Paraguay Environment - 2021

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 2006

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 11.16 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 7.41 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 27.65 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 362 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 154 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 1.897 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

387.77 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Climate

subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west

Land use

agricultural land: 53.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 10.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 42.8% (2018 est.)

forest: 43.8% (2018 est.)

other: 2.4% (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 1.21% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 62.5% of total population (2021)

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

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

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

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,818,501 tons (2015 est.)