Central () is a department in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The capital is

Areguá Areguá () is the capital of Central Department in Paraguay, located from the capital, Asunción. The city lies between Ypacaraí Lake to the east and hills to the west. Areguá is known for its colonial architecture and historic cobblestone s ...

. With 2,243,792 inhabitants, it is the most populated and the smallest of the 17

departments of Paraguay Paraguay consists of 17 departments ( es, departamentos; singular – ''departamento)'' and one capital district (''distrito capital''). The country is divided into two regions: The "Occidental Region" or Chaco (Boquerón, Alto Paraguay and Pres ...

Boundaries

*North: the departments of

Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

and Presidente Hayes *West: the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

province of

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

separated by the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...

, and the capital district,

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

. *East: the department of

Paraguarí Paraguarí (; gn, Paraguari) is a city, ''distrito'' and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.Ñeembucú

Districts

The department is divided in 19 districts:

Geography

The mountainous area of Altos and the bodies of water such as the

and the Salado rivers, the lakes

Ypacaraí Ypacaraí is a town in the Central Department of Paraguay on the Lake Ypacarai. On the Paraguayan highway system, it is located between Asunción and Caacupé, near Areguá and San Bernardino. Known as the "City of Folklore" after the Ypacara ...

and Ypoá, and the pond Cabral are part of the natural limits in Central. These along with other regions in the south section generate a good potential of resources for the diverse activities such as tourism and even agriculture.

Education

Paraguay’s Central Department (a “department” is similar to a state or province in other countries) enjoys one of the nation’s highest enrollment rates (84%) for elementary and secondary education for children and youth from age 7 through age 18. More boys are enrolled compared to girls, by a margin of 6%. More students attend public schools (69.9%) compared to private schools (30.1%). The Central Department has around 750 elementary education institutions and close to 350 secondary education institutions. The city of San Lorenzo is home to two important educational institutions: the state-run

Universidad Nacional de Asunción The Universidad Nacional de Asunción or Mbo'ehaovusu Tetãgua Paraguaygua, abbreviated UNA, anglicized as, The National University of Asuncion, is a public university founded in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Founded in 1889, it is the oldest and most t ...

and the Regional Education Center Saturio Rios, which includes a teacher training college, secondary school, and primary schools that serve as “lab schools.”

Climate

The maximum temperatures are in the summer, reaching the 40 °C, which sometimes can be even higher. In the winter, the minimum temperature is 0 °C. The annual average temperature is 22 °C. Rains vary approximately 1433 mm per year. The period between the months of January and February is the rainiest, and the driest period is during the months of June and August.

Hydrology

The department is mainly watered by the Paraguay River and its affluents: the Salado River, which is flowed by the Ypacaraí Lake and the streams Itay, Paray e Ytororó. The streams Yuquyry and Ñanduá drain into the Ypoá wetlands. The lakes Ypacaraí, Ypoá and the lagoon Cabral are situated in this region of the country.

Orography

The spurs of the Ybytypanema, part of the los Altos chain, are in this department. Its highest hills are Lambaré, Ñanduá and Arrua-í. Other lower hills in the zone are the Ñemby and the Patiño.

History

The Central Department, known as “Comarca Asuncena”, was the most populated region in the country in old times. In the times of the conquest and colonization, this region had already been the center from where new foundations were expanded, as well as it was the settlers’ refuge who were escaping from the attacks of the Guaicurú Indians. The towns in this department have had various origins. One of the main protagonists of these foundations was

Domingo Martínez de Irala Domingo Martínez de Irala (; c. 1509 Bergara, Gipuzkoa – c. 1556 Asunción, Paraguay) was a Spanish Basque people, Basque conquistador. He headed for America in 1535 enrolled in the expedition of Pedro de Mendoza and participated in the foundi ...

, who gave rise to the districts of Itá and

. The town of Luque was established as a Spanish village.

Villeta Villeta is a city of Paraguay in the Central Department, on the banks of Paraguay River. It is an important industrial center and port. Toponymy The city was founded on March 5, 1714, by Juan Gregorio Bazán de Pedraza, with the original name ...

and Tapuá, nowadays called

Mariano Roque Alonso Mariano Roque Alonso Romero (16 August 1792 Ybytimí – 7 August 1853) was President of the Provisional Junta of Paraguay from 9 February 1841 to 14 March 1841. On 14 March 1841, he established a government ruling jointly with Carlos Antonio L� ...

were founded in order to establish military forts for defence. Others tows like Capiatá and

Itauguá Itauguá () is a city of the Central Department, Paraguay. Founded in 1728, it is known by its peculiar art of the ñandutí and its music. The San Rafael Museum shows various objects from the Colonial Age. The National Hospital, one of the most ...

were expanded around chapels used as evangelization centers, The towns in the department are bound, partly, due to the chaqueños Indians’ resistance against the Spanish conquest of their lands, which forced the settlers to emigrate and take refuge in this part of the region. That was how were established villages like

Guarambaré Guarambaré is a town in the Central Department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is ...

