1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

Brazil (Rio Parana area)

Climate

varies from temperate in east to semiarid in far west

Comparative area

about the size of California

Environment

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

Land boundaries

3,444 km total

Land use

4% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 39% meadows and pastures; 51% forest and woodland; 5% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Special notes

landlocked; buffer between Argentina and Brazil

Terrain

grassy plains and wooded hills east of Paraguay River; Gran Chaco region west of Paraguay River mostly low, marshy plain

Total area

Boundary representation 1s not necessarily authoritative “Encarnacién

406,750 km?; land area: 397,300 km?

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

64/1,000 (1981)

Labor force

1.1 million (1983 est.); 44% agriculture; 34% industry and commerce, 18% services, 4% government; unemployment rate 25% (1986 est.)

Language

Spanish (official) and Guarani

Life expectancy

68

Literacy

81%

Nationality

noun—Paraguayan(s); adiective—Paraguayan

Organized labor

about 5% of labor force

Population

4,251,924 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.15%

Religion

97% Roman Catholic; Mennonite and other Protestant denominations

Administrative divisions

19 departments and the national capital

Branches

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

Capital

Asuncién

Communists

Oscar Creydt faction and Miguel Angel Soler faction (both illegal); est. 8,000 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 at same time every five years (next election March 1988) Political parties and leaders: Colorado Party, Juan Ramén Chaves; Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), Juan Zaldivar; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Geronimo Irala Burgos; Febrerista Revolutionary Party (PRF), Fernando Vera; Liberal Party (PL), Joaquin Burgos; Popular Colorado Movement (MOPOCO), Waldino Lovera; Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Emilio Forestieri

Government leader

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

Legal system

based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; constitution promulgated 1967; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, 1DB—InterAmerican Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, 1LO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, I1PU, IRC, ITU, LAJA, OAS, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WSG

National holiday

Independence Day, 14 May

Official name

Republic of Paraguay

Other political or pressure groups

National Accord includes MoPoCo and Febrerista, Radical Liberal, and Christian Democratic Parties; Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, Paraguayan Liberation Movement

Suffrage

universal; compulsory between ages of 18 and 60

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

Agriculture

oilseeds, soybeans, cotton, wheat, manioc, sweet potatoes, tobacco, corn, rice, sugarcane; self-sufficient in most foods; illegal producer of cannabis for the international drug trade

Aid

bilateral commitments, US (FY70-85) $157 million; other Western countries, ODA and OOF (1970-84), $648 million

Budget

(1986 est.) revenues, $620 million; expenditures, $762 million

Electric power

1,675,000 kW capacity; 1,130 million kWh produced, 280 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$350 million (f.0.b., 1986); cotton, oilseeds, meat products, tobacco, timber, coffee, essential oils, tung oil

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$3.8 billion 1986, $950 per capita (1986), 66% private consumption, 7% public consumption (1983); 28% gross domestic investment; real growth rate 1985, 4.5%; 40% inflation rate (mid-1986)

Imports

$730 million (f.o.b., 1986); fuels and lubricants, machinery and motors, motor vehicles, beverages and tobacco, foodstuffs

Major industries

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

Major trade partners

exports—26% Brazil, 18% Netherlands, 11% Argentina, 11% Switzerland, 7% US, 6% FRG; imports—33% Brazil, 16% Argentina, 18% US, 7% Algeria, 6% Japan, 5% FRG, 5% UK (1986)

Military transfers

US (FY70-85), $18 million

Monetary conversion rate

240 guaranies=US$1 at fixed rate, 650 guaranies=US$) at floating rate (November 1986)

Natural resources

iron, manganese, limestone, hydroelectric power, forests

Airfields

896 total, 791 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 39 with runways 1,220-2,489 m

Civil air

4 major transport aircraft

Highways

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

Inland waterways

3,100 km

Ports

] major (Asuncién), 9 minor (all river)

Railroads

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

Telecommunications

principal center in Asuncion, fair intercity microwave net; 78,300 telephones (2.8 per 100 popl.); 41 AM, 3 TV, 8 shortwave stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station

Branches

Paraguayan Army, Paraguayan Navy, Paraguayan Air Force

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1985, $66.1 million; 18.8% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 997,000; 728,000 fit for military service; 46,000 reach military age (17) annually