Paraguay

• 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

mean elevation:

178 m

elevation extremes:

46 m lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana; 842 highest point: Cerro Pero

• most of the population resides in the eastern half of the country;
• to the west lies the Gran Chaco (a semi-arid lowland plain), which accounts for 60% of the land territory, but only 2% of the overall population

• deforestation;
• water pollution;
• rivers suffer from toxic dumping;
• tanneries release mercury and chromium into rivers and streams;
• loss of wetlands;
• inadequate means for waste disposal pose health risks for many urban residents

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• landlocked;
• lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil;
• population concentrated in eastern and southern part of country

noun:

Paraguayan(s)

adjective:

Paraguayan

0-14 years:

24.13% (male 862,803 /female 832,325)

15-24 years:

18.8% (male 664,086 /female 656,947)

25-54 years:

41.59% (male 1,461,657 /female 1,460,565)

55-64 years:

8.13% (male 290,719 /female 280,328)

65 years and over:

7.35% (male 242,783 /female 273,550) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

56.6 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

47.2 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

9.4 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

10.6 (2015 est.)

• most of the population resides in the eastern half of the country;
• to the west lies the Gran Chaco (a semi-arid lowland plain), which accounts for 60% of the land territory, but only 2% of the overall population

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Paraguay

conventional short form:

Paraguay

local long form:

Republica del Paraguay

local short form:

Paraguay

etymology:

• the precise meaning of the name Paraguay is unclear, but it seems to derive from the river of the same name;
• one explanation has the name meaning "water of the Payagua" (an indigenous tribe that lived along the river)

name:

Asuncion

geographic coordinates:

25 16 S, 57 40 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March

• 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

history:

several previous; latest approved and promulgated 20 June 1992 (2018)

amendments:

• 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 absolute majority vote by both chambers and approval in a referendum;
• amended 2011, 2014;
• note - in April 2017, a proposed amendment to extend presidential term limits was defeated by the lower house of the National Congress (2018)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a native-born citizen of Paraguay

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

3 years

highest courts:

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

chief of state:

• President Mario Abdo BENITEZ (since 15 August 2018);
• Vice President Hugo Adalberto VELAZQUEZ Moreno (since 15 August 2018);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Mario Abdo BENITEZ (since 15 August 2018); Vice President Hugo Adalberto VELAZQUEZ Moreno (since 15 August 2018)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term;
• election last held on 22 April 2018 (next to be held in April 2023)

election results:

Mario Abdo BENITEZ elected president; percent of vote - Mario Abdo BENITEZ (ANR) 46.4%, Efrain ALEGRE (PLRA) 42.7%, Juan Bautista YBANEZ 3.3%, other 7.6%

• Asociacion Nacional Republicana - Colorado Party or ANR [Pedro ALLIANA]
• Avanza Pais coalition or AP [Adolfo FERREIRO]
• Broad Front coalition (Frente Guasu) or FG [Esperanza MARTINEZ]
• Ganar Alliance (alliance between PLRA and Guasu Front)
• Movimiento Cruzada Nacional or MCN
• Movimiento Hagamos or MH [Antonio "Tony" APURIL]
• Movimiento Union Nacional de Ciudadanos Eticos or UNACE [Jorge OVIEDO MATTO]
• Partido del Movimiento al Socialismo or P-MAS [Camilo Ernesto SOARES Machado]
• Partido Democratica Progresista or PDP [Rafael FILIZZOLA]
• Partido Encuentro Nacional or PEN [Hermann RATZLAFFIN Klippemstein]
• Partido Liberal Radical Autentico or PLRA [Efrain ALEGRE]
• Partido Pais Solidario or PPS [Carlos Alberto FILIZZOLA Pallares]
• Partido Popular Tekojoja or PPT [Sixto PEREIRA Galeano]
• Patria Querida (Beloved Fatherland Party) or PPQ [Miguel CARRIZOSA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador German Hugo ROJAS Irigoyen (since 28 December 2016)

chancery:

2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962

FAX:

[1] (202) 234-4508

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, Miami, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lee MCCLENNY (since 20 February 2018)

embassy:

1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion

mailing address:

Unit 4711, DPO AA 34036-0001

telephone:

[595] (21) 213-715

FAX:

[595] (21) 213-728

• 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 a circular seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words PAZ Y JUSTICIA (Peace and Justice));
• red symbolizes bravery and patriotism, white represents integrity and peace, and blue denotes liberty and generosity

note: the three color bands resemble those on the flag of the Netherlands; one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Moldova and Saudi Arabia

name:

"Paraguayos, Republica o muerte!" (Paraguayans, The Republic or Death!)

lyrics/music:

Francisco Esteban ACUNA de Figueroa/disputed

note: adopted 1934, in use since 1846; officially adopted following its re-arrangement in 1934

• cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (manioc, tapioca), fruits, vegetables;
• beef, pork, eggs, milk;
• timber

agriculture:

26.5%

industry:

18.5%

services:

55% (2008)

lowest 10%:

37.6% (2013 est.)

highest 10%:

37.6% (2013 est.)

general assessment:

the fixed-line market is a state monopoly and fixed-line telephone service is meager; principal switching center is in Asuncion (2016)

domestic:

• deficiencies in provision of fixed-line service have resulted in a rapid expansion of mobile-cellular services fostered by competition among multiple providers;
• Internet market also open to competition (2016)

international:

country code - 595; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2016)

• 6 privately owned TV stations;
• about 75 commercial and community radio stations;
• 1 state-owned radio network (2010)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 5 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

452,004 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,641,624 mt-km (2015)

total:

30 km (2014)

standard gauge:

30 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

total:

32,059 km (2010)

paved:

4,860 km (2010)

unpaved:

27,199 km (2010)

total:

78

by type:

container ship 3, general cargo 22, oil tanker 6, other 47

note: as of 2017, Paraguay registered 2,012 fluvial vessels of which 1,741 were commercial barges

• 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
• conscript service obligation is 12 months for Army, 24 months for Navy;
• volunteers for the Air Force must be younger than 22 years of age with a secondary school diploma (2012)

• major illicit producer of cannabis, most or all of which is consumed in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile;
• transshipment country for Andean cocaine headed for Brazil, other Southern Cone markets, and Europe;
• weak border controls, extensive corruption and money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area;
• weak anti-money-laundering laws and enforcement