Norfolk Island (2005) | Paraguay (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 17 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital city*; Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Asuncion*, Boqueron, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.2% (male 1,201,459; female 1,162,954)
15-64 years: 57% (male 1,773,151; female 1,758,323) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 136,376; female 159,105) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 880 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 866
1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 323 under 914 m: 517 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 406,750 sq km
land: 397,300 sq km water: 9,450 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than California |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then. |
Birth rate | NA | 29.78 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $937.8 million
expenditures: $988.4 million, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Asuncion |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west |
Coastline | 32 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | promulgated 20 June 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Paraguay
conventional short form: Paraguay local long form: Republica del Paraguay local short form: Paraguay |
Currency | - | guarani (PYG) |
Death rate | NA | 4.58 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $2.96 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador John F. KEANE
embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion mailing address: Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001 telephone: [595] (21) 213-715 FAX: [595] (21) 213-728 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador James SPALDING Hellmers
chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962 FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508 consulate(s) general: Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
Disputes - international | none | unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and drug trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | NA (2001) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. The informal sector features both reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population derives their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3% annually in 1995-97; but GDP declined slightly in 1998, 1999, and 2000, rose slightly in 2001, only to fall again in 2002. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural reform, substantial internal and external debt, and deficient infrastructure. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 2.637 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 39.11 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 44.89 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m
highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many urban residents; loss of wetlands |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | guarani per US dollar - 6,424.34 (2003), 5,716.26 (2002), 4,105.92 (2001), 3,486.35 (2000), 3,119.07 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
chief of state: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2008) election results: Nicanor DUARTE Frutos elected president; percent of vote - Nicanor DUARTE Frutos 37.1%, Julio Cesar Ramon FRANCO Gomez 23.9%, Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella 21.3%, Guillermo SANCHEZ Guffanti 13.5%, other 4.2% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, electricity, wood, leather |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Brazil 34.2%, Uruguay 19.6%, Switzerland 7.8%, Argentina 5.3% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $28.17 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 23.7% services: 51.4% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 1.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 23 00 S, 58 00 W |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: 29,500 km
paved: 14,986 km unpaved: 14,514 km (1999 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | major illicit producer of cannabis, most or all of which is consumed in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile; transshipment country for Andean cocaine headed for Brazil, other Southern Cone markets, Europe, and US; corruption and some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | NA | road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Brazil 32.5%, Argentina 21.6%, China 12.7% (2003) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 14 May 1811 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 0% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, metallurgic, electric power |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 26.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 14.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 670 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Council of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura) |
Labor force | 1,345 | 2.15 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 45% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 3,920 km
border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 7.6%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.17% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (80 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2008) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 16, PLRA 12, UNACE 7, MPQ 7, PPS 2, PEN 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 37, PLRA 21, UNACE 10, PQ 10, PPS 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 74.64 years
male: 72.12 years female: 77.29 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94% male: 94.9% female: 93% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Central South America, northeast of Argentina |
Map references | Oceania | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,667 GRT/30,826 DWT
by type: cargo 14, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: Argentina 2, Japan 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $52.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,504,407 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,084,087 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 63,386 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 14 May (1811) (observed 15 May annually) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Paraguayan(s)
adjective: Paraguayan |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) |
Natural resources | fish | hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone |
Net migration rate | NA | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Asociacion Nacional Republicana - Colorado Party or ANR [Herminio CACERES, interim president]; Patria Querida (Beloved Fatherland Party) or PQ [Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella]; Movimiento Union Nacional de Ciudadanos Eticos or UNACE [Enrique GONZALEZ Quintana, acting chairman]; Partido Encuentro Nacional or PEN [Luis TORALES Kenney]; Partido Liberal Radical Autentico or PLRA [Julio Cesar FRANCO]; Partido Pais Solidario or PPS [Carlos Alberto FILIZZOLA Pallares]; note - Nicanor DUARTE Frutos on leave as party leader of the Colorado Party or ANR while serving as President of Paraguay; Lino Cesar OVIEDO Silva, leader of UNACE, is currently serving a ten-year prison term |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Ahorristas Estafados or AE; Coordinating Table of National Campesino Organizations or MCNOC; National Federation of Campesinos or FNC; National Workers Central or CNT; Paraguayan Workers Confederation or CPT; Roman Catholic Church; Unitary Workers Central or CUT;; |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 6,191,368 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 36% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 2.51% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 441 km
standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite, and other Protestant |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75 |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: meager telephone service; principal switching center is Asuncion
domestic: fair microwave radio relay network international: country code - 595; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 273,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 1,770,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 5 (2003) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | 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 |
Total fertility rate | NA | 3.98 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 18.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | 3,100 km (2004) |