Country Facts - Paraguay

The People

Nationality
Paraguayan(s)
Ethnic Composition

Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian)     95%

White and Amerindian     5%

Religious Composition

Roman Catholic     90%

There are also several Mennonite and other Protestant denominations.

Languages Spoken

Spanish (official), Guarani (official)

Education and Literacy

Paraguay maintains a well-developed educational system, with a resulting high literacy rate by South American standards. Literacy stands at 92.1 percent. Among adult males literacy is around 93.5 percent, while adult female literacy is slightly lower at 90.6 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 2 million (2000)
By occupation: agriculture 45%

Geography

Land Mass Total

157,047 sq mi (406,750 sq km)

Land

153,398 sq mi (397,300 sq km)

Water

3,648 sq mi (9,450 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 2,435 mi (3,920 km)
Border countries: Argentina 1,168 mi (1,880 km), Bolivia 466 mi (750 km), Brazil 801 mi (1,290 km)

Coastline

0 mi (0 km), landlocked

Maritime claim

None

Climate/Weather

Subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west

Terrain

Grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere.

Elevation extremes

Lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 150 ft (46 m)
Highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 2,762 ft (842 m)

Natural Resources

Hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone

Land use

Arable land	6%
Permanent crops	0%
Other	94%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June).

Environment - current issues

Deforestation (an estimated two million hectares of forestland were lost from 1958-1985); water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many urban residents

Geography Note

Landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil, population is concentrated in the southern part of the country.

Demographics

Population

5,884,491 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	38.7%	Male: 1,156,366	Female: 1,119,558
15-64 years:	56.6%	Male: 1,671,721	Female: 1,658,683
65 years and over:	4.7%	Male: 128,137	Female: 150,026

(2002))

Growth Rate

2.57% (2002)

Life Expectancy

74.16 years (2002)
Female: 76.77 years
Male: 71.67 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$4,600 (2001)

Infant Mortality

28.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.85 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.01 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. The informal sector features both re-export of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of thousands of micro-enterprises and urban street vendors. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population derives their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3 percent annually in 1995-97, but GDP declined slightly in 1998, 1999, and 2000. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, a lack of progress on structural reform, substantial internal and external debt, and deficient infrastructure. Analysts are looking for another year of recession in 2003 with only slight improvement in 2004. However, the agricultural sector will demonstrate some growth in both periods. Paraguay is also expected to fall further behind in its debt payments and perhaps even default. Reliance on the sluggish Brazilian market compounds Paraguay's internal problems.

Unemployment

17.8% (2001)

Inflation Rate

7.2% (2001)

Industries

Sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products

Exports

US$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$2.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$26.2 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Brazil 39%, Uruguay 14%, Argentina 11% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Argentina 25.4%, Brazil 24.5%, Uruguay 3.8% (2000)

Top Exports

Electricity, soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils

Top Imports

Road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery

Debt - external

US$2.9 billion (2001)

Economic aid

N/A

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to noon, and 3p.m. to 5:30p.m. or 7p.m.	Saturday 8a.m. to noon.
Retail	10a.m. to 7p.m., with a two- or three-hour break in the day, usually between noon and 3p.m.	Saturday 7:30a.m. to 1p.m.
Banks	8:45a.m. to 4p.m., but the public is received only up to 12:15p.m.	Closed
Government	9a.m. to 4p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Three Kings Day	January 6	January 6	January 6
San Blas, Patron Saint of Paraguay	February 3	February 3	February 3
Heroes' Day	March 1	March 1	March 1
Holy Thursday¹	April 17	April 8	March 24
Good Friday	April 118	April 9	March 25
Easter²	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	April 12	March 28
May Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Flag Day	May 14	May 14	May 14
Independence Day	May 15	May 15	May 15
Chaco Armistice	June 12	June 12	June 12
Founding of Asuncion	August 15	August 15	August 15
Children's Day	August 16	August 16	August 16
Battle of Boqueron, Anniversary of the Discovery of America	September 29	September 29	September 29
Immaculate Conception	December 8	December 8	December 8
Christmas Day³	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Observed the Thursday before Easter. This feast commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, and is one of the oldest rituals of Christian Holy Week. Maundy, or Holy Thursday also marks the beginning of Passover.
²	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press