City in Paraguay
Asunción
Asunción is Paraguay's capital and its largest district, with 462,241 residents in the 2022 census, inside a metropolitan area with the surrounding Central department. The national migration directorate has its head office here, and about 4 in 100 residents were born abroad.
- Country
- Paraguay
- Region
- Distrito Capital
- Population
- 462,241 in 2022. Asunción district (Distrito Capital), all urban, Census 2022 (INE); the surrounding Central department has 1,883,927 more.
- Settings
- In a city
- 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 100StrongCountry figure
Price level 0.348 of United States prices (2025).
Climate
33 of 100WeakOwn figure
Asunción's own normals (airport station): 5 comfortable months a year (May to September). Monthly highs run from 23.5 °C in June to 34.0 °C in January; October to April are over 30 °C or wetter than 150 mm.
Safety
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 64th of 163.
Healthcare
64 of 100MixedCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 79 (2023).
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
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 100StrongCountry figure
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 100WeakCountry figure
12.88 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2023).
English
54 of 100MixedCountry figure
EF EPI score 531, between the 499 and 550 anchors. The page does not print its edition year.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for NZ passports is being checked
Why it is here
Why Asunción is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
More detail
- Asunción has 462,241 residents in the 2022 census, more than any other district; the next, Ciudad del Este, has 325,819. INE treats Asunción and the surrounding Central department (1,883,927 residents) as the metropolitan axis that receives people from the rest of the country.
- The national migration directorate's head office is at Eligio Ayala esq. Caballero N° 201, with a separate issuing office for residence cards and the office for foreign investors; the other nine offices for foreigners are outside the capital.
- In the 2022 census about 4 in 100 Asunción residents (4.4% in the text of INE's migration study) were born in another country, against 2.6% nationally. Of those, 36% were born in Argentina, 15.5% in Brazil, 5.5% in Uruguay and 5.0% in Venezuela. Nationally the directorate granted 736 residences to US citizens in 2025 (a national figure, not Asunción's).
The country
More on Paraguay.
Cities
Other cities in Paraguay.
Questions about Asunción.
How many people live in Asunción?
The 2022 census counted 462,241 residents in Asunción district, all of them urban, the most of any district. The surrounding Central department has another 1,883,927. These are census counts, not adjusted for omission.
Where does the migration directorate work from in Asunción?
Its head office is at Eligio Ayala esq. Caballero N° 201, open Monday to Friday from 07:00 to 14:30. Residence cards are collected at a separate issuing office at Azara N° 304, and foreign investors have their own office. Applications are made in person.
How many foreigners live in Asunción?
INE's migration study says 4.4% of Asunción residents were born abroad in the 2022 census (its chart shows 4.2%), against 2.6% nationally. Of them 36% were born in Argentina, 15.5% in Brazil, 5.5% in Uruguay and 5.0% in Venezuela. It gives no count by US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand or UK birth.
What is Asunción's weather like?
Hot for much of the year. Monthly average highs run from 23.5 °C in June to 34.0 °C in January, and October to April are over 30 °C or wetter than 150 mm. May to September are the five months with highs of 18 to 30 °C and under 150 mm of rain (1991 to 2020 airport normals).
Is there an official rent figure for Asunción?
We found none. The INE tables we could open give census counts, not rents, so the cost-of-living page for Asunción shows rent as unknown and takes the national price level.
Sources and dates checked
Official sources
- 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).
- Oficinas de Admisión de Extranjeros, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026. Page read from an Internet Archive copy of 12 June 2026 because the site did not answer from our network. Head office: Eligio Ayala esq. Caballero N° 201, Asunción (Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 14:30); an issuing office at Azara N° 304; the SUACE office for foreign investors; and admission offices in Concepción, Pedro Juan Caballero, Salto del Guairá, Nueva Esperanza, Ciudad del Este, Santa Rita, Encarnación (25 de Mayo c/ Honorio González, 07:00 to 15:00), Pilar and Mariscal Estigarribia. No office is listed for San Bernardino.
- 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%.
- 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.
- Residencias en Paraguay: 2025 cierra con cifras históricas y 2026 arranca con fuerte crecimiento, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), Paraguay. Checked 18 October 2026. Press release of 26 January 2026, read from an Internet Archive copy of 28 August 2026 because the site did not answer from our network. National figures: 47,687 applications and 40,600 residences granted in 2025 (29,976 temporary, 10,624 permanent). Top ten nationalities of those granted: Brazil 23,526, Argentina 4,366, Germany 1,652, Bolivia 1,357, Spain 1,023, Venezuela 847, Netherlands 772, United States 736, Russia 509, France 472. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are below the tenth place (472); their exact numbers are not published there.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Publicaciones de población: Censo 2022 y estimaciones, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), 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.