Paraguay vs. Brazil
Geography
| Paraguay | Brazil | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central South America, northeast of Argentina, southwest of Brazil | Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean |
| Geographic coordinates | 23 00 S, 58 00 W | 10 00 S, 55 00 W |
| Map references | South America | South America |
| Area | total: 406,752 sq km land: 397,302 sq km water: 9,450 sq km | total: 8,515,770 sq km land: 8,358,140 sq km water: 157,630 sq km note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo |
| Area - comparative | about three times the size of New York state; slightly smaller than California | slightly smaller than the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,655 km border countries (3): Argentina 2531 km, Bolivia 753 km, Brazil 1371 km | total: 16,145 km border countries (10): Argentina 1263 km, Bolivia 3403 km, Colombia 1790 km, French Guiana 649 km, Guyana 1308 km, Paraguay 1371 km, Peru 2659 km, Suriname 515 km, Uruguay 1050 km, Venezuela 2137 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 7,491 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west | mostly tropical, but temperate in south |
| 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 | mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Cerro Pero 842 m lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m mean elevation: 178 m | highest point: Pico da Neblina 2,994 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 320 m |
| Natural resources | hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone | alumina, bauxite, beryllium, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, niobium, phosphates, platinum, tantalum, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber |
| 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.) | agricultural land: 32.9% (2018 est.) arable land: 8.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 23.5% (2018 est.) forest: 61.9% (2018 est.) other: 5.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 1,362 sq km (2012) | 54,000 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; water pollution; rivers suffer from toxic dumping; tanneries release mercury and chromium into rivers and streams; loss of wetlands; inadequate means for waste disposal pose health risks for many urban residents | deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; illegal wildlife trade; illegal poaching; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 2006 | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Protocol |
| 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 | note 1: largest country in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador; most of the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, extends through the west central part of the country; shares Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Argentina note 2: cassava (manioc) the sixth most important food crop in the world - after maize, rice, wheat, potatoes, and soybeans - seems to have originated in the west-central part of Brazil; pineapples are probably indigenous to the southern Brazil-Paraguay region |
| Total renewable water resources | 387.77 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 8.647 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | most of the population resides in the eastern half of the country; to the west lies the Gran Chaco (a semi-arid lowland plain), which accounts for 60% of the land territory, but only 2% of the overall population | the vast majority of people live along, or relatively near, the Atlantic coast in the east; the population core is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of Sao Paolo, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro |
Source: CIA Factbook
