Paraguay Geography - 2024

Location

Central South America, northeast of Argentina, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates

23 00 S, 58 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 406,752 sq km

land: 397,302 sq km

water: 9,450 sq km

Area - comparative

about three times the size of New York state; slightly smaller than California

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 4,655 km

border countries (3): Argentina 2,531 km; Bolivia 753 km; Brazil 1,371 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

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

Terrain

grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere

Elevation

highest point: Cerro Pero 842 m

lowest point: junction of Río Paraguay and Río Paraná 46 m

mean elevation: 178 m

Natural resources

hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone

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.)

Irrigated land

1,362 sq km (2012)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Río de la Plata/Paraná (shared with Brazil [s], Argentina, and Uruguay [m]) - 4,880 km; Paraguay river mouth (shared with Brazil [s] and Argentina) - 2,549 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Paraná (2,582,704 sq km)

Major aquifers

Guarani Aquifer System

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

Natural hazards

local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June)

Geography - note

note 1: landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in eastern and southern part of country

note 2: pineapples are probably indigenous to the southern Brazil-Paraguay region