General+Information

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=*GeNeRaL InFoRmAtIoN*=



Location:
If you look into the heart of South America, you will find a landlocked country bordered by Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia called Paraguay. (1) This country is also referred to as Corazón de América or Republica del paraguay. It got its name from the Paraguay River that runs down the middle of it. The area is 406,752 squared KM, which is small compared to the area of the United States, 9,826,630 squared KM.(2) To give you an idea of the size of Paraguay; it is about the size of California.(5) The water area is 9,450 squared km. The capital Asuncioñ is located in the south part of Paraguay.

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Population and Languages:
The two languages that are spoken are Spanish and Guarani. The Indians and the rural area speak Guarani and it is the second most spoken language in Paraguay besides Spanish.(3) There are 5, 700,000 people that populate this country. 92.1% of this population can read and write. 93.5% are males and 90.6% are females.(3)



Economy:
Paraguay's economy is poor. In fact, 36% of the population is under the poverty line(4) There is hope for the economy because it is growing each year. It was expected to grow 6.4% in 2007. The export par of the agriculture is 6.898 billion f.o.b.(1) The import partners include Brazil, Argentina, and China. The fob for imports is 2.77 billion dollars.(4) Paraguay imports cars, consumer goods, petroleum products, tobacco, and electrical machinery. The export fob is 2.27 billion dollars. Their export partners include Brazil, Uruguay, Switzerland, and Argentina. The products that are exported are soybeans,wheat, corn, feed, wood, electricity, edible oils, and leather. (4) The currency is Guaraní. (6)



Regions:
The two main regions are Paraneaña region and the Chaco region. The Paraneaña region is made up plateaus, valleys and rolling hills. This is where 95% of the population lives and it has a very predictable climate.(7) There are also some lowlands, which often flood by the rivers. The Chaco region is made up of an immense plain. It has a lot of lowlands and are sometimes flooded of extremely dry.(7)

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Religion
Thanks to the Paraguay constitution, the people of Paraguay are free to choose their own religion. Because of this, there is no official religion.(8) 90% pf the population chooses to follow Roman Catholicism. The other 10% are Protestants, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, and Baha'i.(8)

Climate
Paraguay is in the middle of the Tropic of Capricorn so has both subtropical and tropical climates.(6) Subtropical climates have hot and humid summers and a pretty warm winter. There is rainfall and large storms. Tropical climates have wet and dry seasons and usually have lush plants growing in them.

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Animals
There are many animals that are native to Paraguay. Some of these include the Guanaco, Maned wolf, Crab- eating raccoon, a bunch of different types of bats, and the Lutrine opossum. These animals live in tropical and subtropical climates.

Government
The government type of Paraguay is constitutional republic. Paraguay won its independence in May of 1811. The branches of it's government include the executive, legislative, and Judicial branches, much like the untied states. (9)

Foot Notes
1.(www.paraguay.com) 2.(www.cia.gov/.html) 3.(http://reference.aol.com) 4.(http://countryprofiles.org) 5.(http://www.alsintl.com) 6. (http://en.wikipedia.org) 7.(www.photius.com) 8. (http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com) 9 (http://www.state.gov)