##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Paraguay (2002) - European Union (2008)
Compare Paraguay (2002) z European Union (2008)
| Paraguay (2002) | European Union (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 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: 38.7% (male 1,156,366; female 1,119,558)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 1,671,721; female 1,658,683) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 128,137; female 150,026) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.72% (male 37,208,905/female 35,254,445)
15-64 years: 67.16% (male 155,807,769/female 153,690,235) 65 years and over: 17.11% (male 32,592,595/female 46,273,197) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes; dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 899 (2001) | 3,393 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2002) |
2,020 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 868
1,524 to 2,437 m: 27 914 to 1,523 m: 323 under 914 m: 518 (2002) |
1,373 (2006) |
| Area | total: 406,750 sq km
land: 397,300 sq km water: 9,450 sq km |
total: 4,324,782 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than California | less than one-half the size of the US |
| Background | 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. | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - and in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined, bringing the current membership to 27. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the Treaty of Nice (in force as of 1 February 2003) set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An effort to establish an EU constitution, begun in October 2004, failed to attain unanimous ratification. A new effort, undertaken in June 2007, calls for the creation of an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, which is to serve as a constitution. Unlike the constitution, however, the Reform Treaty would amend existing treaties rather than replace them. |
| Birth rate | 30.5 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.3 billion
expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (1999 est.) |
- |
| Capital | Asuncion | name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 20 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, Belgium, the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg |
| Climate | subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 65,992.9 km |
| Constitution | promulgated 20 June 1992 | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2003; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 dealt a severe setback to the ratification process; in June 2007, the European Council agreed on a clear and concise mandate for an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement and put it into legal form; this agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, is to serve as a constitution and will be presented to the European Council in October 2007, in order to begin the ratification process |
| Country name | 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 | 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $2.9 billion (2001 est.) | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador C. Boyden GRAY
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat/Rue Zinner, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Leila Teresa RACHID COWLES
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
| Disputes - international | none | as a political union, the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries, but Estonia has no land boundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime disputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 22 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or "acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total current membership to 24; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; nine of the 12 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 joined Schengen on 21 December 2007; of the three remaining EU states, Cyprus is expected to join by 2009, while Romania and Bulgaria continue to enhance their border security systems |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
| Economy - overview | 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. 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. | Internally, the EU is attempting to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income among member states (from $7,000 to $69,000) and historic national animosities, the EU faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, since 2003 Germany and France have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted 10 and two countries, respectively, that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the other 15. Eleven established EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999 (Greece did so two years later), but the UK, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to participate. Of the 12 most recent member states, only Slovenia (1 January 2007) and Cyprus and Malta (1 January 2008) have adopted the euro; the remaining nine are legally required to adopt the currency upon meeting EU's fiscal and monetary convergence criteria. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.95 billion kWh (2000) | 2.81 trillion kWh (2004 est.) |
| Electricity - exports | 47.392 billion kWh (2000) | NA |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | NA |
| Electricity - production | 53.056 billion kWh (2000) | 3.007 trillion kWh (2004 est.) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 100% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m
highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border between France and Italy |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many urban residents; loss of wetlands | NA |
| 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: Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94
signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
| Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95% | - |
| Exchange rates | guarani per US dollar - 4,783.0 (January 2002), 4,107.7 (2001), 3,486.4 (2000), 3,119.1 (1999), 2,726.5 (1998), 2,177.9 (1997); note - since early 1998, the exchange rate has operated as a managed float; prior to that, the exchange rate was determined freely in the market | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Luis Angel GONZALEZ MACCHI (since 28 March 1999); Vice President Julio Cesar FRANCO (since NA August 2000) resigned 16 October 2002; position now vacant; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Luis Angel GONZALEZ MACCHI (since 28 March 1999); Vice President Julio Cesar FRANCO (since NA August 2000) resigned 16 October 2002; position now vacant; 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 10 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003) election results: Raul CUBAS Grau elected president; percent of vote - 55.3%; resigned 28 March 1999 note: President Luis Angel GONZALEZ MACCHI, formerly president of the Chamber of Senators, constitutionally succeeded President Raul CUBAS Grau, who resigned after being impeached soon after the assassination of Vice President Luis Maria ARGANA; the successor to ARGANA was decided in an election held in August 2000 |
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 27 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments and is confirmed by the European Parliament; working from member state recommendations, the Commission president then assembles a "college" of Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; the last confirmation process was held 18 November 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449 to 149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least four times a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
| Exports | $2.2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 6.971 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | electricity, soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. |
| Exports - partners | Brazil 39%, Uruguay 14%, Argentina 11% (2000) | US 23.3%, Switzerland 7.6%, Russia 5.2%, China 4.8% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
| Flag description | 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) | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $26.2 billion (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 29%
industry: 26% services: 45% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 27.1% services: 70.7% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0% (2001 est.) | 3% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 23 00 S, 58 00 W | - |
| Geography - note | landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country | - |
| Heliports | - | 100 (2007) |
| Highways | total: 25,901 km
paved: 3,067 km unpaved: 22,834 km (2001) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1998) (1998) |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.2% (2001 est.) |
| Illicit drugs | major illicit producer of cannabis, most or all of which is consumed in South America; 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 | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 17.76 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing |
| Imports - partners | Argentina 25.4%, Brazil 24.5%, Uruguay 3.8% (2000) | US 13.8%, China 13.4%, Russia 8.2%, Japan 6.2% (2006) |
