Population 7.4M. GDP per capita $6,420 on the 2025 IMF reading. Currency PYG. The country anchor for the 2026 mover, scored and ranked against the global cluster.
AsuncionCapital of Paraguay
No. 01 , The Quick Take
The country, in numbers.
Population7.4M
GDP/capita$6,420
CurrencyPYG
Top tax band10 percent
Population 7.4 million across 17 departments and the Capital District, with 2.7 million of that headcount in the central Asuncion metropolitan area on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River. GDP per capita 6,420 dollars on the 2025 IMF reading, the federal South American lower tier ahead of Bolivia at 3,700 and behind Ecuador at 6,720. The Paraguayan guarani runs the structural managed float at 7,240 to 7,480 PYG per USD across the 2025 trading band; the federal Banco Central del Paraguay intervention floor held the structural guarani band on the 3.4 percent annual depreciation tier across the trailing 60 month window (the central South American second most stable currency reading after the Peruvian sol).
The Paraguayan cost basket runs from the central Asuncion Capital District tier at 1,140 dollars a month for a single resident in a Villa Morra or Las Lomas one bedroom to the Ciudad del Este Alto Parana tier at 920 dollars on the structural Brazilian border free trade zone corridor to the Encarnacion Itapua tier at 820 dollars on the central Parana River corridor at the Argentine border to the San Lorenzo Central tier at 780 dollars on the federal Asuncion metro suburb to the Pedro Juan Caballero Amambay tier at 740 dollars on the central Brazilian border corridor (the federal cheapest urban tier).
For the parallel filters: the cheapest cities ranking places Asuncion at the structural global top 30 anchor on the federal Numbeo May 2026 reading; the cities with low income tax ranking places Asuncion at the structural global top 20 anchor on the 10 percent flat income tax federal corridor; the cities for digital nomads ranking places Asuncion at the structural global top 130 corridor on the federal stable currency and territorial tax favorability. For the affiliate stack: Wise handles the inbound USD to PYG transfer at within 0.8 percent of the mid market rate; SafetyWing covers the structural medical supplemental tier; Booking.com handles the inbound short term housing on the Asuncion central tier at within 6 percent of the long term lease rate.
No. 02 , The Top 5 Cities
The five cities to consider.
01
Capital District , index 6.8
Asuncion, Capital District, 524,000
Asuncion takes the Paraguayan number 1 city of 2026 at a 6.8 everycity index on the combined cost basket at 1,140 dollars a month at the central Villa Morra, Las Lomas, Mariscal Lopez, and Carmelitas tier (structurally above the La Paz 780 dollar equivalent and structurally below the Buenos Aires 1,180 dollar at the official rate equivalent), the structural federal capital and the central 1537 founding date as the Mother of Cities anchor (the federal oldest continuously inhabited European foundation in the Rio de la Plata basin), and the structural Silvio Pettirossi International Airport at 12 nonstop destinations. Asuncion runs the central Palacio de los Lopez presidential palace at the federal Paraguay River waterfront anchor.
02
Alto Parana , index 6.4
Ciudad del Este, Alto Parana, 312,000
Ciudad del Este takes the Paraguayan number 2 city of 2026 at a 6.4 everycity index on the combined cost basket at 920 dollars a month at the central Microcentro and Area 6 tier, the structural Alto Parana provincial capital and the federal commercial duty free anchor at the central 1957 founding date as Puerto Presidente Stroessner, and the structural Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Dam anchor at the central 14,000 MW installed capacity (the federal second largest hydroelectric facility globally behind Three Gorges China and the structural Paraguay 100 percent renewable electricity anchor). Ciudad del Este runs the central Friendship Bridge to Foz do Iguacu Brazil corridor at the federal 60 million annual crossing reading.
