Travel in Paraguay
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Informations on Paraguay: history, politics, economy, culture, Did you mean: Paraguay
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Asuncion |
| Government | constitutional republic |
| Currency | guarani (PYG) |
| Area | total: 406,750 sq km water: 9,450 sq km land: 397,300 sq km |
| Population | 5,884,491 (July 2002 est.) |
| Language | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite, and other Protestant |
Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America, northeast of Argentina, with borders with Bolivia and Brazil .
| Table of contents |
Regions
- The Chaco
- Paranena
- Administrative divisions
- 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
Cities
- Asuncion
- Ciudad del Este
- Encarnacion
- Villeta
- San Antonio
Other destinations
Understand
- Population
- 5,884,491 (July 2002 est.); population concentrated in southern part of country
- Nationality
- noun: Paraguayan(s)
adjective: Paraguayan - Ethnic groups
- mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite, and other Protestant
- Independence
- 14 May 1811 (from Spain)
- National holiday
- Independence Day, 14 May (1811)
- Constitution
- promulgated 20 June 1992
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.
Geography
- Geographic coordinates
- 23 00 S, 58 00 W
- Area
- total: 406,750 sq km
water: 9,450 sq km
land: 397,300 sq km - 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
- Elevation extremes
- lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m
highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m - Natural resources
- hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone
- Land use
- arable land: 5.54%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 94.25% (1998 est.) - Irrigated land
- 670 sq km (1998 est.)
- Natural hazards
- local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June)
- Environment - current issues
- deforestation; water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many urban residents; loss of wetlands
Get in
By plane
- Airports
- 899 (2001)
- Airports - with paved runways
- total: 11
over 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2002) - Airports - with unpaved runways
- total: 868
1,524 to 2,437 m: 27
914 to 1,523 m: 323
under 914 m: 518 (2002)
Flights go out from Miami and other South American airports to Asuncion on a fairly regular basis. There are also two daily flights from Sao Paulo to Ciudad del Este.
By train
By car
By bus
By boat
Get around
By train
- Railways
- total: 971 km
standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge
note: there are 470 km of various gauges that are privately owned
narrow gauge: 60 km 1.000-m gauge
By car
- Highways
- total: 25,901 km
paved: 3,067 km
unpaved: 22,834 km (2001)
There are highways connecting all the major regions of Paraguay, but they are one lane each way. You may hit toll booths along the way. Police may pull you over for any reason, and will expect bribes.
By bus
By boat
- Waterways
- 3,100 km
- Ports and harbors
- Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion
- Merchant marine
- total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 34,623 GRT/36,821 DWT
ships by type: cargo 14, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 3
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 2, Japan 1 (2002 est.)
Talk
- Languages
- Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
Buy
Economy
- Economy - overview
- 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. 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.
- GDP
- purchasing power parity - $26.2 billion (2001 est.)
- GDP - real growth rate
- 0% (2001 est.)
- GDP - per capita
- purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2001 est.)
- GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 29%
industry: 26%
services: 45% (2000 est.) - Population below poverty line
- 36% (2001 est.)
- Household income or consumption by percentage share
- lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1998) (1998) - Distribution of family income - Gini index
- 58 (1998)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices)
- 7.2% (2001 est.)
- Labor force
- 2 million (2000 est.)
- Labor force - by occupation
- agriculture 45%
- Unemployment rate
- 17.8% (2001 est.)
- Budget
- revenues: $1.3 billion
expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (1999 est.) - Industries
- sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products
- Industrial production growth rate
- 0% (2000 est.)
- Electricity - production
- 53.056 billion kWh (2000)
- Electricity - production by source
- fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 100%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0% - Electricity - consumption
- 1.95 billion kWh (2000)
- Electricity - exports
- 47.392 billion kWh (2000)
- Electricity - imports
- 0 kWh (2000)
- Agriculture - products
- cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber
- Exports
- $2.2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
- Exports - commodities
- electricity, soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils
- Exports - partners
- Brazil 39%, Uruguay 14%, Argentina 11% (2000)
- Imports
- $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
- Imports - commodities
- road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery
- Imports - partners
- Argentina 25.4%, Brazil 24.5%, Uruguay 3.8% (2000)
- Debt - external
- $2.9 billion (2001 est.)
