Paraguay People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
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.
Religions
Roman Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian 1.1%, other or unspecified 1.9%, none 1.1% (2002 est.)
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)
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: 29.7 years
male: 29.5 years
female: 29.9 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
1.12% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
16.15 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.07 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 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
male: 26.78 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 78.61 years
male: 75.97 years
female: 81.38 years (2023 est.)
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)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 16.3%
male: 12.7%
female: 21.9% (2021 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Paraguay on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Paraguay 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Paraguay 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.