Paraguay
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Asunción
- Population
- 7,604,044 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 406,752 sq km
- Government
- presidential republic
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 80.4%, Protestant 7% (Evangelical (non-specific) 6.7%, Evangelical Pentecostal <0.1%, Adventist <0.1%, Protestant (non-specific) <0.1%), Believer (not belonging to the church) 5.7%, other 0.6%, agnostic <0.1%, none 0.2%, unspecified 6.2% (2023 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indigenous ancestry) 95%, other 5%
- Currency
- guarani (PYG)
- Life Expectancy
- 78.8 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .py
- 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
- Natural Resources
- hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone
- Major Exports
- soybeans, beef, electricity, corn, soybean meal (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
Several Indigenous groups, principally belonging to the Guarani language family, inhabited the area of modern Paraguay before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century, when the territory was incorporated into the Viceroyalty of Peru.