Population:
6,862,812 (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Paraguayan(s)
adjective: Paraguayan

Ethnic groups:
mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5%

Languages:
Spanish (official), Guarani (official)

Religions:
Roman Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian 1.1%, other or unspecified 1.9%, none 1.1% (2002 census)

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: 25.04% (male 874,541/female 844,212)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 19.74% (male 680,998/female 673,534)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 40.56% (male 1,392,814/female 1,390,655)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 7.74% (male 270,769/female 260,300)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 6.92% (male 222,435/female 252,554) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 56.6%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 47.2%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 9.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 10.6% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 27.8 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 27.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 28 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 136

Population growth rate:
1.17% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
16.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
4.7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 200
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Population distribution:
most of the population resides in the eastern half of the country; to the west lies the Gran Chaco, which accounts for 60% of the land territory, but only 2% of the overall population

Urbanization:
urban population: 59.7% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
ASUNCION (capital) 2.356 million (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
22.9
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2008 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
132 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 73
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 19.4 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 22.8 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 15.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 86

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 74.5 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 80 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 74

Total fertility rate:
1.91 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
79.4%
note: percent of women aged 15-44 (2008)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
9.8% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 21
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
1.23 physicians/1,000 population (2012)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1.3 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 94.9% of population total: 98% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 0% of population rural: 5.1% of population total: 2% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 95.5% of population rural: 78.4% of population total: 88.6% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 4.5% of population rural: 21.6% of population total: 11.4% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.43% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
17,500 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
800 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
15.1% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 110
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
2.6% (2012)
country comparison to the world: 105
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
5% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.9%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 94.8%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 92.9% (2010 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 13 years (2010)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 205,297
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 15% (2004 est.)
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - percentage country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 13%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 10%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 17.8% (2014 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 95