Paraguay: cost of living

What is the poverty rate in Paraguay?

16.0% of people in Paraguay lived in monetary poverty in 2025, down from 19.6% in 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). 2.4% lived in extreme poverty. Poverty was 13.6% in urban areas and 22.1% in rural areas.

The INE counts a person as poor when household income per head is below the cost of a basic basket of food and other goods and services. The survey excludes the Boquerón and Alto Paraguay departments, indigenous communities and collective dwellings. The INE also publishes a multidimensional poverty index, which measures deprivations rather than income.

Official sources: INE: poverty incidence by area, EPHC 2024-2025 · INE: Poverty publications

What is the poverty line in Paraguay?

The total poverty line in urban Paraguay was ₲933,108 per person per month in 2025, and ₲681,839 in rural areas, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The extreme poverty line, the cost of a basic food basket, was ₲412,618 in urban and ₲376,816 in rural areas.

A household of four in a town is poor if its total income is below four times the line, about ₲3.73 million a month. The lines are updated each year using the Central Bank's consumer price index; the urban line rose 4.0% from 2024.

Official sources: INE: monthly values of the poverty lines, 2022-2025

Are prices rising in Paraguay?

Prices in Paraguay rose 1.5% in the year to August 2026, the lowest point of the Central Bank's target range, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance SITUFIN report. Since December 2025 prices have risen 1.8%.

Inflation is measured by the Central Bank of Paraguay's consumer price index, which tracks a fixed basket of household purchases. The minimum wage rose 5% in July 2026, faster than prices. The same report notes that the guaraní kept appreciating against the US dollar through August.

Official sources: MEF: SITUFIN report, August 2026 · MTESS: 2026 minimum wage

What is the inflation rate in Paraguay?

The latest figure from the IMF, for 2025, is 4.0%. Since 2005 it has ranged from 1.8% (2020) to 10.2% (2008). Across Latin America & Caribbean the middle value was 2.1%, and Paraguay placed 9th highest of 29. Of 165 countries with 2025 data, 49th highest.

How much do households in Paraguay spend per person?

The World Bank puts household consumption per person in Paraguay at $4,563 in 2025. That is the highest since at least 2005. Latin America & Caribbean median: $4,566; Paraguay is 9th highest of 15. Of 124 countries with 2025 data, 59th highest.

What is the extreme poverty rate in Paraguay?

According to the World Bank, the share of people living on less than $3.00 a day in Paraguay was 2.1% in 2024. Its high point since 2005 was 2006, at 14.1%; its low point was 2021, at 1.9%. It is 7th highest of 14 in Latin America & Caribbean, where the median is 2.1%.

What share of Paraguay lives below the poverty line?

The World Bank puts the share of people below the national poverty line in Paraguay at 16.0% in 2025. Across Latin America & Caribbean the middle value was 23.5%, and Paraguay placed 8th highest of 8.

What is income inequality in Paraguay?

The World Bank puts the Gini index in Paraguay at 44.2 in 2024. The peak was 53.0 in 2006 and the low 42.9 in 2021. Across Latin America & Caribbean the middle value was 43.6, and Paraguay placed 7th highest of 14.

How many people in Paraguay face food insecurity?

According to the FAO, moderate or severe food insecurity in Paraguay was 25.8% in 2024. Since 2015 it has ranged from 8.3% (2015) to 26.2% (2022). Across Latin America & Caribbean the middle value was 28.0%, and Paraguay placed 13th highest of 21. World rank, highest first: 62nd of 135.