The Latin American state of Paraguay was once one of the most prosperous countries in the region. Unfortunately, the war with Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil destroyed its prosperity and threw Paraguay back several hundred years, and the country has not yet got out of this crisis.
Facts about Paraguay
- The motto of the state is “Peace and Justice”.
- Translated from the language of South American Indians, the word “Paraguay” means “from the great river.”
- Paraguay is located in the very center of the continent, therefore it is often called the “heart of America”.
- The war of Paraguay with Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in the second half of the 19th century turned into a real disaster for the state – the country lost half of its territories, and its male population has decreased by 9 times (Facts about Brazil).
- About 60% of Paraguayan land is located in the deserted edge of the Gran Chaco – this is a former tropical forest that is disappearing faster than any other wet forests on the planet due to uncontrolled logging and turning into a semi-desert.
- Paraguay ranks sixth in the world in terms of soybean production.
- A casino should soon appear here, which will be the first such institution in Latin America. According to the terms of the contract, 20% of gambling revenues will go to the state budget. (Facts about Latin America).
- After the Second World War, Paraguay became a popular haven for fugitive German army officers.
- Paraguay is the only South American country where the majority of the inhabitants speak their own language, not the colonial one.
- Paraguayan teenagers do not suffer from acne, which affects almost 90% of their European peers.
- In the early 2000s, a fire in a Paraguayan supermarket killed 400 people and seriously burned another 500 customers due to the greed of the store owners – they locked all the doors, because they did not want people to run away with unpaid goods.
- Paraguay has its own fleet, although the country is deprived of access to the oceans.
- Paraguayans are ahead of the inhabitants of all other states of the planet in terms of the amount of tea they drink – 12.22 kg per person per year.
- It operates the second largest hydroelectric power station on Earth, but the distribution infrastructure is so poorly developed that power failures and power outages occur regularly in different parts of the country.
- Dueling is legal in Paraguay if both opponents are registered blood donors.
- Until the early 1990s, divorce was prohibited in Paraguay.
- 90% of the wealth of this state is in the hands of just over 160 people.
- The flag of Paraguay has one unique feature – the images on its front and back sides are different. In the first case, the coat of arms of the state is placed on the banner, in the second – the seal of the treasury. The flag of Moldova is distinguished by a similar feature (facts about flags).
- Paraguay was the first country in South America where the railway appeared.
- Paraguayans do without doorbells – for the hosts to open, the guest simply claps his hands.
- One of the Paraguayan national heroes is the Don Cossack Ivan Belyaev, who took an active part in the war between Paraguay and Bolivia.