Paraguay

Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay (), is a small country in South America. It is landlocked, meaning that it is not next to the ocean. It is bordered to the North and East by Brazil, the West by Bolivia, and the South and Southeast by Argentina. The main languages are Spanish and Guaraní.
Paraguay's population is about 6 million. The ethnic makeup of the population is the following: Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) 80%, European 20%, unmixed Amerindian 1-3%, Asian 1-4%.

Over (20%) of the population lives below the poverty line.

Paraguay has two official languages, Spanish and Guaraní. Guaraní is recognized as a national language.

The capital city is Asuncion. Asuncion was founded in 1537 by a Spaniard named Juan de Salazar. Paraguay was a colony of Spain, but became independent in 1811.

From 1865-1870 Paraguay lost land and most of its male population in the War of the Triple Alliance against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. It gained land in the Chaco War against Bolivia in the 1930s.

Paraguay's main religion is Roman Catholicism.

The weather is humid in the east and dry in the west.

Government and politics
Administrative subdivisions
Paraguay has 17 departments and one capital district (Distrito Capital). The departments are formed by districts.

The departments are grouped in two geographic regions, separated by the Paraguay river:
 Occidental (Western) region or Chaco, to the north of the Paraguay river (departments: Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes)
 Oriental (Eastern) region, to the south of the Paraguay river (departments: Alto Paraná, Amambay, Caaguazú, Caazapá, Canindeyú, Central, Concepción, Cordillera, Guairá, Itapúa, Misiones, Paraguarí, San Pedro and Ñeembucú; the capital district is part of this region)



+Departments of Paraguay No. Department Capital Population(2002) Area(km²) Districts 1  Concepción Concepción179,45018,0518 2  San Pedro San Pedro318,69820,00220 3  Cordillera Caacupé233,8544,94820 4  Guairá Villarrica178,6503,84618 5  Caaguazú Coronel Oviedo435,35711,47421 6  Caazapá Caazapá139,5179,49610 7  Itapúa Encarnación453,69216,52530 8  Misiones San Juan Bautista101,7839,55610  9  Paraguarí Paraguarí221,9328,70517 10  Alto ParanáCiudad del Este558,67214,89521 11  Central Areguá1,362,8932,46519 12  Ñeembucú Pilar76,34812,14716 13  Amambay Pedro Juan Caballero114,91712,9334 14  Canindeyú Salto del Guairá140.13714.66712 15  Presidente Hayes  Villa Hayes82,49372,9078 16  Alto Paraguay  Fuerte Olimpo11,58782,3494 17  Boquerón  Filadelfia41,10691,6693  18 Distrito CapitalAsunción512,1121176

References

Notes


Category:Spanish-speaking countries
Category:1811 establishments
Category:1810s establishments in South America