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Paraguay People - 2024


SOURCE: 2024 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES  Spanish Simplified Chinese French German Russian Hindi Arabic Portuguese

Population

7,439,863 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Paraguayan(s)

adjective: Paraguayan

Ethnic groups

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

Languages

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%; note - data represent predominant household language (2012 est.)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Spanish audio sample:

Religions

Roman Catholic 80.4%, Protestant 7% (Evangelical (non-specific) 6.7%, Evangelical Pentecostal

Demographic profile

Paraguay falls below the Latin American average in several socioeconomic categories, including immunization rates, potable water, sanitation, and secondary school enrollment, and has greater rates of income inequality and child and maternal mortality. Paraguay's poverty rate has declined in recent years but remains high, especially in rural areas, with more than a third of the population below the poverty line. However, the well-being of the poor in many regions has improved in terms of housing quality and access to clean water, telephone service, and electricity. The fertility rate continues to drop, declining sharply from an average 4.3 births per woman in the late 1990s to about 2 in 2013, as a result of the greater educational attainment of women, increased use of contraception, and a desire for smaller families among young women.

Paraguay is a country of emigration; it has not attracted large numbers of immigrants because of political instability, civil wars, years of dictatorship, and the greater appeal of neighboring countries. Paraguay first tried to encourage immigration in 1870 in order to rebound from the heavy death toll it suffered during the War of the Triple Alliance, but it received few European and Middle Eastern immigrants. In the 20th century, limited numbers of immigrants arrived from Lebanon, Japan, South Korea, and China, as well as Mennonites from Canada, Russia, and Mexico. Large flows of Brazilian immigrants have been arriving since the 1960s, mainly to work in agriculture. Paraguayans continue to emigrate to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, the United States, Italy, Spain, and France.

Age structure

0-14 years: 22.4% (male 847,721/female 818,983)

15-64 years: 68.54% (male 2,560,031/female 2,539,378)

65 years and over: 9.06% (2023 est.) (male 320,958/female 352,792)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 54.4

youth dependency ratio: 44.8

elderly dependency ratio: 9.6

potential support ratio: 10.4 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 31.3 years (2023 est.)

male: 31.1 years

female: 31.5 years

Population growth rate

1.12% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

16.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

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

Urbanization

urban population: 63.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.64% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

3.511 million ASUNCION (capital) (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

22.9 years (2008 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio

71 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 22.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 26.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 18.2 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 78.6 years (2023 est.)

male: 76 years

female: 81.4 years

Total fertility rate

1.88 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

0.92 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

68.4% (2016)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

7.6% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

1.05 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

0.8 beds/1,000 population (2016)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 99.6% of population

rural: 90.6% of population

total: 96.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.4% of population

rural: 9.4% of population

total: 3.8% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

20.3% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 5.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 3.27 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 1.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 11.5% (2020 est.)

male: 18.6% (2020 est.)

female: 4.4% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

1.3% (2016)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

59.4% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 3.6%

women married by age 18: 21.6% (2016 est.)

Education expenditures

3.3% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 94.5%

male: 94.9%

female: 94.2% (2020)

NOTE: The information regarding Paraguay on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Paraguay 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Paraguay 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.

This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.