Country research
Paraguay
Prices overall are about 0.35 of United States prices at market exchange rates, and the Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Paraguay 64th of 163. Residence starts as a temporary card of up to two years, renewable, and leads to permanent residence; the migration directorate lists remote workers and pensioners among the ways to show income and prints no minimum amount.
- Capital
- Asunción
- Currency
- Paraguayan Guarani
- Language
- Spanish
- Time zone
- America/Asuncion
- Settings
- In a city, In a small town, In the countryside
- Weather
- Warm all year
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
The Fernshore Index grades a place factor by factor. Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
88 of 100Strong
Price level 0.348 of United States prices (2025).
Climate
33 of 100Weak
Asunción, the main city: 5 comfortable months a year (May to September), measured at Silvio Pettirossi airport. Highs average 31 to 34 °C from December to March and 30 °C or more in October and November; April has 151.7 mm of rain, just over the 150 mm line.
Safety
50 of 100Mixed
Global Peace Index 2026: 64th of 163.
Healthcare
64 of 100Mixed
WHO UHC service coverage index 79 (2023).
Schools
Unknown
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
Unknown
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
Unknown
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100Mixed
Mixed: the migration directorate lists remote workers and digital nomads as a way to show income for residence, but fixed broadband is 12.88 per 100 people (2023), under the 30 line.
Retirement
85 of 100Strong
Strong: pensioners and retirees show income with a pension certificate that states the amount; temporary residence (up to 2 years, renewable) comes first and permanent residence follows. The pages print no minimum amount, age or deposit.
Internet
28 of 100Weak
12.88 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2023).
English
54 of 100Mixed
EF EPI score 531, between the 499 and 550 anchors. The page does not print its edition year.
Visa, United States passport
Unknown
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for NZ passports is being checked
Cities
Cities in Paraguay.
Each city page shows which figures are its own and which are the country's.
Guides
Paraguay, by passport.
Each guide is written for citizens of one country.
Questions about Paraguay.
Do I need a visa to visit Paraguay with a US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand or UK passport?
Not for a stay of up to 90 days, according to the migration directorate's list. US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports are covered by Law 7314, valid until 13 August 2027; UK passports by a 1966 bilateral agreement. Check the list again before you travel.
Do I need a visa to apply for residence in Paraguay?
The directorate's visa table says all five of these passports need a visa to extend a stay, apply for residence or do paid work, and the residence application asks for the consular visa where one is required. How that works for your passport is not clear from the pages, so ask a Paraguayan consulate.
How does residence work in Paraguay, and how long does it last?
You apply for temporary residence first: a card valid up to two years, renewable for the same period. Permanent residence is a change of category once the temporary period has run, applied for in the three months before the card expires. The permanent card is renewed every 10 years.
Does Paraguay have a route for remote workers or retirees?
The directorate lists remote workers and digital nomads, and pensioners or retirees, among the ways to show income. Remote workers give a work certificate stating the income and how it is paid; pensioners give a pension certificate with the amount. No minimum amount is printed, so it is unknown.
What does a residence application cost in Paraguay?
The directorate lists Gs. 2,926,925 for temporary residence and the same for permanent residence (a change of category), plus Gs. 234,154 for the residence certificate, all in cash. Card payments carry the provider's commission. Translations, apostilles and police certificates cost extra and are not priced here.
How many foreigners live in Paraguay, and where do they come from?
About 2.6% of residents were born abroad in the 2022 census; Argentina and Brazil account for 41.5% and 33.2% of them, and the United States for 1.0%. The directorate granted 40,600 residences in 2025, 736 of them to US citizens. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK are not in its top ten.
How safe is Paraguay, and what is healthcare like?
The Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Paraguay 64th of 163, third in South America, and the WHO service coverage index is 79 of 100 (2023). Both are country-level figures, not a measure of one neighbourhood or of private care. Cover prices are unknown.
Sources and dates checked
Official sources
- Price level index (GDP), Paraguay, World Bank. Checked 18 October 2026. 2025: 34.82 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 18 October 2026.
