Paraguay

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Paraguay fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇧🇷 Portuguese Empire1628 to 1641

   Slave raiders from Sao Paulo, the bandeirantes, destroy the Jesuit missions of Guaira from 1628 and carry off thousands of Guarani. The missions flee south, arm their people and defeat the raiders at Mborore in 1641.

2. 🇦🇷 United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata1811 to 1852

   Buenos Aires sends Manuel Belgrano to bring Paraguay into its union, but Paraguayan militias beat him at Paraguari and Tacuari in 1811. Paraguay goes its own way, and Argentina recognises its independence only in 1852.

3. 🇧🇷 Empire of Brazil1864 to 1876

   When Brazil intervenes in Uruguay in 1864, Francisco Solano Lopez attacks Mato Grosso. The war ends with Lopez killed at Cerro Cora in 1870. Brazil occupies Asuncion until 1876 and keeps the lands it claimed north of the Apa River.

4. 🇺🇾 Oriental Republic of Uruguay1865 to 1870

   Uruguay's new Colorado government, installed with Brazilian help, joins the Triple Alliance against Paraguay in 1865 and sends troops until the war ends in 1870.

5. 🇦🇷 Argentine Confederation1865 to 1878

   Lopez's troops cross Argentine Corrientes in 1865, bringing Argentina into the war. Afterwards Argentina keeps Misiones and the Chaco south of the Pilcomayo, and the 1878 Hayes arbitration gives Paraguay the land north of it.

6. 🇧🇴 Bolivia1928 to 1938

   Bolivia and Paraguay both claim the Chaco Boreal. Clashes from 1928 lead to the Chaco War of 1932 to 1935, won by Paraguay. The 1938 peace treaty gives it most of the disputed land.

Today

Paraguay now

Several Indigenous groups, principally belonging to the Guarani language family, inhabited the area of modern Paraguay before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century, when the territory was incorporated into the Viceroyalty of Peru. Paraguay achieved its independence from Spain in 1811 with the help of neighboring states. In the aftermath of independence, a series of military dictators ruled the country until 1870.

Capital

Asunción

Government

presidential republic

Head of government

Santiago Peña Palacios

Languages

Guarani, Spanish

Area

406,752 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population6.8 million2023 · 1.5 million in 1950
• Life expectancy73.8 years2023 · 58.1 years in 1950
• GDP per person$8,7622022 · $2,391 in 1950
• Living in cities70%2025 · 35% in 1950
• Literacy95%2024 · 68% in 1950
• Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesRio Pact2024 · Rio Pact in 1950
• Military spending0.9% of GDP2025
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.