03
Itapua , index 6.6
Encarnacion, Itapua, 132,000
Encarnacion takes the Paraguayan number 3 city of 2026 at a 6.6 everycity index on the combined cost basket at 820 dollars a month at the central Microcentro and Costanera tier, the structural Itapua provincial capital and the federal Pearl of the South anchor on the central Parana River corridor at the Argentine border (Posadas Misiones across the international bridge), and the structural Encarnacion San Jose International Airport at 1 nonstop domestic destination. Encarnacion runs the federal Carnival February anchor at the central Sambodromo corridor as the federal largest Paraguayan Carnival reading and the central San Cosme y Damian Jesuit Mission UNESCO 1993 inscription at the 30 mile drive corridor.
04
Central , index 6.4
San Lorenzo, Central, 296,000
San Lorenzo takes the Paraguayan number 4 city of 2026 at a 6.4 everycity index on the combined cost basket at 780 dollars a month at the central Microcentro tier, the structural Central department anchor and the federal Asuncion metropolitan suburb at the 6 mile from Asuncion downtown corridor on the central Mariscal Estigarribia avenue corridor, and the structural Universidad Nacional de Asuncion main campus at the federal Paraguayan flagship university anchor. San Lorenzo runs the central Mercado Central de San Lorenzo at the federal Paraguayan largest open air market reading with the structural 2,400 stall corridor.
05
Amambay , index 5.8
Pedro Juan Caballero, Amambay, 134,000
Pedro Juan Caballero takes the Paraguayan number 5 city of 2026 at a 5.8 everycity index on the combined cost basket at 740 dollars a month on the central Amambay department corridor (the federal cheapest provincial capital tier), the structural Amambay department capital and the central Brazilian border anchor at the Ponta Pora Mato Grosso do Sul shared international street (the federal twin city geography at the federal dry border with no fence anchor), and the structural Augusto Roberto Fuster International Airport at 1 nonstop domestic destination. Pedro Juan Caballero runs the central Brazilian Portuguese bilingual corridor at the federal 64 percent of resident bilingual reading.
No. 03 , Visa Overview
The visa stack.
The Paraguayan visa stack runs against the federal 90 day visa exempt tourist visa for the structural United States, United Kingdom, Canadian, and EU inbound at zero visa friction (the federal Permiso de Permanencia Temporal at the central airport entry tier), extendable to 180 days a calendar year at the central federal Direccion General de Migraciones office in Asuncion. For the relocator on the longer than 180 day horizon, Paraguay carries the federal Residencia Permanente Sistema Permiso de Residencia Permanente PRP at the central simplified pathway anchor (the federal Paraguay Permanent Residence at the qualifying 5,400 dollar fixed term deposit in a Paraguayan bank or the qualifying real estate, business, or income evidence on the central 5,400 dollar threshold reading). The structural application timeline runs 90 to 180 days at the central Asuncion Migraciones office with the federal in person interview and the central 32 document apostille requirement.
The Mercosur Residence runs the central reciprocity treaty pathway for the qualifying citizen of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, or Venezuela at the central 24 month temporary residence convertible to permanent at the structural lower documentation tier. The Investor Residence runs the qualifying 64,000 dollar Paraguayan business investment with the central productive activity threshold and the federal Investment Law incentive corridor. The Pensionado Residence runs the qualifying lifetime pension income at the structural foreign pension exempt from Paraguayan income tax federal favorability tier (the central pensionado anchor at the no minimum stipulated threshold reading). The Family Reunification residence runs the central spouse, child, parent, or Paraguayan citizen sponsor pathway.
Paraguayan naturalization runs the 3 year continuous residence pathway with the structural Spanish language and Paraguayan civics examination, the central good character certification at the federal Policia Nacional clearance, and the federal Paraguayan dual citizenship recognized at the federal level for the spouse of a Paraguayan citizen and the structural restricted dual at the federal level for the standard naturalized citizen (the central Paraguayan constitution requires the renunciation of prior citizenship for the standard pathway). The full 2026 visa guide walks the Paraguayan Permanent Residence application stack. The structural recommended path for the dollar earning relocator on a 32,000 dollar a year proven income is the Residencia Permanente at the 5,400 dollar Paraguayan bank deposit filing tier with the central 90 day processing standard.
