Population: 6,347,884 (July 2005 est.)
Capital: Asuncion
Languages: Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite and other Protestant 10%
Government: constitutional republic
Climate: 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
Geography: landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country
Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed
Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5%
Economy: Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal
sector. This sector features both reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of
thousands of microenterprises 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% annually in 1995-97, but averaged near-zero growth
in 1998-2001 and contracted by 2.3 percent in 2002, in response to regional contagion and an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth
desease. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic
performance to political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural reform, substantial internal and external
debt, and deficient infrastructure. Aided by a firmer exchange rate and perhaps a greater confidence in the economic policy of
the Duarte FRUTOS administration, the economy rebounded from 2003 to 2005, posting modest growth each year.
GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2005 est.)
GDP real growth: 3.3% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate: 16% (2005 est.)
Internet country code: .py
Dial code: +595
In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its
territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important
areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a
marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held
since then.