les); 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)

Economy Paraguay

Economy - overview:
Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal
sector. This 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 averaged near-zero growth in 1998-2001 and
contracted by 2.3 percent in 2002, in response to regional contagion
and an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth desease. 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. Aided by a
firmer exchange rate and perhaps a greater confidence in the
economic policy of the Duarte FRUTOS administration, the economy
rebounded in 2003 and 2004, posting modest growth each year.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$29.93 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 25.3%
industry: 24.9%
services: 49.8% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
2.66 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 45%

Unemployment rate:
15.1% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
36% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.8% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
57.7 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.1% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.1% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.123 billion
expenditures: $1.129 billion, including capital expenditures of $700
million (2004 est.)

Public debt:
39.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, sugarcane, soybean