Asunción means “ascension” or “assumption” in Spanish. A popular nickname for Asunción is the Mother of Cities. The full name for Paraguay’s capital city is Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción, which means “Our Lady, Holy Mary of the Assumption”.
Asunción appears in the Guinness World Records. On October 26, 2013, Asunción was where the largest harp ensemble ever congregated involving 420 harp players. Participants who auditioned for the record were mostly professional harpists, harp teachers and students. The youngest participant was age 8 while the most elderly player was over 70 years old.
From an international trade perspective, Paraguay exported US$7.7 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Paraguay’s most valuable exports are soya beans (20.6% of its global total), electrical energy (20.5%), oilcake (9%), frozen beef (7.3%), fresh or chilled beef (6.1%), corn (5.2%), soya-bean oil (5.1%), insulated wire or cable (3.5%), rice (3%), miscellaneous oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (1.1%) and wheat (also 1.1%) according to the International Trade Centre.
Capital Facts for Asunción, Paraguay: Quick Reference
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Asunción, Paraguay.
- Richard Ortiz Busto, soccer player/footballer (born May 22, 1990)
- Horacio Cartes, former president (born Jul. 5, 1956)
- Julieta Granada, professional golfer (born Nov. 17, 1986)
- Salvador Cabanas, soccer player/footballer (born Aug. 5, 1980)
- Cindy Taylor, model (born Apr. 18, 1977)
- Marco Ruiz, professional golfer (born Dec. 2, 1974)
- Fiorella Migliore, beauty pageant winner (born Jan. 27, 1989)
- Roque Santa Cruz, soccer player/footballer (born Aug. 16, 1981)
- Larissa Riquelme, model & ‘Dancing With The Stars’ competitor (born Feb. 22, 1985)
- Leryn Franco, Olympic javelin thrower & model (born Mar. 1, 1982)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for an Asunción resident: Asunceño (male), Asunceña (female)
Population: 2,200,000 (Asunción metropolitan area) at July 4, 2020
Density: 5,612 people per square mile (2,170 per square kilometer)
Population: 7,134,000 (Paraguay) at July 4, 2020
Density: 46 people per square mile (18 per square kilometer)
Median age for all Paraguay: 26.3 years old
Financial
GDP: US$97.2 billion for 2019 (Paraguay)
GDP per person: $13,584
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Asunción were unavailable.
Official currency used in Asunción: Paraguayan guaraní
Geography
Capital landmarks: Government Palace (Palacio de Gobierno), Casa de la Independencia Museum and the National Pantheon of the Heroes (Panteon Nacional de los Heroes)
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas.
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, South America: Paraguay.
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition.
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition.
Guinness World Records, Largest harp ensemble.
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.
International Trade Centre, Trade Map.
Official Government Website, Paraguay government portal.
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Asunción.
Wikipedia, Gran Asunción.
Wikipedia, Paraguay.
WorldOMeter, Paraguay Population.
Paraguay won its freedom from Spain on May 14, 1811. Paraguayans celebrate Independence Day as a public holiday each May 14.
The capital’s metropolitan area is called Greater Asunción. It extends over a total 392 square miles (1,014 square kilometers) and is home to about 2.2 million people as of July 2020.
At the country level, Paraguay’s land area covers 153,398 square miles (397,300 square kilometers). The national population count was 7.1 million inhabitants.
Population density is concentrated within the capital city’s metropolitan area with an average 5,612 residents per square mile (2,170 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Paraguay’s overall land boundaries, population density dilutes to an average 46 inhabitants per square mile (18 per square kilometer).
