National Flag: Three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles).
Capital: Asuncion
Langauges: Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
Currency: Guarani
Main Industries:
Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy distinguished by a large informal sector, featuring reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries, as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Main industries can be summarized as hydro-electricity, sugar, soya, cotton, cement, textiles, steel, metallurgic, beverages, guitars, harps and wood products.
Did You Know?
- The name ‘Paraguay’ is derived from a Guarani word meaning ‘from a great river, – the Parana river flows through southern Paraguay.
- Paraguay’s varied fauna include the armadillo, the jaguar and the puma as well as over 600 species of birds, one being the bare-throated bellbird.
- Paraguay achieved its independence from Spain in 1811.
- In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) – between Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay – Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. The country stagnated economically for the next half century.
- Paraguay is a landlocked country lying between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country