- Residencia Permanente para el cambio de categoría de residencia temporal (Ley N° 6984/2022), annex of categories for proving income, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026. Page read from an Internet Archive copy of 13 August 2026 because the site did not answer from our network. The annex lists the ways to show economic solvency: professionals, technicians, employees, self-employed, remote workers or digital nomads (a work certificate showing the income received and how it is paid), property owners, shareholders, farmers, pensioners and retirees (a certificate of the pension with the amount received and how it is paid), and dependants. No minimum amount, age or deposit is printed. Permanent residence is granted after the period of temporary residence; the card is renewed every 10 years.
- Censo 2022, Cuadro 1: población total por área urbana-rural y sexo, según departamento y distrito, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026. Final results, Census 2022 (not a headcount adjusted for omission). File read from an Internet Archive copy of 12 October 2026 because the site did not answer from our network. Country 6,109,903; Asunción 462,241 (all urban); Ciudad del Este 325,819; Central department 1,883,927; Itapúa department 449,642; Encarnación district 106,842 (84,317 urban); San Bernardino district 12,216 (7,599 urban).
- Migración interna e internacional: una mirada a los movimientos migratorios en el Paraguay (Censo 2022), Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026. PDF read from an Internet Archive copy of 6 June 2026 because the site did not answer from our network. Calls Asunción and Central the metropolitan axis that receives people. 2.6% of residents were born in another country; Argentina 41.5% and Brazil 33.2% of those, the United States 1.0%.
- Rural population (% of total population), World Bank, World Development Indicators. Checked 18 October 2026. 2025: 29.61% of the population is rural (national definitions), read from the World Bank API on 18 October 2026.
- Agricultural land (% of land area), World Bank, World Development Indicators. Checked 18 October 2026. 2024: 54.11% of land area, read from the World Bank API on 18 October 2026.
- Climate normals 1991–2020, Asunción airport (Silvio Pettirossi), WMO 86218, Dirección de Meteorología e Hidrología (DMH), Paraguay (WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020 via NOAA NCEI). Checked 18 October 2026. Station at 25°14′09″ S, 57°30′53″ W, 83 m. Monthly mean daily highs (°C) January to December: 34.0, 33.0, 31.9, 29.2, 24.9, 23.5, 23.6, 26.2, 27.9, 30.1, 31.2, 32.8. Rain (mm): 132.6, 146.4, 131.3, 151.7, 134.1, 70.7, 48.2, 38.7, 79.2, 157.9, 195.0, 176.5. Five months are comfortable (high 18 to 30 °C and under 150 mm): May to September. April has a 29.2 °C high but 151.7 mm of rain. Mean temperatures 27.8 °C (January) and 17.5 °C (July) differ by 10.3 °C.
- UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 18 October 2026. Paraguay: 79 out of 100 (2023; 79 in 2020, 2021 and 2022 too), read from the WHO GHO API (UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 18 October 2026.
- Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Paraguay, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 18 October 2026. 2023: 12.88 per 100 people, the latest year published (2024 and 2025 are empty), read from the World Bank API on 18 October 2026.
- Residencia Temporal establecida por la Ley N° 6984/2022 de Migraciones, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026. Page read from an Internet Archive copy of 10 October 2026 because the site did not answer from our network. Temporary residence card valid up to 2 years, renewable for the same period, and a prerequisite for permanent residence. Fee Gs. 2,926,925 (cash), residence certificate Gs. 234,154. The application asks for the consular visa where one is required, a criminal record certificate from age 14 and an INTERPOL certificate.
- Información sobre visas: acuerdos de supresión de visas, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026.
- Residencias en Paraguay: 2025 cierra con cifras históricas y 2026 arranca con fuerte crecimiento, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026.
Index measures and references (not official sources)
- Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace (private index). Checked 18 October 2026. Paraguay ranks 64th of 163 countries (score 1.882, change -0.007), third in South America, read from the report PDF on 18 October 2026.
- EF English Proficiency Index: Paraguay, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 18 October 2026. Score 531, global ranking 43; the page does not print its edition year. Read on 18 October 2026.