| Independence | 14 May 1811 (from Spain) | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 0% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2006 est.) |
| Industries | sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 28.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 4.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.2% (2001 est.) | 1.8% (2006 est.) |
| International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | European Union: ARF (dialogue member), ASEAN (dialogue member), IDA, OAS (observer), UN (observer)
European Community: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, EBRD, G-10, NAM (observer), NSG (observer), OECD, UNRWA, WCO, WTO, ZC (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: EBRD, WADB (nonregional member) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1998 est.) | 168,050 sq km (2003 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Counsel of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura) | Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU; resolve constitutional issues among the EU institutions) - 27 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 13 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 27 justices appointed for a six-year term |
| Labor force | 2 million (2000 est.) | 222.4 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 45% | agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 27.1% services: 67.1% note: the remainder is in miscellaneous public and private sector industries and services (2002 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,920 km
border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km |
total: 12,440.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 394 km, Moldova 450 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia 945 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 446 km, Ukraine 1,257 km note: data for European Continent only |
| Land use | arable land: 5.54%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 94.25% (1998 est.) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
| Languages | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) | Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish
note: only official languages are listed; German, the major language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken mother tongue - over 19% of the EU population; English is the most widely spoken language - about 49% of the EU population is conversant with it (2007) |
| Legal system | based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice | comparable to the legal systems of member states; first supranational law system |
| Legislative branch | 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 10 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003); Chamber of Deputies - last held 10 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 25, PLRA 13, PEN 7; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 45, PLRA 26, PEN 9 |
two legislative bodies consists of the Council of the European Union (27 member-state ministers having 345 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population; note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU) and the European Parliament (785 seats, as of 1 January 2007; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population; members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term)
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28; note - seats by party as of 1 December 2007 - EPP-ED 275, PES 217, ALDE 104, UEN 44, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 24, independents 34, 4 unaccounted for |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.16 years
male: 71.67 years female: 76.77 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.7 years
male: 75.6 years female: 82 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.1% male: 93.5% female: 90.6% (1995 est.) |
- |
| Location | Central South America, northeast of Argentina | Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east |
| Map references | South America | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | NA |
| Merchant marine | total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 34,623 GRT/36,821 DWT
ships by type: cargo 14, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 2, Japan 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | - | In November 2004, the EU heads of government signed a "Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe" that offers possibilities for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, this treaty will give operational effect to the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a EU military planning unit is likely to continue. The planning unit will support the EU Rapid Reaction Force, which EU ministers have said will deploy 2 "battle groups" in January 2007. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The 5-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and assumed command of the ISAF in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR, which took over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Individual EU nations made commitments to provide 67,100 troops following the December 1999 EU summit in Helsinki. Some 56,000 troops from EU member states were actually deployed on various international operations in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. In November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating 13 1,500-man battle groups by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis. Twenty-two of the EU's 25 nations have agreed to supply troops. France, Italy, and the UK formed the first of 3 battle groups in 2005. In May 2005, Norway, Sweden and Finland agreed to establish one of the battle groups, possibly to include Estonia forces. The remaining 9 groups are to be formed in 2007. A rapid-reaction naval EU Maritime Task Group was stood up in March 2007. (2005) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Air Force | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $125 million (FY98) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY98) | - |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,427,160 (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,028,935 (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 58,359 (2002 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 14 May (1811) | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community to achieve an organized Europe |
| Nationality | noun: Paraguayan(s)
adjective: Paraguayan |
- |
| Natural hazards | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic |
| Natural resources | hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone | iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish |
| Net migration rate | -0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Authentic Radical Liberal Party or PLRA [Miguel Abdon SAGUIER]; Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Luis Miguel ANDRADA Nogues]; Febrerista Revolutionary Party or PRF [Oscar ACUNA TORRES]; National Encounter Party or PEN [Mario PAZ CASTAING]; National Republican Association - Colorado Party [Nicanor DUARTE FRUTOS] | Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Joseph DAUL]; Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty Group or ITS [Bruno GOLLNISCH]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Ahorristas Estafados or AE; National Workers Central or CNT; Paraguayan Workers Confederation or CPT; Roman Catholic Church; Unitary Workers Central or CUT | - |
| Population | 5,884,491 (July 2002 est.) | 490,426,060 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 36% (2001 est.) | see individual country listings |
| Population growth rate | 2.57% (2002 est.) | 0.16% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998) | AM 930, FM 13,655, shortwave 71 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) |
| Radios | 925,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | total: 971 km
standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 60 km 1.000-m gauge note: there are 470 km of various gauges that are privately owned |
total: 236,656 km
broad gauge: 28,240 km standard gauge: 200,532 km narrow gauge: 7,861 km other: 23 km (2006) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite, and other Protestant | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish |
| Sex ratio | 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: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75 | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: meager telephone service; principal switching center is Asuncion
domestic: fair microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
note - see individual country entries of member states |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 290,475 (2001) | 238 million (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 510,000 (2001) | 466 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (2001) | 2,700 (1995); note - sum of individual country television broadcast stations excluding repeaters; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) |
| 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 | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas |
| Total fertility rate | 4.07 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.5 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 17.8% (2001 est.) | 8.5% (2006 est.) |
| Waterways | 3,100 km | 52,332 km (2006) |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.