Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. The informal 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 GDP declined slightly in 1998 and 1999. 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. Growth rebounded slightly in 2000.
Industry:
sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products
Ethnicgroups:
mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%
Yellow fever:
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers leaving Paraguay to go to endemic areas and from travellers coming from endemic areas.
Malaria:
Malaria risk—exclusively due to P. vivax—is moderate in certain municipalities of the departments of Alto Paraná, Caaguazú and Canendiyú. In the other 14 departments there is no or negligible transmission risk.
