| Location | Central South America, northeast of Argentina, southwest of Brazil |
| Geographic coordinates | 23 00 S, 58 00 W |
| Map references | South America |
| Area | total: 406,752 sq km land: 397,302 sq km water: 9,450 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about three times the size of New York state; slightly smaller than California |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,655 km border countries (3): Argentina 2531 km, Bolivia 753 km, Brazil 1371 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west |
| 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 |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Cerro Pero 842 m lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m mean elevation: 178 m |
| Natural resources | hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone |
| Land use | agricultural land: 53.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 10.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 42.8% (2018 est.) forest: 43.8% (2018 est.) other: 2.4% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 1,362 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 387.77 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) |
| Geography - note | note 1: landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in eastern and southern part of country note 2: pineapples are probably indigenous to the southern Brazil-Paraguay region |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