No. 04 , Cost Overview
The cost basket across the country.
The Paraguayan cost basket runs from the central Asuncion tier at 1,140 dollars a month at the central one bedroom rental corridor to the Ciudad del Este tier at 920 dollars to the Encarnacion tier at 820 dollars to the San Lorenzo tier at 780 dollars to the Pedro Juan Caballero tier at 740 dollars (the federal cheapest provincial capital tier). The structural rent line in Villa Morra Asuncion runs 580 dollars a month at the entry tier for a one bedroom and 880 dollars for a two bedroom; the equivalent Ciudad del Este Microcentro runs 420 dollars and 640 dollars; the Encarnacion Costanera one bedroom runs 360 dollars on the central long term lease corridor.
The grocery line in Paraguay runs at the central 34 percent below the Miami baseline on the structural federal local production anchor across beef, soybean, corn, manioc, and dairy (the federal cattle herd at 14.2 million on the 2025 reading at the structural global top 18 per capita beef consumption tier). The structural imported European cheese, wine, and processed goods run at 24 percent above the Miami baseline on the federal Paraguay import duty corridor plus the 10 percent IVA. Restaurant pricing runs 8 to 14 dollars for the mid range dinner at the central Asuncion tier and 5 to 9 dollars at the Encarnacion tier; the menu del dia local tier runs 3 to 5 dollars at the central comedor tier across the federal urban corridor.
For the parallel filters: the cheapest cities ranking places Asuncion at the structural global top 30 anchor; the cities with low income tax ranking places Asuncion at the structural global top 20 anchor on the 10 percent flat income tax federal corridor; the cities for retirees ranking places Asuncion at the structural global top 110 corridor. For the affiliate stack: Wise handles the inbound USD to PYG transfer at within 0.8 percent of the mid market rate; Booking.com handles the inbound short term housing on the Asuncion Villa Morra and Las Lomas rental tier at within 6 percent of the long term lease rate.
The Paraguayan tax regime runs the central simplest tax stack in South America. The federal personal income tax runs at the 10 percent flat rate on Paraguayan source income above 80,000,000 PYG (10,750 USD) annual; the federal corporation tax runs at the 10 percent rate; the federal value added tax IVA runs at the 10 percent headline rate with the 5 percent reduced rate on basic foodstuffs and medicines (the central South American simplest tax stack at the triple 10 percent corridor). The federal tax system runs the territorial tax basis at the central level (Paraguay only taxes income sourced within Paraguay; foreign sourced income exempt from Paraguayan income tax at the federal level), the structural Latin American cleanest territorial tax favorability for the inbound entrepreneur and the foreign pension recipient. The full low income tax cities guide walks the Paraguayan favorability against the global low tax cluster.
No. 05 , Climate
The climate across the country.
The Paraguayan climate runs the humid subtropical Koppen Cfa envelope on the eastern Region Oriental and the semi arid hot summer Koppen BSh envelope on the western Region Occidental Chaco. The structural year round 78F to 92F daytime summer corridor (November to March) and the central June to August winter at the 56F to 72F daytime corridor carry the federal climate. The Asuncion January 92F daytime high runs the structural summer peak at the federal 78 percent humidity ceiling; the Asuncion July 72F daytime high runs the federal winter floor at the 60F July night corridor.
The Paraguayan rainfall runs the central 56 inch a year Asuncion anchor at the structural eastern moist corridor, the 48 inch Encarnacion at the central Parana River corridor, and the 18 to 24 inch western Chaco at the federal driest zone (the structural Filadelfia Mennonite colony corridor at the 22 inch a year reading). The Paraguayan summer extreme runs the structural January 100F plus heat dome reading at the central 4 to 6 day peak window with the federal humidity index pushing the heat reading to 110F. The Paraguayan winter cold snap runs the central Antarctic surazo cold air mass at the federal 2 to 4 day window with the structural Asuncion July 40F overnight low on the worst window.
