CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Paraguay


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!| Background:
 * 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.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 9,450 sq km land: 397,300 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.17% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Central South America, northeast of Argentina
 * 23 00 S, 58 00 W
 * South America
 * total: 406,750 sq km
 * slightly smaller than California
 * total: 3,920 km
 * 0 km (landlocked)
 * none (landlocked)
 * subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west
 * 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
 * lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m
 * hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone
 * arable land: 7.6%
 * 670 sq km (1998 est.)
 * local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June)
 * deforestation; water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many urban residents; loss of wetlands
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
 * landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 57% (male 1,773,151; female 1,758,323) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 136,376; female 159,105) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 20.8 years female: 21.3 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 21.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 31.5 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 72.12 years female: 77.29 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Paraguayan !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 94% male: 94.9% female: 93% (2003 est.)
 * 6,191,368 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 1,201,459; female 1,162,954)
 * total: 21.1 years
 * 2.51% (2004 est.)
 * 29.78 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 4.58 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 26.67 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 74.64 years
 * 3.98 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * 0.5% (2003 est.)
 * 3,000 (1999 est.)
 * 220 (2001 est.)
 * noun: Paraguayan(s)
 * mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%
 * Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite, and other Protestant
 * Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Paraguay local short form: Paraguay local long form: Republica del Paraguay !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: head of government: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2008) election results: Nicanor DUARTE Frutos elected president; percent of vote - Nicanor DUARTE Frutos 37.1%, Julio Cesar Ramon FRANCO Gomez 23.9%, Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella 21.3%, Guillermo SANCHEZ Guffanti 13.5%, other 4.2% !| Legislative branch: elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2008) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 16, PLRA 12, UNACE 7, MPQ 7, PPS 2, PEN 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 37, PLRA 21, UNACE 10, PQ 10, PPS 2 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: consulate(s) general: Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962 chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion mailing address: Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001 telephone: [595] (21) 213-715 FAX: [595] (21) 213-728 !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Paraguay
 * constitutional republic
 * Asuncion
 * 17 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital city*; Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Asuncion*, Boqueron, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro
 * 14 May 1811 (from Spain)
 * Independence Day, 14 May (1811) (observed 15 May annually)
 * promulgated 20 June 1992
 * based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice
 * 18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75
 * chief of state: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
 * bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (80 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
 * Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Council of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura)
 * Asociacion Nacional Republicana - Colorado Party or ANR [Herminio CACERES, interim president]; Patria Querida (Beloved Fatherland Party) or PQ [Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella]; Movimiento Union Nacional de Ciudadanos Eticos or UNACE [Enrique GONZALEZ Quintana, acting chairman]; Partido Encuentro Nacional or PEN [Luis TORALES Kenney]; Partido Liberal Radical Autentico or PLRA [Julio Cesar FRANCO]; Partido Pais Solidario or PPS [Carlos Alberto FILIZZOLA Pallares]; note - Nicanor DUARTE Frutos on leave as party leader of the Colorado Party or ANR while serving as President of Paraguay; Lino Cesar OVIEDO Silva, leader of UNACE, is currently serving a ten-year prison term
 * Ahorristas Estafados or AE; Coordinating Table of National Campesino Organizations or MCNOC; National Federation of Campesinos or FNC; National Workers Central or CNT; Paraguayan Workers Confederation or CPT; Roman Catholic Church; Unitary Workers Central or CUT;;
 * FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
 * chief of mission: Ambassador James SPALDING Hellmers
 * chief of mission: Ambassador John F. KEANE
 * three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles)
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 23.7% services: 51.4% (2003 est.) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: 43.8% (1998) !| Distribution of family income - Gini index: !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $988.4 million, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2003 est.) !| Public debt: !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. The informal 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 GDP declined slightly in 1998, 1999, and 2000, rose slightly in 2001, only to fall again in 2002. 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.
 * purchasing power parity - $28.17 billion (2003 est.)
 * 1.8% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 24.8%
 * 17.2% of GDP (2003)
 * 36% (2001 est.)
 * lowest 10%: 0.5%
 * 57.7 (1998)
 * 14.2% (2003 est.)
 * 2.15 million (2003 est.)
 * agriculture 45%
 * 18.5% (2003 est.)
 * revenues: $937.8 million
 * 45.1% of GDP (2003)
 * cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber
 * sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, metallurgic, electric power
 * 0% (2000 est.)
 * 44.89 billion kWh (2001)
 * 2.637 billion kWh (2001)
 * 39.11 billion kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 25,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $146 million (2003)
 * $2.727 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, electricity, wood, leather
 * Brazil 34.2%, Uruguay 19.6%, Switzerland 7.8%, Argentina 5.3% (2003)
 * $2.77 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery
 * Brazil 32.5%, Argentina 21.6%, China 12.7% (2003)
 * $982 million (2003)
 * $2.96 billion (2003 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * guarani (PYG)
 * PYG
 * guarani per US dollar - 6,424.34 (2003), 5,716.26 (2002), 4,105.92 (2001), 3,486.35 (2000), 3,119.07 (1999)
 * calendar year
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: fair microwave radio relay network international: country code - 595; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 273,200 (2002)
 * 1,770,300 (2003)
 * general assessment: meager telephone service; principal switching center is Asuncion
 * AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998)
 * 925,000 (1997)
 * 5 (2003)
 * 990,000 (2001)
 * .py
 * 9,243 (2003)
 * 4 (2000)
 * 120,000 (2003)
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!| Railways: standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) !| Highways: paved: 14,986 km unpaved: 14,514 km (1999 est) !| Waterways: !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) by type: cargo 14, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: Argentina 2, Japan 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 323 under 914 m: 517 (2004 est.)
 * total: 441 km
 * total: 29,500 km
 * 3,100 km (2004)
 * Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion
 * total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,667 GRT/30,826 DWT
 * 880 (2003 est.)
 * total: 12
 * total: 866
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Army, Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Air Force
 * 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 12 months for Army, 24 months for Navy (2004)
 * males age 15-49: 1,504,407 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 1,084,087 (2004 est.)
 * males: 63,386 (2004 est.)
 * $52.7 million (2003)
 * 0.9% (2003)
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