Ypané Ypané is a city in the Central Department of Paraguay, 27 km from Asunción. It is accessed by Routes 1 and 2. The town was founded March 23, 1538 by the Spanish Governor Domingo Martínez de Irala. Its main activities are trade and industr ...

and

Ñemby Ñemby () is a city in the Central Department of Paraguay. It is part of the Gran Asunción metropolitan area. History Among the historical sites of this city stands the Church of San Lorenzo which was founded by Spanish settlers in 1718 when ...

. A different origin had the towns of Nueva Italia, Colonia Thompson and Villa Elisa, already established as agricultural colonies back in the 19th century and beginnings of the XX, and mainly settled by foreign immigrants. By 1985, the last district in the Central Department,

Juan Augusto Saldívar ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, had been established.

Transportation

Routes

By being part of the metropolitan area of the country's capital, this department is favored by having a lot of routes. Most of the routes of the country leave from Asunción to the country towns.
National route PY01 links the capital city with southern Paraguay; PY02 does with eastern Paraguay, which borders

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

; PY03 connects this metro area with the northern departments, while PY19 connects it with western Ñeembucú mainly.

Airports

Paraguay's main airport, the

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport Silvio Pettirossi International Airport is an international airport in Luque, Paraguay, which serves Paraguay's capital city, Asunción, and indirectly serves the nearby city of Clorinda, Formosa in Argentina. The airport is named after Paraguay ...

, is located in Central, specifically in the city of Luque.

Economy

Of the 3049 industrial plants in the Paraguayan territory, 1,558 are found in this department. The industrial production includes the processing of food, furniture, clothing, pharmaceutical production, metallurgic, plastic and ceramics. The city of

is home to a large number of industries. Central is the second biggest economy of Paraguay, and occupies the second place in attraction of inversions from other countries. Only 62% of the population is considered economically active.

Waterway

The waterways in the Central Department are determined by the “Río Paraguay”, with its main affluents being those of Asunción and Villeta.

Airports

Its main airport is the

, located in the town of

Luque Luque () is a city in Central Department of Paraguay, part of the Gran Asunción metropolitan area. Both 1635 and 1750 have been recorded as dates of its founding. It was temporarily the capital of Paraguay in 1868 during the Paraguayan War b ...

. This station links the department with the rest of the country and abroad.

Communications

There are a lot of AM radio stations. Some of them are Radio Cardinal, Radio Ñandutí, Radio Nanawa and Radio Libre. Frequency modulation transmitters are as follows: 1º de Marzo, Ñemby, Cardinal, Disney, Amor, Luque, Itaguá, Lambaré, Trinidad, San Lorenzo, Azul y Oro, Guarania, among others. There are also numerous television channels and cable transmission services. Capiata000033

In Areguá, located on the banks of the Lago Ypacaraí is situated the Satellite Station The Central Department has telephone exchanges capable of communicating with all the districts.

Health

The department has numerous places where residents can receive health care, such as hospitals, health posts, and centers. The private sector takes part in this area as well, offering health services in every district of the department.

Tourist attractions

The Central Department has a large number of attractions for tourism. Among the most famous natural resources at an international level, is the Lago Ypacaraí, which is represented in the immortal play of Demetrio Ortíz, the beautiful guarania. This lake is a very important natural attraction, and the town of Areguá, the department's capital, is located on the banks of this lake. There is a great variety of Museums, historical places and cultural centers in the districts. It can be seen parks and green places preserved for the practice of outdoors sports. The hotel industry is an important source of income for this department. Each district has its patronal feasts and celebrations which are part of the people culture.

References

* Geografía del Paraguay - Editorial Hispana Paraguay S.R.L.- 1a. Edición 1999 - Asunción Paraguay * Geografía Ilustrada del Paraguay - - Distribuidora Arami S.R.L. * La Magia de nuestra tierra. Fundación en Alianza. Asunción. 2007.

External links

Central Info (in Spanish)

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