World Factbook
Paraguay
República del Paraguay
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
397,302 sq km
water
9,450 sq km
total
406,752 sq km
Climate
subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west
Terrain
grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere
Land use
other
7% (2023 est.)
forest
36.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
54.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 11.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 42.4% (2023 est.)
Location
Central South America, northeast of Argentina, southwest of Brazil
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation
lowest point
junction of Río Paraguay and Río Paraná 46 m
highest point
Cerro Pero 842 m
mean elevation
178 m
Irrigated land
1,362 sq km (2012)
Major aquifers
Guarani Aquifer System
Map references
South America
Land boundaries
total
4,655 km
border countries
Argentina 2,531 km; Bolivia 753 km; Brazil 1,371 km
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June)
Geography - note
landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in eastern and southern part of country
Natural resources
hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone
Area - comparative
about three times the size of New York State; slightly smaller than California
Geographic coordinates
23 00 S, 58 00 W
Population distribution
most of the population resides in the eastern half of the country; to the west lies the Gran Chaco (a semi-arid lowland plain), which accounts for 60% of the land territory, but only 2% of the overall population
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Paraná (2,582,704 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Río de la Plata/Paraná (shared with Brazil [s], Argentina, and Uruguay [m]) - 4,880 km; Paraguay river mouth (shared with Brazil [s] and Argentina) - 2,549 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth