Departments of Paraguay

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Updates: 

International standard ISO 3166-2 was published on December 15, 1998. It superseded ISO/DIS 3166-2 (draft international standard). For Paraguay, the draft standard showed nineteen departments and one city. The final standard shows seventeen departments and one city. The departments of Chaco and Nueva Asunción had been dropped. Change Notice 1 to FIPS PUB 10-4, dated December 1, 1998, shows the same change.

Karem Abdalla has provided me with the results of the Paraguayan census of 2002.

Country overview: 

The Gran Chaco was disputed between Paraguay and Bolivia for many years. Until 1932, it was divided along a line roughly from the split of the Pilcomayo River to Fuerte Olimpo. Then oil was discovered, and the Chaco War (1932-1935) broke out. In 1938-07, with the signing of a peace treaty, Paraguay expanded to its present limits.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Paraguay
2. Dutch: Paraguay, Republiek Paraguay (formal)
3. English: Republic of Paraguay (formal)
4. Finnish: Paraguay
5. French: Paraguay m
6. German: Paraguay n
7. Icelandic: Paragvæ
8. Italian: Paraguay m
9. Norwegian: Paraguay, Republikken Paraguay (formal)
10. Portuguese: Paraguai, República f do Paraguai m (formal)
11. Spanish: Paraguay, República f del Paraguay m (formal)
12. Swedish: Paraguay

Origin of name: 

Theory 1: Guaraní para: river + guaso: big; theory 2: Paragua (chief's name) + y: river

Primary subdivisions: 

Paraguay is divided into seventeen departamentos (departments) and one distrito capital (capital district).

Note: In the book "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries", I used the spelling Canendiyú. The Paraguayan legislature initially enacted that spelling when the department was created, but later found it to be in error and changed it to Canindeyú.

Further subdivisions:

See the Districts of Paraguay page.

The Paraguay River divides Paraguay into two provincias (provinces), named Occidente and Oriente (West and East, respectively). The provinces are further divided into the departments listed above. The only departments in Occidente are Alto Paraguay, Boquerón, Chaco, Nueva Asunción, and Presidente Hayes. The departments are subdivided into distritos or partidos, which are subdivided into compañías and municipios.

Origins of names: 

1. Alto Paraguay, Alto Paraná: Spanish alto: high, along the upper course of the Paraguay (respectively, Paraná) River in Paraguay
2. Asunción: Originally Spanish Nuestra Señora de la Asunción: Our Lady of the Assumption. Founded on 1536-08-15, Assumption Day
3. Chaco: from Guaraní chako: hunting ground
4. Misiones: = Missions, for Jesuit missions to the natives
5. Ñeembucú: local word for endless
6. Nueva Asunción: Spanish nueva: new, named after the capital Asunción
7. Presidente Hayes: named after U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes in gratitude for his favorable decision in arbitration of a border conflict

Change history: 

1. 1906: According to the Paraguay departments  page of the Paraguayan governmental Website, the first law on territorial division of the republic (1906) divided the country into two secciones (sections): Oriental and Occidental. The former was subdivided into twelve departments and a federal district, the latter into military commandancies.
2. 1935: The division of Paraguay at the end of the Chaco War was:

1. 1945-07-10: Occidental was reorganized into three departments: Presidente Hayes, Boquerón, and Olimpo. By Decree No. 9,848, Amambay department was split from San Pedro. The name of Caraguatay was changed to Cordillera. Caaguazú department was created by annexing part of San Pedro to Yhú. The name of San Ignacio was changed to Misiones, and its capital moved from San Ignacio to San Juan Bautista. Quyyndy department merged with Paraguarí. Alto Paraná department was created from parts of San Pedro and Encarnación. The resulting division consisted of the sixteen departments of Alto Paraná (capital Hernandarias), Amambay (Pedro Juan Caballero), Boquerón (Mariscal Estigarribia), Caaguazú (Coronel Oviedo), Caazapá (Caazapá), Central (Asunción), Concepción (Concepción), Cordillera (Caacupé), Guairá (Villarrica), Itapúa (Encarnación), Misiones (San Juan Bautista), Ñeembucú (Pilar), Olimpo (Fuerte Olimpo), Paraguarí (Paraguarí), Presidente Hayes (Villa Hayes), and San Pedro (San Pedro), and the capital district, Distrito Capital.
2. 1973-12-07: Law No. 426 divided the country into 19 departments, of which fourteen were in Oriental region and five in Occidental. The latter were Alto Paraguay (capital Fuerte Olimpo), Boquerón (Doctor Pedro P. Peña), Chaco (Mayor Pablo Lagerenza), Nueva Asunción (General Eugenio A. Garay), and Presidente Hayes (Villa Hayes) in the Occidental region. Occidental was released from military control. Canendiyú department was formed from parts of Alto Paraná and Caaguazú. Some other borders were changed. Capital of Alto Paraná moved from Hernandarias (alternate name Tacurupucú) to Puerto Presidente Stroessner.
3. The name of Canendiyú was later changed to Canindeyú, to correct a toponymic error.
4. ~1988: Capital of Presidente Hayes moved from Villa Hayes to Pozo Colorado.
5. 1989-08-11: Name of capital of Alto Paraná department changed from Puerto Presidente Stroessner to Ciudad del Este.
6. 1992-11-06: Law No. 71 merged Nueva Asunción department with Boquerón, and Chaco with Alto Paraguay, leaving Occidental with the same territorial divisions as in 1945. [My other sources indicate that the boundaries of the three new departments were significantly different from the former configuration.] Capital of Boquerón department moved from Doctor Pedro P. Peña to Filadelfia.
7. 1993-07-02: By law No. 201, Areguá became capital of Central department. The department was administered from Asunción before that date, although some older sources list Limpio and Ypacaraí as the capital of Central.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Asunción: Assunção (Portuguese); Distrito Capital, Distrito Federal (variant)
2. Canendiyú: Canindeyú (frequent mistake, found even in some official Paraguayan sources)
3. Cordillera: Caraguatay (obsolete); Las Cordilleras, La Cordillera (variant)
4. Guairá: Villarrica (obsolete)
5. Itapúa: Encarnación (obsolete); Itapua, Itapuá (variant)
6. Misiones: Las Misiones (variant); San Ignacio (obsolete)
7. Ñeembucú: Neembucú (variant)
8. Nueva Asunción: Nova Assunção (Portuguese)

Population history:

Notes: Data from the census of 1982-07-11 are missing from this table. The 1950 total includes 79,948 people not enumerated by department. 1972 figures, taken from the 1984 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, appear to have been recalculated for the divisions as they stood after 1973.