Asunción

Capital and chief port of Paraguay, situated on the east bank of the Paraguay River, near its confluence with the River Pilcomayo; population (2002 est) 513,400 (metropolitan area 1,620,500); there are textile, footwear, furniture, tobacco, and food-processing industries. The climate is subtropical, and cattle are raised in the surrounding area; maize, cotton, sugar, fruit, and tobacco are grown, and meat, timber, and cotton are the leading exports.

History

Features 19th-century Pantheon of Heroes; Hotel Guaraní, designed by Oscar Niemayer; National University, founded in 1890; Catholic University, founded in 1960. The city has a large shantytown population located on the flood-prone river bluffs on the Paraguay River.

The city is served by an international airport and is linked by river transport and by rail to Buenos Aires.