Executive Insights: Paraguay Central Bank President José Cantero
José Cantero, president of the Central Bank of Paraguay sits down with Global Finance to discuss how the current state of the world is affecting Paraguay’s economy.
Paraguay GDP and Economic Data
Includes Paraguay real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Paraguay economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Paraguay best banks and safest banks are also available.
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Real GDP growth
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 4.9% | 3.1% | 4.3% | 5.0% | 3.7% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 10.5%
- industry: 33.6%
- services: 48.4%
(2016 estimate)
Inflation
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 3.1% | 4.1% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 3.5% |
*Estimate
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Unemployment rate
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 5.4% | 6.0% | 5.2% | 5.6% | 6.1% |
*Estimate
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Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| 18.6% | 19.4% | 19.8% | 21.5% | 23.7% |
*Estimate
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Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* |
| -1.8% | -0.4% | -0.9% | -1.3% | -0.8% |
*Estimate
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Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: BB
Moody's: Ba1
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated as of January 24th 2017)
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Current account balance by percentage of GDP
0.5 % (2018 estimate)
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Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
35.7% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.05% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.02% (2018)
Export commodities
Soybeans, livestock feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, wood, leather, gold
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Import commodities
Road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery, tractors, chemicals, vehicle parts
Exports - major partners
Brazil 31.9%, Argentina 15.9%, Chile 6.9%, Russia 5.9% (2017)
Imports - major partners
China 31.3%, Brazil 23.4%, Argentina 12.9%, US 7.4% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 371 million | USD 456 million | USD 454 million |
FDI outflows
N/A
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking: 125 out of 190 countries (2019
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 160 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 75 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 109 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 80 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 132 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 143 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 126 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 128 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 72 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 105 out of 190 countries
World Bank - Doing Business 2019
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Global competitiveness ranking
97 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 85 / Score: 61.8 (Moderately free) (2016)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
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Languages
Spanish (official) and Guarani (official) 46.3%, only Guarani 34%, only Spanish 15.2%, other (includes Portuguese, German, other indigenous languages) 4.1% , no response .4% (2012 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian 1.1%, other or unspecified 1.9%, none 1.1% (2002 census)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| 4.14 million | 5.28 million | 6.27 million | 6.76 million | 7.25 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2018 |
| 35.6% | 41.7% | 55.3% | 61.6% |
Population growth rate
1.17% (2018 estimate)
Literacy
Total population: 94.7%
Male: 95.5%
Female: 93.8%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
5.6% (last available estimate, 2017)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
48.8 (last available estimate, 2017)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
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Freedom House rating
Political Rights: 3
Civil Liberties: 3 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
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Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 4.4% Mobile: 107% (2018) (fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)