Upgrade your Encarta experience

Also on Encarta

Also on MSN
Paraguay Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Paraguay
Capital Asunción
Area 406,752 sq km
157,048 sq mi
Paraguay: Flag and Anthem
Paraguay: Flag and Anthem
Expand
People
Population 6,667,147 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 2.43 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 9,880,421 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 14,635,743 (2007 estimate)
Population density 17 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
44 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 58 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 42 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Asunción 519,647 (2005)
Ciudad del Este 222,274 (2002)
Encarnación 93,497 (2002)
Concepción 73,210 (2002)
Ethnic groups
Mestizo 95 percent
European, Asian, Native American 5 percent
Languages
Spanish (official), Guaran* (official), Portuguese
Religious affiliations
Roman Catholic 90 percent
Protestant 4 percent
Nonreligious 1 percent
Other 5 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 75.3 years (2007 estimate)
Female 78 years (2007 estimate)
Male 72.8 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 24 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 855 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 833 people (2002)
Literacy rate
Total 94.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 93.6 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 95.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 4.4 percent (2002-2003)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 9 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 27 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government Republic
Voting qualifications
Universal at age 18; compulsory from age 18 to 75
Constitution 20 June 1992
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 10,300 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 0.8 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $7.3 billion (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $1,242.30 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 22.1 percent (2005)
Industry 19.3 percent (2005)
Services 58.6 percent (2005)
Employment
Number of workers 2,753,346 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 32 percent (2003)
Industry 16 percent (2003)
Services 53 percent (2003)
Unemployment rate 7.6 percent (2001)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $1,225 million (2005)
Total expenditure $1,555 million (2005)
Monetary unit
1 guaran* (G), consisting of 100 céntimos
Major trade partners for exports
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Netherlands, and Spain
Major trade partners for imports
Brazil, Argentina, United States, Hong Kong SAR, and Uruguay
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 0.03 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 99.91 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0.06 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 182 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 54 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 215 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 16 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 43 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 88 (1999)
Paved road as a share of total roads 51 percent (1999)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
© 2008 Microsoft