ABOUT PARAGUAY

Republic of Paraguay

Country name: Republic of Paraguay.
Capital: Asuncion.
Area (Km2): 406.752 (11º in America, 9º Hispanic World, 58º in the world).
Bounded by: North: Brazil and Bolivia; East: Brazil and South and West: Argentina.


Geography:
Landlocked in central South America, the Paraguay River divides the country into a hilly, forested east and a flat plain (known as the Chaco) in the west. The Chaco, marshy near the river and turning semi desert farther west, takes up 60 percent of the country but contains only 2 percent of the people.
Paraguay possesses plenty of electric power thanks to hydroelectric dams such as Itaipú, the world's largest, built and operated jointly with Brazil. Democracy replaced dictatorship by 1989.


Economy:
Industry: sugar, cement, textiles, beverages.
Agriculture: cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn; beef; timber.
Exports: soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils.

Independence date: May 14th, 1811.

Government type: Democratic Representative

State divisions: Executive Power.
Congress (2 Chambers), Judicial Power

Executive:
President:
Don Fernando Lugo Méndez
Constitucional Period: 2008 - 2013
Vice President: Dr. Federico Franco Gómez
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Ambassador Alejandro Hamed Franco

Administrative divisions: 17 Departments

Weather:
Summer: 21 Dec - 20 March
Fall: 21 March-20 June
Winter: 21june-20 September
Spring: 21 September-20 December

Languages: Spanish and Guarani, considered national patrimony.

Currency: Guarani.

Phone Access Code: 595, Asuncion (21).