Following independence from Spain in 1811, Paraguay was ruled by a series of dictators who generally implemented isolationist and protectionist policies.įollowing the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–1870), the country lost 60 to 70 percent of its population through war and disease, and about 140,000 square kilometers (54,054 sq mi), one quarter of its territory, to Argentina and Brazil. Paraguay was a peripheral colony of the Spanish Empire, with few urban centers and settlers. Spanish settlers and Jesuit missions introduced Christianity and Spanish culture to the region. The indigenous Guaraní had been living in Paraguay for at least a millennium before the Spanish conquered the territory in the 16th century. Paraguay is the smallest landlocked country in the Americas. Paraguay is one of the two landlocked countries (the other is Bolivia) that lie outside Afro-Eurasia. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de Sudamérica ('Heart of South America').
Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south.
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in central South America, bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest.
