Paraguay

presidential republic

name: Asunci n geographic coordinates: 25 16 S, 57 40 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name means "assumption" in Spanish; the Spanish founded the city on August 15, 1537, the Catholic feast day for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

chief of state: President Santiago PE A Palacios (since 15 August 2023) head of government: President Santiago PE A Palacios (since 15 August 2023) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president election/appointment process: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple-majority popular vote for a single 5-year term most recent election date: 30 April 2023 election results: 2023: Santiago PE A Palacios elected president; percent of vote - Santiago PE A Palacios (ANR) 43.9%, Efra n ALEGRE (PLRA) 28.3%, Paraguayo "Payo" CUBAS Colom s (PCN) 23.6%, other 4.2% 2018: Mario ABDO BEN TEZ elected president; percent of vote - Mario ABDO BEN TEZ (ANR) 49%, Efra n ALEGRE (PLRA) 45.1%, other 5.9% expected date of next election: April 2028 note : the president is both chief of state and head of government

legislature name: Congress (Congreso) legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 9 justices divided 3 each into the Constitutional Court, Civil and Commercial Chamber, and Criminal Division) judge selection and term of office: justices proposed by the Council of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura, a 6-member independent body, and appointed by the Chamber of Senators with presidential concurrence; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 75 subordinate courts: appellate courts; first instance courts; minor courts, including justices of the peace

history: several previous; latest approved and promulgated 20 June 1992 amendment process: proposed at the initiative of at least one quarter of either chamber of the National Congress, by the president of the republic, or by petition of at least 30,000 voters; passage requires a two-thirds majority vote by both chambers and approval in a referendum

CAN (associate), CD, CELAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PROSUR, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHRC, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

0.8% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.8% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.8% of GDP (2022 est.) 1% of GDP (2021 est.) 1% of GDP (2020 est.)

Armed Forces of Paraguay (Fuerzas Armadas de Paraguay; aka Armed Forces of the Nation or Fuerzas Armadas de la Naci n): Paraguayan Army (Ej rcito Paraguayo), Paraguayan Navy (Armada Paraguaya; includes marines), Paraguayan Air Force (Fuerza A rea Paraguaya) Ministry of Internal Affairs: National Police of Paraguay (Polic a Nacional del Paraguay, PNP) (2025)

18-25 years of age for voluntary service for men and women; all men 18-25 are required to perform military service for at least 12 months (2025)

the Paraguayan military is responsible for external defense and has a role in domestic security duties; it provides support for natural disasters and cooperates with the National Police and other internal security organizations in combating the Paraguayan People s Army (Ej rcito del Pueblo Paraguayo or EPP) and transnational criminal organizations, largely narcotics traffickers; the EPP is a small, domestic criminal/guerrilla group operating in the rural northern part of the country along the border with Brazil; the activities of the EPP and its offshoots Marsical L pez s Army (EML) and the Armed Peasant Association (ACA) have consisted largely of isolated attacks on remote police and army posts, or against ranchers and peasants accused of aiding Paraguayan security forces the Paraguayan military has deployed small numbers of troops on UN peacekeeping missions and cooperates with neighboring countries, such as Argentina and Brazil, on security issues, particularly organized crime and narco-trafficking in what is known as the Tri-Border Area; Paraguay has not fought a war against a neighboring country since the Chaco War with Bolivia in the 1930s (2025)

$112.919 billion (2024 est.) $108.316 billion (2023 est.) $103.159 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$16,300 (2024 est.) $15,800 (2023 est.) $15,300 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

4.2% (2024 est.) 5% (2023 est.) 0.2% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

3.8% (2024 est.) 4.6% (2023 est.) 9.8% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

18.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

$17.395 billion (2024 est.) $18.581 billion (2023 est.) $14.971 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$18.377 billion (2024 est.) $17.848 billion (2023 est.) $17.088 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

6.1% (2024 est.) 5.8% (2023 est.) 6.8% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $7.751 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $9.397 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

sugar processing, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, base metals, electric power

soybeans, sugarcane, maize, cassava, wheat, rice, milk, beef, oranges, bananas (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 7,604,044 (2025 est.) male: 3,809,407 female: 3,794,637

1.06% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 22.2% (male 850,191/female 821,237) 15-64 years: 68.4% (male 2,582,021/female 2,561,962) 65 years and over: 9.4% (2024 est.) (male 337,164/female 369,974)

15.66 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

4.97 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 78.8 years (2024 est.) male: 76.2 years female: 81.6 years

urban population: 63.1% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.64% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indigenous ancestry) 95%, other 5%

Spanish (official) and Guarani (official) 46.3%, only Guarani 34%, only Spanish 15.2%, other (includes Portuguese, German, other Indigenous languages) 4.1%, no response 0.4% (2012 est.) major-language sample(s): La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de informaci n b sica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note: data represent predominant household language

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.)

total population: 94.9% (2024 est.) male: 95.4% (2024 est.) female: 94.3% (2024 est.)

hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone

Hizballah note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 7,649 (2024 est.) IDPs: 141 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 5 (2024 est.)

83 (2025)

total: 30 km (2014) standard gauge: 30 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge

total: 108 (2023) by type: container ship 2, general cargo 22, oil tanker 5, other 79

total subscriptions: 8.67 million (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 127 (2023 est.)

percent of population: 78% (2023 est.)