Paraguayans are the citizens and nationals of Paraguay. Though the majority of Paraguayans reside in Paraguay, significant communities have been established in multiple countries, most noticeably Argentina, Spain, United States, Brazil.
History The first inhabitants of Paraguay were the Guarani people.
Racial and ethnic groups As in other Latin American countries, in Paraguay, from the onset of Spanish colonization and settlement, miscegenation or mestizaje was the norm rather than the exception. Paraguay has one of the most homogeneous populations in South America. About 75% of the people are mestizo (mixed Spanish and Guaraní Native American descent), 20% are Whites, and the rest are small minorities of Indigenous or Afro Paraguayan origin.
European or white
Indigenous
While only a 1.7% of Paraguay's population is fully indigenous according to the 2012 national census, 75% of the population identifies as being partially of indigenous descent;"Paraguay: Ethnic Groups." CIA: The World Factbook. (retrieved 12 July 2011) however, the majority do not identify as being indigenous but as Mestizos.
Languages Paraguay is predominantly a bilingual country, as the majority of the population uses Spanish and Guaraní. The Constitution of Paraguay of 1992 established Spanish and Guaraní as official languages. (see translator's note) Spanish, an Indo-European language of the Romance branch, is understood by about 90% of the population as a first or second language. Guaraní, an indigenous language of the Tupian family, is understood by 77%, and its use is regulated by the Academy of the Guaraní Language.
According to Instituto Cervantes' 2020 report "El Español: Una lengua viva", 68.2% of the Paraguayan population (4,946,322 inhabitants) has decent mastery of the Spanish language. The remaining 31.8% (2,306,350 inhabitants) belongs to the Group of Limited Competence, having minimal mastery of the language; the majority of them are Guaraní speakers and speak Spanish as a second language. Only 7.93% are monolingual in Guaraní.
Population #DepartmentPopulation (2022 census)1 Central1 866 5622 Alto Paraná784 8393 Asunción477 3464 Itapúa436 9665 Caaguazú430 1426 San Pedro341 8957 Cordillera271 4758 Concepción204 5369 Paraguarí199 43010 Canindeyú189 12811 Guairá180 12112 Amambay173 77013 Caazapá140 06014 Presidente Hayes126 88015 Misiones114 54216 Ñeembucú85 74917 Boquerón68 59518 Alto Paraguay17 608 Total 6 109 644
Sex
Men: 3 078 994: 50,3% Women: 3 030 650: 49,7%
Classification
See also
List of Paraguayans Criollo people Paraguayan Americans Paraguayans in Spain
References