The Paraguayan biodiversity reading runs the federal Pantanal World Heritage corridor at the central Brazilian border anchor, the structural Iguazu Falls UNESCO World Heritage Site at the central Triple Frontier Ciudad del Este corridor (Argentina Brazil Paraguay anchor), the federal Mennonite Filadelfia Chaco colony at the central 18,000 resident anchor as the federal largest Mennonite community outside the Americas, and the central Jesuit Missions UNESCO inscription at the federal Trinidad and Jesus de Tavarangue archeological corridor. The federal Paraguay River corridor runs the central 1,629 mile length anchor as the federal longest river entirely within Paraguay and Argentina with the structural Asuncion to Pilcomayo confluence corridor at the federal inland port anchor. The Paraguayan endemic bird species count runs at 720 species at the central federal Itaipu Reservoir and the federal Mbaracayu Forest Reserve corridor.
No. 06 , Daily Life and Lifestyle
The daily life across the country.
The Paraguayan daily life runs the federal bilingual Spanish and Guarani at the constitutional anchor (the central Latin American only country with an indigenous language as a co official language with Spanish at the federal level; the structural Guarani fluency reading at 92 percent of resident population on the 2024 INE census). The federal Jopara mixed Spanish Guarani at the structural daily speech tier carries the central market and street register. The Paraguayan English fluency at the EF English Proficiency Index 2025 reading runs at 84 of 116 globally (the federal low proficiency band; the structural Asuncion Villa Morra expat tier as the central English bilingual exception). The Paraguayan workday runs the 7:30 am to 5 pm tier across the central Asuncion financial corridor with the structural Paraguayan siesta lunch break at the 12 pm to 2 pm anchor and the central Saturday half day on the 8 am to 12 pm anchor across the retail tier.
Paraguayan food and drink runs the structural sopa paraguaya corn and cheese cake as the federal national dish anchor (the central solid soup paradox; the federal Paraguay only sopa that is not a soup), the federal chipa cassava bread roll at the central street corridor, the central asado beef and chorizo grill at the federal weekend table tier (the structural Paraguay beef consumption at 88 lbs per capita on the 2025 reading), and the federal terere chilled mate yerba infusion at the central 360 day a year drinking tradition (the federal Paraguay only country where mate is drunk cold as the cultural standard). The Brahma and Pilsen beer at the central 1.50 dollar restaurant tier run the federal national beer anchor; the structural Caña sugarcane spirit at the central 4 dollar restaurant bottle tier carries the federal national spirit corridor. The Paraguayan restaurant menu del dia equivalent runs at 3 to 5 dollars at the central comedor local tier.
The Paraguayan transport regime runs the central Asuncion city bus at the 4,000 PYG (0.55 dollar) flat fare across the federal 90 route network with the structural informal minibus corridor at the federal Mercosur regional corridor. The intercity bus runs the central Crucero del Este, Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion, and Rysa service envelope at the federal Asuncion to Ciudad del Este 5 hour 30 minute corridor at the 12 dollar fare and the central Asuncion to Encarnacion 5 hour corridor at the 10 dollar fare. The structural taxi from Silvio Pettirossi International to central Asuncion runs at 18 dollars on the federal regulated tariff; the structural Bolt and Uber rideshare runs the central Asuncion corridor. The structural fuel cost runs at 0.94 dollars a liter at the May 2026 reading; the structural Asuncion central tier monthly transit pass runs at 22 dollars at the central bus pass tier. For the inbound on the structural relocator horizon, the Asuncion profile walks the daily life at the federal capital tier.
No. 07 , Healthcare and Schools
The healthcare and the schools.
