Paraguay has made significant progress in reducing poverty over the past two decades, with poverty rates dropping by more than 30 percentage points between 2003 and 2024. This improvement has helped many families and expanded access to basic services. However, new data shows that challenges remain, especially in certain regions.
The National Statistics Institute (INE), with technical support from the World Bank, has released a new Monetary Poverty Map. This map, the first of its kind in over twenty years, provides detailed information on poverty at the district and neighborhood levels. It covers all 263 districts and 67 neighborhoods of Asunción, using data from the 2022 National Population and Housing Census and the 2023 Continuous Permanent Household Survey. The map uses color gradients to show differences in poverty rates across the country. In some districts, such as Alto Paraguay and San Pedro, about half the residents live in monetary poverty, while in other areas, such as Central and the capital, the rate is less than one in ten.
According to the release, "the new poverty map is a strategic compass for public action, enabling policymakers, development partners, and the private sector to target resources and interventions with unprecedented precision. It places Paraguay at the forefront of territorial analysis in Latin America, setting a new standard for evidence-based development planning."
The analysis also combines monetary poverty data with the Unsatisfied Basic Needs (NBI) index to classify regions into four groups. These groups are: areas with high poverty but better conditions, which need job creation and income support; areas with both high poverty and high deprivation, which require urgent and integrated interventions; areas with low poverty and low deprivation, which need efforts to maintain progress; and areas with low poverty but structural gaps, which need targeted investments in infrastructure and services.
The release states, "this nuanced approach recognizes that poverty is not monolithic. The map’s visual narrative makes clear that a one-size-fits-all strategy is inadequate; instead, Paraguay needs geographically targeted, data-driven solutions that reflect the complex realities of its people."
The poverty map is available to the public through INE’s geostatistical portal. For the first time in 23 years, Paraguayans can access detailed information about where people living in poverty are located and under what conditions. This tool is intended to help focus social programs and guide investments where they are most needed.