1985 Edition

Agriculture

main crops — coffee, cocoa, coconuts, timber, tea

main crops — oilseeds, cotton, wheat, manioc, sweet potatoes, tobacco, corn, rice, sugarcane; self-sufficient in most foods

Aid

economic — Australia, $1,158 million committed (1976-81); World Bank group (1968-September 1969), $14.8 million committed; US, including Ex-Im (FY70-83), $125 million; other Western countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-82), $4.2 billion

economic bilateral commitments, US (FY70-83) $151 million, other Western countries, ODA and OOF (1970-82) $490 million; military commitments (FY70-83), US $18 million

Airfields

535 total, 436 usable; 15 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37 with runways 1,2202,439 m

884 total, 769 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runway 2,440-3,659 m, 27 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Branches

Papua New Guinea Defense Force

President heads executive; bicameral legislature (Senate, Chamber of Deputies); judiciary headed by Supreme Court

Paraguayan Army, Paraguayan Navy, Paraguayan Air Force

Budget

(1983) expenditures, $1.02 million

(1983 est.) revenues, $494 million; expenditures, $741 million

Capital

Asuncion

Civil air

about 15 major transport aircraft

4 major transport aircraft

Communists

Oscar Creydt faction and Miguel Angel Soler faction (both illegal); est. 3,000 to 4,000 party members and sympathizers in Paraguay, very few are hard core; party in exile is small and deeply divided

Elections

President and Congress elected together every five years (last election February 1983) Political parties and leaders: Colorado Party, Juan Ramon Chaves; Authentic Radical Liberay Party (PLRA), Miguel Angel Martinez Yaryes; Christian Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Alfredo Rojas Leon; Febrerista Revolutionary Party (PRF), Euclides Acevedo; Liberal Party (PL), Joaquin Burgos; Popular Colorado Movement (MOPOCO), Miguel Angel Gonzalez Casabianca; Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Percio Franco

Electric power

720,000 kW capacity (1984); 1.6 billion kWh produced (1984), 477 kWh per capita

1,100,000 kW capacity (1984); 2.9 billion kWh produced (1983), 800 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

95% mestizo (Spanish and Indian), 5% white and Indian

Exports

$960.0 million (f .o.b., 1979); copper, coconut products, coffee beans, cocoa, copra, timber

$326 million (f.o.b., 1983); cotton, oilseeds, meat products, tobacco, timber, coffee, essential oils, tung oil

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

calendar year Communications

GDP

$2.5 billion (1984), $700-900 per capita (depending on exchange rate); 7% public consumption; 66% private consumption (1983), 28% gross domestic investment, 4-5% real growth rate (1980); real growth rate 1982, -2%

GNP

$2 billion (1980), $650 per capita; real growth (1979) 3% est.

Government leader

Gen. (Ret.) Alfredo STROESSNER, President (since May 1954)

Highways

19,200 km total; 640 km paved, 10,960 km gravel, crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 7,600 km unimproved earth

21,960 km total; 1,788 km paved, 474 km gravel, and 19,698 km earth

Imports

$935.5 million (c.i.f., 1979)

$551 million (f.o.b., 1983); fuels and lubricants, machinery and motors, motor vehicles, beverages and tobacco, foodstuffs

Inland waterways

10,940 km

3,100 km

Labor force

1. 1 million (1983 est.); 44% agriculture; 34% industry and commerce, 18% services, 4% government; unemployment rate 15% (1984)

Land boundaries

3,444 km People

Language

Spanish (official) and Guarani

Legal system

based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; constitution promulgated 1967; judicial review of legisla live acts in Supreme Court; legal education at National University of Asuncion and Catholic University of Our Lady of the Assumption; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Literacy

81%

Major industries

sawmilling and timber processing, copper mining (Bougainville), fish canning

meat packing, oilseed crushing, milling, brewing, textiles, light consumer goods, cement

Major trade partners

Australia, UK, Japan

exports — 21% Brazil, 14% Netherlands, 12% Argentina, 12% FRG, 9% US, 7% Switzerland, 2% Japan; imports— 28% Brazil, 19% Argentina, 7% FRG, 6% US, 5% Japan, 5% UK (1983)

Member of

FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB— Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, LAIA, OAS, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WSG Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1984, $29.4 million; about 3% of central government budget 20J »p. See region*! map IV Land 406,750 km2; the size of California; 52% forest; 24% meadow and pasture; 22% urban, waste, and other; 2% crop

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1984, $128.4 million; 14.4% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 800,000; about 443,000 fit for military service

males 15-49, 885,000; 703,000 fit for military service; 43,000 reach military age (17) annually

Monetary conversion rate

,8658kina=US$l (February 1984)

240 guaranies=US$l (October 1984)

National holiday

Independence Day, 14 May

Nationality

noun — Paraguayan(s); adjective— Paraguayan

Official name

Republic of Paraguay

Organized labor

about 5% of labor force Government

Other political or pressure groups

Popular Colorado Movement (MoPoCo) led by Epifanio Mendez, in exile; National Accord includes MoPoCo and Febrerista, Radical Liberal, and Christian Democratic Parties •

Political subdivisions

19 departments and the national capital

Population

3,722,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 2.7%

Ports

5 principal, 9 minor

1 major (Asuncion), 9 minor (all river)

Railroads

none

970 km total; 440 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 60 km 1.000-meter gauge, 470 km various narrow gauge (privately owned)

Religion

97% Roman Catholic; Mennonite and other Protestant denominations

Suffrage

universal; compulsory between ages of 18-60

Supply

dependent on Australia

Telecommunications

Papua New Guinea telecom services are adequate and are being improved; facilities provide radiobroadcast, radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio and international radiocommunication services; submarine cables extend from Madang to Australia and Guam; 45,274 telephones (1.5 per 100 popl.); 31 AM, no FM, or TV stations Defense Forces

principal center in Asuncion, fair intercity microwave net; 64,300 telephones (2.0 per 100 popl.); 35 AM, 21 FM, 5 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station Defense Forces

Type

republic; under authoritarian rule

Voting strength

(February 1983 general election) 90% Colorado Party, 5.6% Radical Liberal Party, 3.2% Liberal Party; Febrerista Party boycotted elections