Paraguayan healthcare runs the dual federal Instituto de Prevision Social IPS public system and the central private sector cluster. The qualifying Paraguayan resident receives the federal IPS contributory regime access at the 9 percent of declared income contribution tier (9 percent employee, 14 percent employer) with the structural foreign resident on the Permanent Residence at the central optional inclusion tier. The federal Paraguayan public healthcare ranks at the central WHO 2024 reading at the 124 of 195 global tier (the structural South American lower tier; the federal life expectancy 74.6 year reading). The inbound on the qualifying private supplemental tier runs at 1,200 to 2,400 dollars a year per adult at the comprehensive AVS Mas, Trebol Salud, Asismed, and Cigna Global network (the central Hospital Bautista, Hospital Migone Battilana, and Sanatorio Migone Battilana private cluster).
The Paraguayan international school tier runs at 14 schools across the federal territory at the May 2026 reading. The Asuncion cluster runs at 12 schools at the central American School of Asuncion (the federal premier American curriculum at the 12,400 dollar a year tier), Colegio del Sol, Colegio Internacional, Colegio Goethe Aleman Asuncion, and the Lycee Marechal Lopez. The Ciudad del Este cluster runs at 2 schools at the central American School of Ciudad del Este. Annual fee runs at 2,800 dollars at the entry tier, 6,400 dollars at the central mid tier, and 12,400 dollars at the structural American School of Asuncion premium tier.
The Paraguayan university tier runs at 8 public and 46 private universities at the federal level. The Universidad Nacional de Asuncion UNA at the central 1889 founding date San Lorenzo campus at the federal Paraguayan flagship anchor, the Universidad Catolica Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion UC, the Universidad Americana, the Universidad del Cono Sur de las Americas UCSA, and the Universidad Comunera UCOM cluster sits at the global top 1,500 QS World University Rankings 2025 reading for the UNA. The structural 200 to 800 dollar a year tuition at the federal public university level on the central federal Paraguayan citizen anchor and the 1,800 to 4,800 dollar a year at the private cluster runs the federal corridor.
The Paraguayan lifestyle infrastructure runs the central Asuncion Villa Morra district anchor at the structural cafe and rooftop tier, the central Costanera de Asuncion 8 mile riverfront promenade at the federal recreation corridor, and the central Encarnacion Sambodromo at the federal Carnival February anchor. The cultural anchor runs the Trinidad and Jesus de Tavarangue Jesuit Mission UNESCO 1993 inscription at the central Itapua department corridor, the federal arpa paraguaya harp music tradition at the central Aguije and Pajaro Campana anthem tier, the central Paraguayan polka dance tradition, and the federal nanduti spider web lace at the central Itaugua workshop corridor as the federal national craft. The Paraguayan Independence Day runs the central May 14 1811 separation from Spain anchor; the federal Battle of Boqueron Day September 29 anchor at the structural Chaco War 1932 commemoration tier; the Christmas tradition runs the central December 24 Nochebuena and December 25 anchor at the federal level with the structural pavo turkey table at the central family tier.
No. 08 , Related Reading
Where to go next.
City profiles
Paraguay cities.
Asuncion ; Ciudad del Este ; Encarnacion ; San Lorenzo ; Buenos Aires for the parallel Rio de la Plata read ; La Paz for the parallel Andean read.
Sources, May 2026. Numbeo cost of living index May 2026 ; Mercer Cost of Living Survey 2026 ; OECD Better Life Index 2025 ; World Bank Open Data 2025 ; IMF World Economic Outlook April 2025 ; Direccion General de Estadistica Encuestas y Censos DGEEC 2024 ; Banco Central del Paraguay 2026 ; Direccion General de Migraciones 2026 ; Subsecretaria de Estado de Tributacion SET 2026 ; Instituto de Prevision Social IPS 2024 ; Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencias 2026. First published May 20, 2026. Last updated May 20, 2026.