Country · Americas
Paraguay
Republic of Paraguay
Paraguay is a country in South America. About 7 million people live there, in an area of 406 752 square kilometres. Its capital city is Asunción.
Picture credit: Eco reserva Mbatoví (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Lupa18 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Overkill53 (CC0) · Steve Morgan (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Cmasi (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Paraguay?
Paraguay lies in South America, on the continent of Americas.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 2 560 km from the equator.
Paraguay is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil.
How big is Paraguay?
Paraguay covers 406 752 square kilometres.
That is about 9.9 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 59th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 17.1 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Paraguay?
About 7 million people live in Paraguay.
That is the 105th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Guaraní and Spanish.
They pay with the Paraguayan guaraní (₲).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 74 years.
The land of Paraguay
The land of Paraguay sits on average 178 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 3 neighbours to get here.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Paraguay different?
A dish the country is known for: Sopa paraguaya.
Websites from here often end in .py.
Paraguay and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Paraguay.
It takes up about 0.3 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Americas the country ranks 11th of 35 by size, and 17th by population.
Paraguay and its neighbours
Brazil, its largest neighbour, is about 20.9 times bigger.
Brazil has more people: 209.5 million against 7 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 10 live wild in Paraguay: Jaguar, Nine-banded armadillo, Toco toucan, Capybara, Red-bellied piranha, Giant anteater and more. The highest mountain in the country is Cerro Tres Kandú, at 842 metres. The longest river in the country is the Paraguay River. The largest lake in the country is Lake Ypoá.
Jaguar
Nine-banded armadillo
Toco toucan
Capybara
Red-bellied piranha
Giant anteater
Lowland tapir
Coypu
South American coati
Maned wolf
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Paraguay compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 23 times as big as Paraguay: 9 372 610 km² against 406 752 km².
- Paraguay is about 1.7 times as big as the United Kingdom: 406 752 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Paraguay?
The capital of Paraguay is Asunción. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Paraguay?
About 7 million people live in Paraguay, which makes it the 105th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Paraguay?
How big is Paraguay?
Paraguay covers 406 752 square kilometres, making it the 59th largest country in the world. That is about 9.9 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Paraguay?
The highest mountain in Paraguay is Cerro Tres Kandú, 842 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Paraguay?
The longest river in Paraguay is the Paraguay River. Of its 2 695 kilometres, about 542 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Paraguay?
The largest lake in Paraguay is Lake Ypoá. It covers about 62 km².
Which continent is Paraguay in?
Paraguay is in Americas, in the part called South America.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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