PARAGUAY POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAM - USAID / Paraguay

PARAGUAY VENDE / LUIz RODRíGUEz
ExECUTIVE
sUMMARY
Since Paraguay began its transition
to democracy in 1989, per
capita income has dropped by 27
percent and exports by 5 percent,
and there has been a corresponding
increase in poverty. By 2002,
the country’s poor population
had increased from 32 percent to
47 percent, and more than half
of the rural population was living
in poverty (see Figure 1).
To help propel the country
forward, USAID launched
the Paraguay Vende project in
2003 to create more jobs in the
country’s interior. Even with
restrictions to trade and investment,
the country was well-positioned
to expand trade. New
all-weather roads and the formation
of the Southern Common
Market (MERCOSUR) —
FIGURe 1. URBAn AnD RURAL POVeRTy, 1997 – 2002
As A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAl POVERTY
60%
50%
0%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1997/98 1999 2000/01 2002
Urban Rural
source: Technical secretariat of the Presidency/Department of statistics, surveys and
Census, Home surveys 1997 – 2002
ExECUTIVE sUMMARY
1