Paraguay

Republic of Paraguay República del Paraguay  (Spanish) Tetã Paraguái  (Guaraní)
Motto:
Anthem:
Location of  Paraguay  (dark green) in South America  (grey)
Capital and largest city	Asunción 25°16′S 57°40′W
Official languages	Spanish Guarani
Ethnic groups (2016)	95% Mestizo 5% other
Demonym(s)	Paraguayan
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
• President	Mario Abdo Benítez
• Vice President	Hugo Velázquez Moreno
Legislature	Congress
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Independence from Spain
• Declared	14 May 1811
• Recognized	25 November 1842
Area
• Total	406,752 km2 (157,048 sq mi) (59th)
• Water (%)	2.3
Population
• 2016 estimate	6,725,308 (104th)
• Density	17.2/km2 (44.5/sq mi) (204th)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$68.005 billion (100th)
• Per capita	$9,779 (107th)
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$28.743 billion (99th)
• Per capita	$4,133 (109th)
Gini (2015)	▼ 48 high
HDI (2015)	0.693 medium · 110th
Currency	Guaraní (PYG)
Time zone	UTC–4 (PYT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC–3 (PYST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+595
ISO 3166 code	PY
Internet TLD	.py
Mixed European and Amerindian.

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

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

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

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

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

Paraguay's religion is Roman Catholicism.

The weather is more humid in the east and dryer in the west.

Government and politics

Administrative subdivisions

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

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

• Occidental (Western) region or Chaco, to the north of the Paraguay river (departments: Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes)
• Oriental (Eastern) region, to the south of the Paraguay river (departments: Alto Paraná, Amambay, Caaguazú, Caazapá, Canindeyú, Central, Concepción, Cordillera, Guairá, Itapúa, Misiones, Paraguarí, San Pedro and Ñeembucú; the capital district is part of this region)

Alto Paraguay

Boquerón

Presidente Hayes

Amambay

Concepción

San Pedro

Distrito Capital

Guairá

Caazapá

Alto Paraná

Caaguazú

Canindeyú

Itapúa

Paraguarí

Misiones

Ñeembucú

Cordillera

Central

Brazil

Bolivia

Argentina

Departments of Paraguay

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

References

Notes