Paraguay

Economy - overview:
Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy marked 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. A large percentage of the population, especially in rural areas, derives its living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay’s poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, limited progress on structural reform, and deficient infrastructure. The economy rebounded between 2003 and 2008, however, as growing world demand for commodities combined with high prices and favorable weather to support Paraguay’s commodity-based export expansion. Paraguay is the sixth largest soy producer in the world.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$28.71 billion (2008 est.)
$27.21 billion (2007)
$25.57 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$16.36 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.5% (2008 est.)
6.4% (2007 est.)
4.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$4,200 (2008 est.)
$4,100 (2007 est.)
$3,900 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 23.1%
industry: 17.2%
services: 59.6% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
2.839 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 31%
industry: 17%
services: 52% (2007)
Unemployment rate:
5.4% (2008 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 46.1% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
56.8 (2008)
Investment (gross fixed):
20.2% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.939 billion
expenditures: $2.866 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
22.2% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
20% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
25.03% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$1.943 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$1.368 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$2.457 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$233.8 million (2005)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber
Industries:
sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, metallurgic, electric power
Industrial production growth rate:
2.5% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:
70 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - consumption:
6 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - exports:
64 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
27,410 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2007)
Oil - imports:
25,940 bbl/day (2007)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2007 est.)
Current account balance:
$178 million (2008 est.)
Exports:
$6.901 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:
soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, electricity, wood, leather
Exports - partners:
Argentina 28.1%, Uruguay 15.2%, Brazil 12.7%, Chile 5.9%, Germany 4.9%, Russia 4.5% (2007)
Imports:
$7.351 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:
road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery, tractors, chemicals, vehicle parts
Imports - partners:
Brazil 30.4%, US 22.8%, Argentina 14.4%, China 8.6% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.629 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$3.487 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$2.057 million (2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Exchange rates:
guarani (PYG) per US dollar - 4,337.7 (2008 est.), 5,031 (2007), 5,672.8 (2006), 6,178 (2005), 5,974.6 (2004)