Paraguay

Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America, sharing borders with Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina. The population of about 7 million is primarily Roman Catholic (89.6 percent), with 6.2 percent Protestant. The 2009 per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $4,100 is among the lowest in South America, while income distribution is highly unequal (Gini index of 56.8 in 2008, ninth highest in the world) and 32 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

The World Economic Forum ranks Paraguay near the median in terms of gender equality. On the Gender Gap Index, where 0 signifies inequality and 1 perfect equality, overall Paraguay's score in 2009 was 0.687, ranking 66th out of 134 countries. On health and survival, Paraguay scored 0.980 (highest in the ...