay at UCB Libraries GovPubs Paraguay at Curlie Paraguay profile from the BBC News Wikimedia Atlas of Paraguay Geographic data related to Paraguay at OpenStreetMap Key Development Forecasts for Paraguay from International FuturesNews media La Rueda Weekly reviews in Spanish ABC Color in Spanish Ultima Hora in Spanish La Nacion in Spanish Paraguay com in Spanish Nanduti in Spanish Paraguayan Pymes News in Spanish Trade World Bank Summary Trade Statistics Paraguay Exchange rate of the Guarani Paraguayan CurrencyTravel Paraguay com Tradition Culture Maps Tourism Paraguay travel guide from Wikivoyage Tourism in Paraguay information pictures and more Turismo com py in Spanish 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