<text><span class="style42"></span><span class="style12">PARAGUAY</span><span class="style14"></span><span class="style42">Official name:</span><span class="style13"> La República del Paraguay (The Republic of Paraguay)</span><span class="style42">Member of: </span><span class="style13">UN, OAS, Mercosur, ALADI</span><span class="style42">Area: </span><span class="style13">406752 km2 (157048 sq mi)</span><span class="style42">Population: </span><span class="style13">4613000 (1993 est)</span><span class="style42">Capital: </span><span class="style13">Asunción 732000 (city 608000; San Lorenzo 124000; 1990 est)</span><span class="style42">Other major city: </span><span class="style13">Ciudad del Este 111000 (1990 est)</span><span class="style42">Languages: </span><span class="style13">Spanish (7% as a first language; official), Guaraní (48% as a first language); bilingual Spanish-Guaraní (40%)</span><span class="style42">Religion: </span><span class="style13">Roman Catholic (official; 96%)</span><span class="style42">GOVERNMENT</span><span class="style13">A President, an 80-member Chamber of Deputies (lower house) and a 45-member Senate (upper house) are elected by universal adult suffrage for five years. </span><span class="style42">GEOGRAPHY</span><span class="style13">The country west of the Paraguay River – the Chaco – is a flat semiarid plain. The region east of the river is a partly forested undulating plateau. </span><span class="style42">Principal rivers: </span><span class="style13">Paraguay 2550 km (1584 mi), Paraná 4880 km (3032 mi). </span><span class="style42">Climate: </span><span class="style13">The climate is subtropical with considerable variation in rainfall between the wet southeast and the dry west.</span><span class="style42">ECONOMY</span><span class="style13">Agriculture – the main economic activity – is dominated by cattle ranching, cotton and soyabeans. Cheap hydroelectric power from installations on the Paraná, including the Yacyreta-Agipe dam (the world’s largest), has stimulated industry. </span><span class="style42">Currency: </span><span class="style13">Guarani.</span><span class="style42">HISTORY</span><span class="style13">The Spanish reached the area in the 1520s. Jesuit missionaries to the Guaraní Indians dominated the country from 1609 until 1767, when they were expelled. Since independence in 1811, Paraguay has suffered many dictators, including General José Francia, who totally isolated Paraguay (1814–40). War against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay (1865–70) cost Paraguay over one half of its population and much territory. Wars with Bolivia (1929-35) further weakened Paraguay. General Alfredo Stroessner gained power in 1954, ruling with increasing disregard for human rights until his overthrow in a military coup in 1989. Free elections were held in 1992.</span></text>