Paraguay is a country in South America. Its capital is Asunción.
South America and its surrounding regions. The dot marks Asunción; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.
Natural Earth · locator mapParaguay is landlocked and divided geographically by the Paraguay River. Eastern areas are generally wetter and more rolling, while the western Chaco is a broad, low plain. The river provides a major north-to-south connection through the country.
The Chaco contains dry woodland, savanna and seasonally wet areas, not one uniform desert. Eastern Paraguay has more agricultural land and remaining forest. These regions differ in rainfall, soils and settlement density.
Eastern Paraguay receives substantial rainfall. Conditions become drier toward the western Chaco, while summers are generally hot across the country.
River flooding and seasonal rain shape wetlands and grazing conditions. Some Chaco areas become waterlogged despite an otherwise dry climate. Changes in forest and woodland cover affect habitats and the movement of water through the landscape.
Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue, with an emblem centered on the white band; the emblem on one side of the flag is the national coat of arms, which has a five-pointed yellow star in a green wreath with the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY around it, all inside two circles; the other side of the flag has a circular treasury seal (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words PAZ Y JUSTICIA)
Saline lagoons and open vegetation form part of western Paraguay’s landscape.
Photo: Josep M. Gracia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Evening light falls across the river at Concepción.
Photo: Cmasi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Spanish and Guaraní are official languages. Guaraní is widely spoken across the population, rather than being confined to a small Indigenous minority.
Many speakers use forms that mix Guaraní and Spanish, often called Jopara. Other Indigenous languages, Portuguese and German are also spoken by particular communities. Paraguay’s bilingualism is therefore more complex than two separate monolingual groups.
Guaraní-speaking peoples inhabited the region before Spanish colonisation, and Guaraní remains central to national life. Paraguay gained independence in 1811. The War of the Triple Alliance from 1864 to 1870 devastated the country. The Chaco War with Bolivia followed in the 1930s. Alfredo Stroessner’s long dictatorship ended in 1989, and a new constitution was adopted in 1992.
Agriculture, livestock, hydroelectricity, manufacturing and services support the economy. Soybeans and beef are important exports. Large shared hydroelectric projects, including Itaipu with Brazil and Yacyretá with Argentina, generate electricity for domestic use and export. As a landlocked country, Paraguay depends on river transport and routes through neighbouring states.
Soybeans, beef, food processing, hydroelectricity and light manufacturing.
Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.
Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.
Sources: World Bank · Population
| Year | People | Millions of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2,388,028 | 2.388 |
| 1980 | 3,053,235 | 3.053 |
| 1990 | 4,035,747 | 4.036 |
| 2000 | 5,100,868 | 5.101 |
| 2010 | 5,737,971 | 5.738 |
| 2020 | 6,603,739 | 6.604 |
| 2025 | 7,013,078 | 7.013 |
Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.
Sources: World Bank · Real GDP
| Year | Constant 2015 US$ | Billions of constant 2015 US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 16,384,218,445 | 16.384 |
| 1991 | 16,956,625,718 | 16.957 |
| 1992 | 17,244,282,667 | 17.244 |
| 1993 | 18,095,522,438 | 18.096 |
| 1994 | 19,057,827,421 | 19.058 |
| 1995 | 20,358,106,834 | 20.358 |
| 1996 | 20,678,499,693 | 20.678 |
| 1997 | 21,555,788,372 | 21.556 |
| 1998 | 21,570,454,447 | 21.570 |
| 1999 | 21,275,784,845 | 21.276 |
| 2000 | 20,783,433,276 | 20.783 |
| 2001 | 20,610,088,071 | 20.610 |
| 2002 | 20,605,676,606 | 20.606 |
| 2003 | 21,495,995,448 | 21.496 |
| 2004 | 22,368,177,915 | 22.368 |
| 2005 | 22,845,400,902 | 22.845 |
| 2006 | 23,943,606,097 | 23.944 |
| 2007 | 25,241,738,121 | 25.242 |
| 2008 | 26,881,515,166 | 26.882 |
| 2009 | 26,811,317,495 | 26.811 |
| 2010 | 29,786,095,177 | 29.786 |
| 2011 | 31,062,837,785 | 31.063 |
| 2012 | 30,842,899,501 | 30.843 |
| 2013 | 33,400,724,749 | 33.401 |
| 2014 | 35,171,376,877 | 35.171 |
| 2015 | 36,211,447,840 | 36.211 |
| 2016 | 37,756,961,788 | 37.757 |
| 2017 | 39,573,101,424 | 39.573 |
| 2018 | 40,841,122,661 | 40.841 |
| 2019 | 40,677,000,527 | 40.677 |
| 2020 | 40,343,536,419 | 40.344 |
| 2021 | 41,955,105,419 | 41.955 |
| 2022 | 41,943,325,612 | 41.943 |
| 2023 | 44,160,385,148 | 44.160 |
| 2024 | 46,222,297,908 | 46.222 |
| 2025 | 49,292,671,876 | 49.293 |
The Human Development Index combines health, education and income. Scores range from 0 to 1.
The latest values refer to 2023. All historical scores use the same report edition. HDI does not describe every aspect of inequality or quality of life.
Sources: UNDP · Human Development Report 2025
A presidential republic. An elected President heads the executive. The National Congress has a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate, and departments and municipalities have elected authorities.
Three questions about Paraguay.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile
Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.
Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.
