| Group: | Paraguayans |
| Flag Caption: | Flag of Paraguay |
| Popplace: |  6,109,644 (2022 census)[1] |
| Region2: |  |
| Pop2: | 690,948[2] |
| Region3: |  |
| Pop3: | 64,547 |
| Region4: |  |
| Pop4: | 52,770 |
| Region5: |  |
| Pop5: | 34,307 |
| Region6: |  |
| Pop6: | 8,000[3] |
| Region7: |  |
| Pop7: | 2,215[4] |
| Langs: | Paraguayan Spanish, Guarani, other indigenous languages, Portuguese German[5] |
| Rels: | Predominantly Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, indigenous religions[6] |
Paraguayans (es|paraguayos) are the citizens of Paraguay.
Though the majority of Paraguayans reside in Paraguay, significant communities have been established in multiple countries, most noticeably Argentina, Spain, United States, Brazil.
The first inhabitants of Paraguay were the Guarani people.[7]
As in other Latin American countries, in Paraguay, from the onset of Spanish colonization and settlement, miscegenation or mestizaje was the norm rather than the exception. Paraguay has one of the most homogeneous populations in South America. About 75% of the people are mestizo (mixed Spanish and Guaraní Native American descent), 20% are Whites, and the rest are small minorities of Indigenous or Afro Paraguayan origin.[8]
See main article: White Paraguayans.
See main article: Indigenous peoples in Paraguay. While only a 1.7% of Paraguay's population is fully indigenous according to the 2012 national census, 75% of the population identifies as being partially of indigenous descent;[9] however, the majority do not identify as being indigenous but as Mestizos.
Paraguay is predominantly a bilingual country, as the majority of the population uses Spanish and Guaraní. The Constitution of Paraguay of 1992 established Spanish and Guaraní as official languages.[10] Spanish, an Indo-European language of the Romance branch, is understood by about 90% of the population as a first or second language. Guaraní, an indigenous language of the Tupian family, is understood by 77%, and its use is regulated by the Academy of the Guaraní Language.[11] [12]
According to Instituto Cervantes' 2020 report "El Español: Una lengua viva", 68.2% of the Paraguayan population (4,946,322 inhabitants) has decent mastery of the Spanish language. The remaining 31.8% (2,306,350 inhabitants) belongs to the Group of Limited Competence, having minimal mastery of the language; the majority of them are Guaraní speakers and speak Spanish as a second language. Only 7.93% are monolingual in Guaraní.
| Department | data-sort-type="number" align="center" | Population (2022 census)[13] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central | 1 866 562 | |
| 2 | Alto Paraná | 784 839 | |
| 3 | Asunción | 477 346 | |
| 4 | Itapúa | 436 966 | |
| 5 | Caaguazú | 430 142 | |
| 6 | San Pedro | 341 895 | |
| 7 | Cordillera | 271 475 | |
| 8 | Concepción | 204 536 | |
| 9 | Paraguarí | 199 430 | |
| 10 | Canindeyú | 189 128 | |
| 11 | Guairá | 180 121 | |
| 12 | Amambay | 173 770 | |
| 13 | Caazapá | 140 060 | |
| 14 | Presidente Hayes | 126 880 | |
| 15 | Misiones | 114 542 | |
| 16 | Ñeembucú | 85 749 | |
| 17 | Boquerón | 68 595 | |
| 18 | Alto Paraguay | 17 608 | |
| Total | 6 109 644 | ||
See main article: Paraguayan nationality law.