泰國
巴拉圭(Paraguay)
正式名稱巴拉圭共和國（Republic of Paraguay）
南美洲中南部國家。面積406,752平方公里。人口約5,636,000（2001）。首都︰亞松森。大部分人口是梅斯蒂索（mestizo，西班牙人和瓜拉尼印第安人的混血人），還有許多小群族，包括印第安人、黑人、高加索人和亞洲人。語言︰西班牙語和瓜拉尼語（均為官方語）。宗教︰天主教（佔總人口的88%）。貨幣︰瓜拉尼（）。巴拉圭是個內陸國，地形由平原和沼澤地構成。巴拉圭河從北到南流貫全國，把巴拉圭劃分為東、西兩個地理區︰東區，是巴西高原的延伸部分；西區構成大廈谷平原的北部。該國屬開發中的市場經濟，以農業、貿易和輕工業為主。政府形式為多黨制共和國，兩院制。國家元首暨政府首腦是總統。
在16～17世紀西班牙人來此殖民前，一些講瓜拉尼語的半遊牧民族已在這裡定居很長一段時間。後來成為拉布拉他總督轄區的一部分，一直到1811年才獨立。19世紀建立了獨裁政權，1865年與巴西、阿根廷和烏拉圭開戰。因領土紛爭而與玻利維亞引爆廈谷戰爭，1938年簽署和約，條件對巴拉圭較有利。20世紀中葉由軍政府主政（包括史託斯納爾），直到1993年瓦斯莫西（J. C. Wasmosy）當選為文人總統。1990年代遭逢財經危機，民主政府陷入泥淖。
English version：
Paraguay
Nation,southern central South America. Area: 157,043 sq mi (406,741 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 5,089,000. Capital: Asunción. Most of the people are mestizo (mixed Spanish and Guaraní Indian); there are much smaller groups of Indians,blacks,Caucasians,and Asians. Languages: Spanish and Guaraní (both official). Religion: Roman Catholicism (88% of the population). Currency: Guaraní. Paraguay is a landlocked country of plains and swampland. The Paraguay River,flowing from north to south,divides the country into two geographic regions: the Eastern Region,which is an extension of the Brazilian Plateau; and the Western Region,which forms the northern part of the Gran Chaco plains. It has a developing market economy that is based largely on agriculture,trade,and light industries. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its chief of state and government is the president. Seminomadic tribes speaking Guaraní were in the area long before it was settled by Spain in the 16th-17th century. Paraguay was part of the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata until it became independent in 1811. It suffered from dictatorial governments in the 19th century and from the 1865 war with Brazil,Argentina,and Uruguay. The Chaco War with Bolivia over disputed territory was settled primarily in Paraguay's favor by the peace treaty of 1938. Military governments,including that of Alfredo Stroessner,predominated in the mid-20th century until the election of a civilian president,Juan Carlos Wasmosy,in 1993. It suffered from a financial crisis in the late 1990s,and democratic government was in jeopardy.