- Economic aid - recipient
- $NA
- Currency
- guarani (PYG)
- Currency code
- PYG
- Exchange rates
- guarani per US dollar - 4,783.0 (January 2002), 4,107.7 (2001), 3,486.4 (2000), 3,119.1 (1999), 2,726.5 (1998), 2,177.9 (1997); note - since early 1998, the exchange rate has operated as a managed float; prior to that, the exchange rate was determined freely in the market
- Fiscal year
- calendar year
Eat
You'll find much of the standard South American cuisine here - beans, rice, with some Brazilian influence as well (fried bananas, pineapple). Also highly popular are empanadas (meat/egg stuffed in a pastry and baked) and milanesa (breaded and fried chicktravel/beef/fish) - these are considered fast food, and are also found in other countries in the region. If you order a hamburger at a restaurant, expect it to come topped with a fried egg. Asado (BBQ) is great, and prices are quite reasonable - 20000 Guaranis ($3.20 US) will get you an all you can eat buffet at many nice places. 5000 Guarani is enough to pay for a hamburger. Paraguayan food isn't particularly spicy, so those who can't tolerate spices won't have problems here. There isn't much in the way of traditional Paraguay cuisine, aside from a bread baked in a fire, usually made out of mandioca (yucca plant) flour. Mandioca is often substituted for potatos.
Drink
It's not advisable to drink the tap water (unless boiled), but you probably won't get sick if you do. The national beverage in Paraguay is a tea called mate, and is made from the yerba plant. It is served only in wooden cups, and is drunk through a metal straw called a bombilla. The tea is prepared by pouring dry yerba into the cup, then adding water (hot or cold) and optionally sugar. The taste is best described as earthy and bitter; it will take getting used to if you plan to drink it. Drinking matte is most definitely one of the social customs of Paraguay, shops will close around noon for a siesta and a matte round with friends. If you can get used to the taste and participate, locals will be appreciative. This drink is also found in other South American countries such as Argentina and Uruguay.
Beer is widely available, as are many liquors
Sleep
Learn
Work
Stay safe
There aren't many large cities in Paraguay, which means that if you stay clear of them, you are unlikely to run into any trouble. The police are known to be corrupt, and if you are pulled over for any reason, you will almost be expected to pay a bribe. In the cities, crime is common, though not as rampant as in other cities such as Rio. Ciudad del Este is a money laundering capital of the world, and also a counterfeit capital. You'll want to keep an eye on your bags and wallet here. Generally, as long as you aren't involved in drug smuggling (inadvertently or otherwise), and beware of pickpockets, you should be safe most of the time.
- Legal system
- based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice
Stay healthy
Hospitals in Paraguay range from decent to unsanitary and unequipped. If you get desperately ill, try to get to the best hospital even if it takes a bit longer - you may not find surgical gloves in the worst of them. There are many stray dogs running the streets - avoid them. They usually won't bother you. You may pick up a foot parasite known locally as a pica, these will usually collect around your toes. They will lay eggs in your feet if not taken care of - the best way to get rid of them is to pierce the site with a stitching needle and pour hydrogen peroxide over the area. Then dig the bug out. You may notice itching or tenderness in your feet if you have picked one up.
Respect
Contact
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Leila Teresa RACHID COWLES
chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York
FAX: 1 (202) 234-4508
telephone: 1 (202) 483-6960 through 6962 - Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador John F. KEANE
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
Communications
- Telephones - main lines in use
- 290,475 (2001)
- Telephones - mobile cellular
- 510,000 (2001)
- Telephone system
- general assessment: meager telephone service; principal switching center is Asuncion
domestic: fair microwave radio relay network
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) - Radio broadcast stations
- AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998)
- Radios
- 925,000 (1997)
- Television broadcast stations
- 4 (2001)
- Televisions
- 990,000 (2001)
- Internet country code
- .py
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
- 4 (2000)
- Internet users
- 20,000 (2000)